THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. I2Q 



Jag* or Jagging 1 . To jag a fish is to touch him with 

 the hook when striking, without being able to retain him ; 

 this very often occurs owing to striking too late, and the 

 fish, feeling that he has made a mistake, instantly blows 

 the fly or lure from his mouth and escapes. Brown trout, 

 as a rule, fight shy of a fly after being jagged ; but white 

 trout and salmon will come again almost instantly, and are 

 sometimes hooked the second time. 



Japanese Rods. These are imported from Japan. 

 They are principally in demand by the juvenile angler, and 

 hardly worthy of an extended notice. 



Joints connect the several pieces of the rod to make 

 it into a full length for use. With one exception they 

 are made of brass, and may be either bronzed, painted, 

 gilt, or silvered ; the bronzed colour is the best, and 

 keeps good a very long time. There have been many 

 styles brought out from time to time ; like everything else,; 

 some good, but more bad. The screw joint was about the 

 first made, and had its day. It has a male screw on one 

 piece and a female screw on the other, encased by ferrules ; 

 the screw soon loosens by the action of the rod, wears 

 the thread, and the whole affair wants firmness. Then 

 comes the tongued or taper joint, which is the most 

 universally used now. The ferrule and counter fit each 

 other accurately, and on the counter part of the rod is 

 shaped a tongue of the wood slightly tapered, which fits into 

 a socket on the ferrule portion of the rod, so that when these 

 two joints are pushed home they are really double joints- 

 first the counter and ferrule, then the tongue and socket. 

 In all good rods this tongue is covered with brass, and then 

 the joint is called double brazed (q.v.). This is a very secure. 

 joint, and may be made more so by having small bent 



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