CHAPTER I 



A REVIEW OF FISHING ROD HISTORY 



WHEN we speak of fishing rods to-day, 

 reference is invariably made to those 

 rods that consist of two or three 

 parts fitted with splices or ferrules for greater 

 convenience in carrying to and from the fish- 

 ing grounds. 



Without question the best rod is one made 

 of a single piece, or of strips rent and glued, 

 but with no joint or ferrule to interfere with 

 its resilience and action. 



That it is next to impossible to carry a full 

 length rod on trains and in other conveyances 

 is obvious; hence the skill of amateur and pro- 

 fessional rodmakers is constantly directed to- 

 ward the task of making the two or three 

 joint rods as nearly perfect in every way as is 

 possible under the circumstances. That they 

 succeed very well indeed is evident in the beau- 

 tiful rods now used in fishing and in tourna- 

 ment casting. 



For several centuries all of the best fishing 

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