FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 131 



rod is a split-bamboo, or of well-seasoned bethabara, 

 lancewood, or greenheart if a solid-wood, almost any old 

 rod may be made pretty nearly as good as new in many 

 cases much better than new by its owner, who, more- 

 over, need not be a mechanical genius or the proprietor 

 of a machine shop. Ingenuity, elbow-grease, a few 

 simple tools, and chiefly a knowledge of what consti- 

 tutes a good fly-rod are practically the only essentials. 

 Furthermore, if you have not the time or do not care 

 to do these things yourself it will be of advantage to 

 you to be able to tell the professional rod maker exactly 

 the things you wish done. 



Often a rod will show a quality of whippiness which 

 was not suspected when the rod was purchased. Pro- 

 vided you are not an advocate of the 

 whippy rod there are such and they are 

 more to be pitied than censured with 

 the knowledge that you have on your hands an unsatis- 

 factory tool comes the realization of the necessity of a 

 new rod or a radical improvement in the present one. 

 The extent of the change necessary is dependent upon 

 the degree of softness with which the rod is afflicted. 

 The rod repairer in this particular instance, if the 

 rod is only slightly whippy, will remove all the wind- 

 ings and replace them at closer intervals; or, possibly, 

 the addition of new windings between those already on 

 the rod will do just as well. The average fly-rod is 

 wound at intervals of slightly over an inch. Windings 

 at only one-half inch will stiffen the rod appreciably. 

 If, however, in the opinion of the repairer, the extreme 

 softness of the rod demands more radical treatment 



