FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 133 



German silver is also a good material but inferior to 

 steel for the reason that it is softer and the line soon 

 wears grooves in the guides. If you wish to go a bit 

 farther, with the idea of having the rod thoroughly 

 modern and efficient in the matter of guides, fit it with 

 offset agate tip guide and raised agate hand guide. 

 Then if you do not do good casting, you certainly can- 

 not, provided the rod itself is fairly good, "blame the 

 gun." 



If the rod is heavy in hand, it may be made a sweeter 

 rod to handle by removing the solid metal reel-seat in 



favor of plain reel-bands; if the hand- 

 Butt and grasp is of wood or celluloid a further 



reduction in weight may be effected by 



fitting a solid cork grasp. On general 

 principles any rod which has a handgrasp of cork sheath- 

 ing over a shaped core of wood may be made a much 

 better rod by the substitution of a solid cork grasp in 

 place of the cheaper and far less durable and desirable 

 grasp of thin cork over wood. The solid cork grasp is 

 made of a number of disks of solid cork fitted over a 

 core. 



On the other hand, the top-heavy rod may be made 

 to balance much better by simply using on it a heavier 

 reel. The slightly top-heavy rod is not objectionable 

 to a good many anglers, and often a rod of this sort is 

 a very strong caster. The famous Castle Connell sal- 

 mon rods are made on this principle. Such a rod is, 

 however, apt to be tiring in long continued casting, and 

 the average angler prefers a well balanced rod just as 

 a rifleman desires this quality in his weapon. 



