48 TROUT LORE 



fluous; yet there are a few details which should 

 be taken up before we close. The rod used in 

 England is heavy in comparison with those used 

 in this country. Just how a man can handle an 

 eleven-foot rod that weighs eleven or more ounces 

 is an enigma to some of us; yet we find such 

 tools advised by eminent English anglers. To 

 my notion, a nine-foot, five-ounce rod is plenty 

 heavy enough to lay the line, and such a rod, 

 American-made, is plenty strong enough for any 

 brook trout that ever swam. The line should be 

 double-tapered, if possible, and of the best qual- 

 ity, though the tapering is not absolutely neces- 

 sary; thirty yards is plenty. Most authorities 

 advocate a long leader, six to nine feet, but here 

 I am a Philistine, for I use one only three, or at 

 the most four, feet long. Why need the leader 

 be six feet long when but a single fly is used? 

 In some of the streams I fish it is absolutely 

 necessary to reel the fish close in before attempt- 

 ing to use the net. Once again, do not forget 

 the bit of deer's fat or tallow for the line. As 

 to hooks, in England the small sizes are popular, 

 running down to even 000; but I am not alto- 

 gether in favor of this, though, as I have said 

 before, ofttimes the small fly is attractive when 

 the relatively large one fails; however, from Nos. 



