THE FLY ROD 23 



does double the amount of work" required of 

 the wet fly rod; the need of continually drying 

 the fly by false casting keeps the rod in almost 

 constant action. If the rod is unsuitable in 

 length, balance, or in some other detail of con- 

 struction, this continual whipping in casting and 

 drying the fly is anything but enjoyable. If the 

 rod is really poorly constructed, of poor ma- 

 terial, and thrown together rather than pains- 

 takingly fitted, a few hours of dry fly work will 

 surely bring about its relegation to the scrap- 

 heap where, indeed, it belonged in the first 

 place. 



The selection of the rod for dry fly work, 

 then, should be made with deliberation and 

 based upon the best information obtainable. 

 In this connection it may be noted that it 

 is the fashion with a certain class of sportsmen 

 to consider the purchase of a fly-rod which, rela- 

 tively, may be termed an expensive one, simply 

 a foolish waste of money and entirely a matter 

 of " pretense and affectation." Usually this 

 opinion is wholly the result of misinformation 

 and lack of experience. No angler who ever 

 had the pleasure of a day's fishing with a first- 

 class fly-rod provided, initially, he possessed 

 sufficient skill and experience to thoroughly ap- 

 preciate the revelation, for the action of such a 



