96 ANGLING. 



is so close in the grain, and so hard, that it requires less 

 bulk to produce the same result. Perhaps the lightest 

 rods of all are the split bamboo, which are made of lengths 

 of bamboo glued together, and bound every two inches. 

 But though light to the hand they are heavy to the pocket, 

 and when anglers can get a fairly good rod which answers all 

 their needs for 25., few of them will give 61. or 81. for one, 

 however superior the workmanship. There is a new wood, 

 called washaba, which has come up lately : it is a very good 

 wood, and almost equal or a little inferior to hickory. 



When buying a rod, the intending purchaser should 

 always put the reel on, as it greatly alters the balance of 

 the rod, and if he could thread the line and try a cast or 

 two he would do better still. 



Having selected a rod, the next thing is to choose a line. 

 Some people like dressed silk ; I, however, prefer plaited 

 or twisted horsehair and hemp, nicely tapered, and not 

 too long in the taper; as half the lines are. But the 

 great thing in choosing the line is to choose one which the 

 rod will carry to the best advantage without straining. 

 Too light a line is a perfect nuisance in windy weather, 

 you cannot get it through the wind a bit, and even without 

 wind it does not cast properly ; while if it is too heavy it 

 falls with a splash, and strains every splice and joint in 

 the rod. It requires some knowledge and familiarity with 

 a variety of fly rods to be able to pick out a suitable line 

 for one ; and if the angler is not equal to it, he had better 

 go to a respectable tackle maker and let him choose it. 

 The winch should be a plain check winch, just strong 

 enough in the check to prevent the line over-running, but 

 not so strong as to make it hard to run out when a fish 

 happens to pull on it one capable of holding thirty or 

 forty yards of line is large enough. 



