72 



Mr. H. P. Wells, in his chapter on American and English 

 salmon rods, propounds views almost identical : 



" If a rod for trout-fishing was in view, no American angler of the slightest 

 experience would dream of buying any but an American rod, or of being 

 influenced in its selection by any foreign work on angling. But so little, com- 

 paratively, has been done and said on salmon-fishing in this country, and so 

 much in" Great Britain, that the American anglers are apt to turn to, and be 

 guided by, English authorities. He will read of rods eighteen, nineteen, and 

 twenty feet long. Well may he groan when he thinks of brandishing such a 

 weaver's beam all the live-long day, and question whether he would not find 

 sawing wood equally beneficial and far less laborious. In the matter of fishing- 

 rods I cannot but think that the mechanical common-sense of our English 

 brethren is somewhat obscured by respect for tradition." 



I lately lent my greenheart rod to a friend for a salmon-fishing 

 foray in Perthshire. He assiduously flogged the water for a week, 

 and came back without ever having had a rise, but assured me, 

 nevertheless, that he had " enjoyed his fishing immensely." If this 

 week's fishless casting had been done with a twenty instead of 

 with a fourteen foot rod, it may be open to doubt whether the 

 " enjoyment " would have been equally well marked. 



These observations apply equally to fly-rods for Trout-fishing. 

 I now seldom myself use a single-handled trout-rod much over 

 10 feet, and I find that with a rod 10 feet long I can generally 

 command as much water as I wish. Indeed, for light stream- 

 fishing I often use one of the little spliced, so-called " Ladies 

 rods," for the manufacture of which Mr. James Ogden, of Chel- 

 tenham, is famous. This rod has a length of only 8 ft. 6 in., and 

 a total weight of 8 ounces. For whipping under boughs it will 

 be found that a light handy rod of this description possesses 

 great advantages. For those who like spliced rods, this same make 

 of rod but a little longer say 10 feet is a very perfect weapon, 

 and will stand hard work, as I can avouch, having this season 

 fiilled with one of them made by Ogden some 400 trout, occa- 

 sionally up to nearly 2 Ibs. in weight, and without ever calling 

 the spare top into requisition. At the end of the campaign the 



