92 TBOUT FISHING 



structure witli his varnish and brass; this may 

 make us incline favourably towards a well-finished 

 rod, but we must not forget that the maker of the 

 rod may, after all, have a very erroneous idea of 

 what a rod should be. We wouldyield to his know- 

 ledge and superior judgment of an ordinary piece 

 of furniture, the construction of a cabinet, or the 

 choice of his various tools, but we must reserve 

 our own opinion of his rod when completed ; and 

 acknowledging its elegance and general aspect, 

 criticize carefully the article before us, as to its 

 capability of fulfilling the duties which will be 

 required of it, and its adaptation to the end for 

 which it is by us intended. 



Great variety may be found in rods, and dif- 

 ferent men in different parts extol different kinds 

 of rods. We are considering fly-fishing in the 

 early months on rapid streams, such as are found 

 in the North of Devon ; and for these rivers and 

 their like, we must have a rod of great power in 

 itself, of much strength, considerable stiffness, 

 combined with appropriate weight and lightness ; 

 and as all do not care to possess a large assort- 

 ment of rods, I will endeavour to give an idea of 

 a rod which may be used in the early months, to 

 the broad and narrow rivers, in windy and calm 

 weather, in still and rapid water; one that will 

 be generally applicable to all kinds of fishing, 

 excepting bright water fishing in small streams, 

 and the very broad streams, as the Taw, where 

 greater length is more advantageous, though even 

 on these broad streams such a rod as I am about 



