ON RAPID STREAMS. Ill 



lancewood may be inserted at tlie lower end 

 top, entirely of split cane. This is an extremely 

 light rod, and one easily broken, so that it is hardly 

 adapted to any other kind of fishing than artificial 

 fly-fishing. These rods are stiff and have no 

 double action ; to use them we must exert a sharp 

 wrist movement, and not work them with the 

 long arm swing required for the double-actioned 

 rod; they cast the fly by a sudden jerk, with 

 great force and proportional accuracy ; the line is 

 always " taut/' and when you strike at a fish, you 

 are into him in a moment ; but, above all, you 

 may work with them through the most successful 

 day's fishing, and your arm will not be fatigued : 

 a point of no small importance, I can assure you. 

 The flies I have had most reliance on, in small 

 bright water fishing, are made of hare's flax, shorn 

 off the back ; they are made large, on a No. 6 or 7 

 Adlington hook ; their bodies are ribbed with gold 

 twist to add to their conspicuity ; and the hackle 

 of the brightest shades, to be obtained of the main 

 or predominant colours of the hare's flax. I make 

 the flax stick out from the body, so as to mingle 

 with the fibres of the feather. In some kinds of 

 the redder hare's flax I put a rusty-red hackle, 

 with gold twist ; to others more silvery, a ginger- 

 red hackle almost yellow. Then, again, for very 

 low water, with very bright sun, I use a lot of 

 stained flies, made with bodies of lamb's wool, 

 such as ladies work with ; some of the colour of 

 an infantry soldier's coat, with ginger-red hackle 

 and gold twist, on a No. 7 hook ; and capital 



