122 The Determined Angler 



and line may be held clear of the underbrush and 

 branches. In all cases keep the rod ahead of you. 

 When disjointed, the rod pieces may be held together 

 by small rubber bands until the rod case is made use of, 

 but don't lay the rod away with the rubber bands 

 intact, as the rubber will bend the tip out of shape, 

 dislodge the wood coating, disturb the whipping, and 

 tarnish the ferrules. Dr. E. F. Conyngham of Bonner, 

 Mont., doesn't like my notion of carrying the rod tip 

 first. The Doctor says he favors carrying it butt first 

 with the tip trailing behind. "I have fished with a 

 fly for trout and salmon nearly forty years in Europe 

 and this continent," says the Doctor, "and never yet 

 saw an expert Angler carry a rod in the way described 

 by Mr. Bradford. That is just the proper caper to 

 break tips. The rod in going through brush should be 

 carried butt forward ; then the tip will trail as easily as 

 the tail on a dog, and furthermore, you can walk at 

 good speed without interference. In my many years 

 of fly fishing I have had one broken tip; a woman 

 knocked it down and stepped on it. Luckily it was 

 lancewood, so I could repair it. What would have been 

 my predicament had the rod been of split bamboo?" 

 Very good, Doctor. I may be wrong but, I learned 

 my way from my fathers of the angle Seth Green, 

 John Harrington Keene, Frederick Mather, William 

 C. Harris, et al. when I was being taught first lessons 

 in fly-fishing. Seth Green, John Keene, and Harris 

 personally advised me to carry the fly rod tip in front 

 of me, and each of the trio personally showed me the 

 method on the trout streams. Harris and Keene 

 always carried their fly rods tip first, and I have seen 

 both these experts along the streams many times 

 during many years of personal fishing with both of 



