Practical Dry-Fly Fishing 



bamboo. For dry-fly fishing the rod 

 should have plenty of what is com- 

 monly known as "backbone"; that is, 

 it should not be weak or "whippy." 

 It may be nine, nine and one-half, or 

 ten feet long, though, perhaps, the ten- 

 foot rod is the favorite.* It is impos- 

 sible to describe a rod adequately 

 by merely giving weight for length, 

 for the very simple reason that one 

 nine-foot rod of six ounces may have 

 much less power, backbone, and resili- 

 ency, than another of the same length 

 weighing four and one-half ounces. 

 What are known as four-ounce or five- 

 ounce tournament rods, weighing four 

 and three-quarter ounces and five and 

 one-half or five and three-quarter 

 ounces, respectively (an allowance of 



*The favorite of all rods used by the author is 

 nine feet long and weighs, with metal reel seat, four 

 and three-quarter ounces. 



[28] 



