PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 



and taper it, dress over the joinings, and form 

 the butt to your fancy. As soon as it begins 

 to look like a rod, handle it, and tell him from 

 time to time where to take off wood, invariably 

 working from the top downwards (as you must 

 always leave wood enough below to carry the 

 top) : when you find it play to your mind, you 

 may order him to take out the plane marks 

 with a file and sand-paper. Tie a few folds of 

 rag round each splice, and pour boiling water 

 quietly over them for a few minutes, and the 

 joints will separate. Any fisherman can put on 

 the rings, and varnish. When finished, you will 

 find it to handle very much the same as it did 

 from the bench : the rings and varnish about 

 compensating for the filing and sand-paper. 



DIMENSIONS OF A FLY-ROD. 



As example is said to be better than precept, 

 I here give the dimensions, etc., of a home- 

 made fly-rod, for brook-fishing or small rivers 

 (about twelve years old), which seems no worse 

 for wear, and comes very near what a small fly- 

 rod should be. 



This rod consists of three pieces : The butt 

 is of yellow-pine, and is five feet long; the 

 middle is of logwood, four feet long ; the top, 

 also of logwood, is three feet three inches and 

 a half. 



The first splice, on the butt, five inches and 

 a quarter; the second, on the middle, two 

 inches and a quarter. Allowing for the loss by 

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