38 PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 



angler's part, and to hook and land the fish that rise 

 to our flies. 



ACTION 



Good action is an indefinite term when applied to a 

 fly rod as every angler's idea of good action is likely 

 to be different from that of his brothers. Some fly 

 fishermen are slow, methodical workers, cast with great 

 deliberation, and prefer the long " weepy " type of rod 

 and its smooth action ; others cast " snappy," handle a 

 long line without much regard to delicacy and will use 

 nothing but a rod stiff from butt to tip. Between 

 these extremes you will find a multitude of opinions 

 more or less reasonable. 



The English have the theories of rod action whittled 

 down to a fine point, even producing devices to register 

 the number of vibrations in a rod but such matters be- 

 long to the manufacturer not the angler. 



IDEAL BASS ROD 



Without going into a tiresome discussion of the tech- 

 nicalities of rod action the ideal fly rod for bass fishing 

 would be along the lines of the rod used by the dry fly 

 fishermen or the tournament type of rod a rod 

 often described as having " plenty of back bone." Such 

 a rod is a powerful caster, capable of handling a longer 

 line than is commonly used in trouting in this country 

 and with considerable " horse power " in the upper 

 third which is needed as a bass's mouth is bonier and 

 tougher than a trout's and at times one must strike 



