98 FLIES, FLY-DRESSING, ETC. 



two rods will be very nearly in the proportion of 

 twenty-five to thirty-five. 



We are thus particular, in order to show anglers 

 that the additional power of casting is proportionally 

 less with every foot added, and that a ten-foot rod 

 is really a very serviceable weapon. Even with a 

 rod of nine feet we very rarely have occasion to exert 

 its casting powers to their full extent. Fly-fishing, 

 if properly and quickly done, is hard work ; and the 

 angler must on no account use a rod in the least 

 degree heavier or longer than he can thoroughly 

 manage with one hand. 



The great essential, however, for the fly-rod is 

 stiffness. We have already, when treating of rods, 

 mentioned the advantages a stiff rod possesses over a 

 supple one ; and we may perhaps startle some of our 

 readers, who are accustomed to consider a pliant rod 

 indispensable for fly-fishing, by saying that a much 

 stiffer rod is necessary for this branch of the art than 

 any other. For reasons which will be afterwards 

 shown, the flies should first fall on the water, and as 

 little of the line with them as possible. To accom- 

 plish this, considerable force must be employed in 

 casting, and the rod must be stopped pretty suddenly. 

 If this is attempted with a supple rod, it would bend 

 till it almost touched the water, and then recoil, 

 throwing the line only a short distance. A supple 

 rod may answer tolerably for fishing down with 

 the wind, but for fishing up, or fishing any way either 

 against or sideways to the wind, it is perfectly useless. 



