320 APPENDIX. 



every angler who takes pride in his casting or his tools, no 

 matter how cheap they are. The best proof of the supe- 

 riority of the bamboo rod is the fact of its general use at 

 all public tournaments where its power has been proved 

 by a cast of over eighty feet with a four and a half ounce 

 rod. 



*Lii giving the weight of a trout rod, it should be stated 

 whether the ordinary mountings are included, as they 

 make a difference of several ounces. The fly-rod that in 

 a tournament would be called a four or five-ounce rod, 

 would in the hands of the sportsman be found to weigh 

 nine or ten ounces. When a weight is given in these 

 pages, the full weight of mountings is intended, so that a 

 nine-ounce rod is what the professionals would call a 

 five-ounce rod. 



Great strides have been made by professional fly-casters 

 in the matter of length of cast since this book was first 

 written. Then a cast of seventy feet was considered a 

 very long reach, but now eighty-five feet have been cast 

 with a rod of four and seven-eighths ounces, and eighty- 

 seven feet with a twelve-ounce rod. The rods in these 

 cases are heavy at the tip, and are not well adapted to ordi- 

 nary fly-fishing and would soon tire out the strongest 

 wrist. They are in all instances made out of split bamboo. 

 In bass-casting, that is what is called Cuttyhunk fashion, 

 the public trials have not been satisfactory, the casts not 

 having been scored at much over one hundred and sixty 

 feet. But there is no doubt that with the regulation 

 weight of two and a half ounces, at least tw r o hundred and 

 twenty feet can be cast. To make very long casts with a 

 fly, it is essential not only to have a stiff rod and to fasten 

 on the droppers with short snells, but to put double gut at 



