12 SINGLE versus DOUBLE-HANDED RODS. 



flight of the natural insect. And this can only be at 

 best but partially and clumsily accomplished by casting 

 the line in such a manner as that the end fly may only 

 on all occasions first reach the water, then the droppers 

 in succession ; while as little of the remainder of the gut 

 line as possible must be allowed to be immersed. And 

 unless those maxims are strictly obeyed, I tremble both 

 for the sportsman's reputation and patience, even should 

 he be a member of " the Society of Friends." Now mark 

 the proceedings of a man with his great lumbering 

 double-handed rod of 16 or I 1 ? feet in length, pitching 

 with might and main a line thick and strong enough to 

 haul any shark ashore. You will observe at each 

 laborious effort that the first portion of the line which 

 reaches the water is somewhere about one-half of its 

 length from the tip of the rod to the tail fly, and that it 

 makes a splash not a vast deal less than the ricochet of a 

 68 Ib. shot upon the water, proclaiming its advent to 

 the finny world below by a series of wide-spreading 

 surges ; while the flies perform a bounding somersault 

 in order to reach their destination. Thus he goes on, 

 repeating this leap-frog system at every cast, no doubt 

 to the mortal terror of the fish. This method may occa- 

 sionally succeed in deep muddy rivers in some parts of 

 the country, but in any ordinary fly-fishing stream it 

 will be found as unsuccessful as it is clumsy. 



It is very evident that a light well-made single- 

 handed rod must have a great advantage over the un- 

 wieldy double one, so far as nicety and precision of 

 casting is concerned ; while the only advantage to be 



