Keep Your Head Above Water 



Mr. Will R. Willan, of Sunnyside Farm, Mor- 

 gantown, Indiana, has here written a bully fishing 

 story and those who are just about to step into the 

 fly fishing game will enjoy it hugely. Many of us 

 own Hardy and Leonard rods, but I question whether 

 any of us ever got more fun out of them than did 

 Mr. Willan with his mail order outfit. 



Over twenty years ago I contracted a case of fly 

 fever, and thought I would try fly fishing for bass. 

 So I sent to a large mail order house and got a com- 

 bination fly and bait rod which cost me $4.00. It 

 was a four- joint rod. The butt and second joint 

 were of ash; the third one, and tips, were lancewood. 

 There were two fly-tips; a heavy tip for bait-fishing 

 and a short tip in the hollowed end of the butt. It 

 was a whale of a rod, but not a " Whalen." It was 

 twelve feet in length I do not know the weight; 

 but the butt alone weighed ten ounces. 



I paid $2.50 for a reel, but got a good one of a 

 well-known make. The line was some line; I don't 

 know how many pounds it would take to break it, 

 but I would hate to be strung up by the neck with 

 it. For flies, I had six, a red one, a black one, a white 



184 



