The Outfit — Rods. %\ 



taken with the fly, whether trout or salmon, to the salt- 

 ing-barrel, has always seemed to me a breach of angling 

 propriety but little better than throwing them aside to 

 rot. It is a mere matter of sentiment, I admit; but those 

 are my sentiments. To take salmon wth a single-handed 

 rod is certainly more sportsmanlike, since it requires 

 greater skill and the fish has more chance. It is also 

 more economical, since the contest will be more pro- 

 tracted, and that alternation of hope and fear which 

 constitutes the great charm of salmon-fishing continues 

 for a longer time with each fish. Thus fewer fish furnish 

 more fun, which after all is the main thing. With a 

 canoe as a movable base from which to conduct opera- 

 tions, and a proper reel and line, the angler is sufficiently 

 sure of ultimate victory to warrant the effort; and, stim- 

 ulated by an approving conscience and perhaps just a 

 little dash of self-conceit, the silver sheen and graceful 

 outline of a salmon so taken will far surpass in its cap- 

 tor's eyes — yes, and in the eyes of others — the best that 

 any competing double-handed rod may produce. 



Having decided on the length of the rod, choose one 

 having as nearly as possible the action of the favorite 

 trout-rod. Many err in selecting a rod because they do 

 not handle it in the shop under the conditions to which 

 they are accustomed in the field. The counterpoising 

 effect of the reel should never be guessed at or ignored. 

 It is the balance — or in other words the leverage — of a 

 rod, rather than its actual weight on the scales, which 

 really determines whether a rod of a given length is 

 heavy or light. When poised to test its balance, a prop- 

 erly proportioned rod without the reel will always feel 



