142 Book of the Black Bass. 



Easton, Pa., and fished in the same waters in New Jersey and 

 Pennsylvania with an old gunsmith of Easton, known among us as 

 ' Old Sam Phillippe.' It was about the year above named that 

 I saw a split-bamboo rod in his possession, and he informed me 

 at the time that he was the originator of the idea; and to him, I 

 earnestly believe, belongs the credit of having first conceived the 

 idea of constructing a rod from such material." 



While certain parties were compelled to concede the pri- 

 ority of Phillippe in this matter, they sought to detract 

 somewhat from his laurels by pronouncing his rods crude 

 affairs, with the added remark that they were not " com- 

 plete," having white ash butts. Now, judging from the 

 rod in my possession, old Sam Phillippe knew just what a 

 trout fly rod should be in its action, both in casting a fly 



Philippe split-bamboo rod in possession of the author. 



and in playing a trout; and it is on these qualities of a 

 rod that its merits should be judged, rather than on the 

 style of its construction or fine appearance. Of course, it 

 is better, and desirable, to have beauty of form combined 

 with excellence of action whenever this is possible; but I 

 have seen hundreds of split-bamboo rods that, while they 

 were all that could be desired as to style and appearance, 

 were sadly lacldng as to the purposes and uses for which 

 they were constructed. 



The ash butt of my Phillippe rod gives just the right 

 amount of backbone, and the bamboo joints just the requi- 



