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muscles and sinews should stick to it, and the lazy, 

 mediocre angler will prefer it ; but the ambitious sports- 

 man, who wants to be "head of the heap," and do the 

 best that can be done, who must cast over a " break to 

 windward," or reach a promising spot a long way off, or 

 jerk his fly under an overhanging brancli if there is a 

 hope that a trout ]\<i8 perdu near the bank on the other 

 side, and who demands a tool that will respond to his 

 efforts, will condemn it as not up to the mark. Mr. 

 Thaddeus JN orris made his rods, which were of the double 

 action, with a ridge on each side, so as to give them 

 more stiffness if they were held edge forward, but we 

 were never convinced that this remedied the difficulty. 



The great point in selecting a rod is for the angler to 

 adopt the kind that is suited to him ; get one that 

 gives play to his best powers, and then stick to it. This 

 is not an easy matter, and our readers will be fortunate 

 if they succeed without many trials and much disap- 

 pointment. There is always one rod that suits one man, 

 and possibly there may never be another. The endeavor 

 is to bring these together, and once joined tliey should 

 never be sundered till death doth them part. But it is 

 no easy matter for the fisherman to tell just when he 

 has the rod that fits his body and mind. He gets accus- 

 tomed to one, and a new one comes " awkward " to him 

 for a time. At present prices they are expensive play- • 

 things, and only the richest gentleman can go on testing 

 results at a cost ot twenty five to fifty dollars for each 

 experiment. We can only assist in the process by mak- 

 ing such suggestions as we have offered above. 



In winning matches in fly casting, and in acquiring a 

 great reputation for casting prodigious length of line, the 

 rod is of essential importance. It must be backed by 

 skill and strength ; but if it is weak and faulty, its owner 



