FISH AND FISHING. 



HOW GOOD RODS ARE MADE. 



ROBERT L. ARMIT. 



I note, with great interest, the articles 

 in Recreation for and against the steel 

 rod, and it may interest some of your 

 readers to know that a few years ago ex- 

 haustive experiments were made in Eng- 

 land, by an eminent engineer, on rods of 

 different construction and material. De- 

 flection, resilience, number of vibrations 

 before coming to rest, with various 

 weights, as well as specific gravity and 

 breaking weight, were all duly considered. 

 The specimens tested were: Double built 

 split cane, with steel center (hexagonal) ; 

 double built split cane (hexagonal); single 

 built split cane, with steel center (hexa- 

 gonal); single built split cane; greenheart 

 and cane built; greenheart built; hickory 

 built; solid greenheart, round; lancewood; 

 hollow steel. 



All these specimens were manufactured 

 by one of the best rod makers in England, 

 for whom the report in question was made. 



I will not go into technical details be- 

 yond saying that the specimen sections 

 used were all 24 inches long and 32-100 

 of an inch in diameter, for the round rods; 

 the sides of each triangular section of the 

 hexagonal rods measuring 16-100 of an 

 inch. The length of the portion of the 

 rod extending beyond the vice was styled 

 the length used. The steel center is about 

 the size of a good sized knitting needle 

 and is tapered. 



The best results were obtained by the 

 double built split cane with steel center, 

 closely followed by the double built, single 

 built with steel center, and single built 

 split cane. 



A leading authority on modern fly fish- 

 ing, in summing up the results of these 

 tests, writes: "It may be taken as proven 

 that built cane is the best material known, 

 and that there is considerable difference of 

 opinion as to the policy of working a steel 

 center through the rod." 



Great consideration must be given to 

 the number of vibrations before coming to 

 rest. The less the number of vibrations 

 the greater the resilience, a quality es- 

 sential to all fly rods, whether salmon or 

 trout. Could a perfect vacuum be pro- 

 cured, technically speaking, the steel rod 

 would continue to vibrate ad infinitum. 



The steel rod should be indispensable on 

 a prospecting tour, or on any other rough 

 trip where an angler would not wish to 

 risk an expensive split bamboo rod. I 

 certainly agree with Mack W. when he 

 says, "I consider the steel rod far superior 

 to the average split bamboo rod," but the 



average split bamboo rod is sawed, not 

 split, the bark (the strongest part of the 

 cane) is often planed off, and both the glue 

 and the varnish are rubbish. When one 

 takes into consideration the great amount 

 of labor and expense involved in the man- 

 ufacture of the first-class article, viz., se- 

 lecting the cane, of which more than one- 

 half is useless for rod making, and splitting 

 and fitting the same; the gluing, which 

 takes some months, as the glue in the in- 

 terior takes a long time to become thor- 

 oughly hard and dry; then the balancing, 

 and finally the winding and varnishing, it 

 will be clearly seen that a first-class rod, 

 even under the most favorable circum- 

 stances, must be a very expensive article. 

 It must cost $20 to $30. However, it is 

 safe to say that one of these, if properly 

 cared for, will last a lifetime and handle 

 anything within reason. 



Mack W.'s comparisons, while amusing, 

 are of hardly any value, practical or tech- 

 nical. We see him handling salmon trout 

 with a steel rod, and Mr. Warner catch- 

 ing "mummychogs" with a split bamboo, 

 to us of unknown make; verily a striking 

 example of the great capacity of individuals 

 to differentiate. Surely a just comparison 

 of 2 different rods must in no way be de- 

 pendent on a personal factor in the equa- 

 tion. Mack W. may be a far better angler 

 than Mr. Warner; in which case it is 

 fair to assume that, were he to use a split 

 bamboo, of standard make, and Mr. 

 Warner a hollow steel rod, he would con- 

 tinue to hook and land salmon trout to 

 Mr. Warner's "mummychogs." 



Personally, I consider the orthodox pat- 

 tern of the split bamboo rod too supple; 

 in fact, uselessly so. However, I offer my 

 opinion with the greatest diffidence. 



The modern school of fly fishermen, 

 especially those who fish with the dry fly, 

 seem to favor the use of the double tapered 

 line, very fine at the ends and quite thick 

 in the middle. These lines, of course, re- 

 quire a somewhat stiffer rod than the ordi- 

 nary, and with more lifting power in them. 

 However, a good performer can cover a 

 rising fish at 15 to 25 yards and cast into 

 the teeth of any wind short of a gale. These 

 things are impossible with an ordinary 

 rod, and are great advantages, especially 

 when fishing clear, slow running streams 

 in which the trout are shy and where keep- 

 ing out of sight is so essential to success. 



Rod makers should consult those of 

 their customers who are good practical 

 anglers as to the best style of fly rod, in- 

 stead of making what they consider the 

 correct style, regardless of the test of ac- 

 tual experience. 



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