FISH AND FISHING. 
NOTES OF A RUSSIAN ANGLER. 
BARON PAUL TCHERKASSOV, 
The following notes have accumulated 
during more than 30 years’ experience as 
an angler and amateur tackle maker. 
Notwithstanding the great improve- 
ments in rod making in the last 25 years, 
there are some points about the average 
rod of the present day which are not alto- 
gether satisfactory. The first of these is 
the manner in which ferrules are secured 
to the joints. This is done by means of 
pins, which, in the majority of rods, are 
6, iat 
in the wrong places; too high in the male, 
or counter ferrule, and too low in the fe- 
male ferrule ; i. e., in both cases, too near 
the rim of the ferrule where it overlaps 
the. wood. The result is that the wood is 
weakened at the point where it is subjected 
to the greatest strain, its elasticity being 
interrupted by the rigid metal ferrule; and 
if there is a smash, it is bound to occur 
just at that point. A further source of 
weakness lies in the exaggerated length of 
tenons, tongues, or dowels, with corre- 
sponding depth of sockets for them. In 
the accompanying tracing (1) a-b indicates 
the usual position of the pins in the aver- 
age rod, while A-B shows the position in 
which they would prove just as efficient 
and much less objectionable. In rods with 
flush ferrules, without tenons or dowels, the 
pin of the female ferrule could be shifted 
higher still, to the position indicated by B’. 
Taking into consideration that all mate- 
rials, except steel, used in the construction 
of rods, shrink under the action of dry 
air, that a ferrule-sick rod is an abom- 
ination, and that it is important to make it 
possible for the angler to cure his rod of 
133 
that sickness without having to send 
it to the rod maker, all pins ought to be 
put through so as to enable one to push 
them out when necessary, with the assis- 
tance of the simplest tools; a piece of knit- 
ting needle and something like a hammer. 
This is important, as it is unpleasant and 
dificult to worm out a ferrule pin in order 
to tighten the ferrule itself. 
Elastic rubber cement, melting at a low 
heat, ought to be used for fixing the fer- 
rules on to the wood. The cements used 
formerly to secure the solid rubber tires to 

; 
the metal rims of cycles ought to fill the 
bill exactly. The cement I have used con- 
sists of gutta percha, such as used in the 
manufacture of artificial baits, with or 
without the addition of powdered shellac. 
I have lately come into possession of a 
14 foot split cane grilse rod in which the 
position of the through pins in the male 
ferrules corresponds exactly with the posi- 
tion shown in the accompanying tracing. 
Then there is the old question of flush 
versus dowelled joints. I decidedly pre- 
fer the former, and never have had the 
slightest difficulty in getting a perfect, 

smooth, suction fit with them, making all 
kinds of locking devices superfluous. If 
there is such a demand for dowelled joints 
as to compel the makers to continue their 
manufacture, the length of the dowel or 
tenon ought to be reduced. The following 
ratio is satisfactory: length of dowel stands 
to length of that part of male ferrule which 
engages with female ferrule as 1 to 3. 
In England of late years, the loose rings 
and keepers, which were formerly consid- 
ered best for fly rods, whether intended 
for trout or for salmon, have been sup- 
