July, 1921 
FOREST AND STREAM 
299 
THE WEAPONS TO USE FOR BASS 
A FRANK DISCUSSION ON CASTING RODS AND TACKLE GLEANED FROM MANY YEARS 
OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN FISHING FOR THE BRONZE-BACKED WARRIOR 
By BEN C. ROBINSON 
T HE chief requirements for a good 
bass rod are as tedious of enu- 
meration as the necessary points 
that go toward making up the pedi- 
gree of a thoroughbred horse or set- 
ter. In fact, I doubt whether they 
have ever all come to light as yet. 
Any old-time angler will appreciate 
this fact, and inform one that, al- 
though there are rods and rods, there 
are, after all, but a 
very few that are 
really worthy of a con- 
tinued use by the bass 
fisherman, day after 
day, upon the waters 
of his favorite ponds 
and streams. 
As to the best ma- 
terial for the construc- 
tion of a rod, I do not 
suppose there ever will 
be a satisfactory me- 
d i u m established. 
There are some who 
will recommend the 
bamboo, others t h « 
lancewood and so on 
through the list of re- 
silient woods familiar 
to any rod collector, 
and yet there is an- 
other class of fish- 
ermen who tell us 
that there is only one single material 
to be considered at all, and that is 
steel. They are all sincere in their 
likes and dislikes, and their favorites 
are, to them personally, the only kind. 
I have had some experience along 
this line, and know how to sympathize 
with these idealists. There is one par- 
ticular old split-bamboo fly rod that I 
have in mind at the present writing 
which, although warped and battered 
with the rough usage of many years’ 
hard campaigning on stream and lake, 
has been given a place in the most 
sacred niche of my possessions. I often- 
times recall, as I lovingly run my hand 
over its tarnished ferrules and ragged 
windings, the many hapny days that 
I have followed its tip along some of 
the best bass streams I have ever 
known. It has been through the mill 
and never yet has it played me false, 
always responding to the vicious lunge 
or the unlooked for strike with a 
grace and staunchness that has made it 
my pet; it hangs ,iust right. 
Day after day have I whipped my 
lures with it and each evening a strong. 
untired arm has invariably come in 
with my lagging feet. There are few 
things in this world that a fisherman 
loves stronger and deeper than his 
trusty old rod, and it is with such 
understanding that I look upon the host 
of arguments advanced among my 
angling friends as to the virtues of their 
silent comrades. 
Among others that I might mention 
is an old 5 foot lancewood bait rod, 
which is some place under God’s golden 
sunlight at the present time I trust, 
that will never be forgotten by me. I 
used it for one trip through the kind- 
ness of a friend, and the memory of 
the muskies that the faithful old stick 
clung to and brought to gaff for me 
taught me to look upon its aged ap- 
pearance with something akin to rev- 
erence. 
A GOOD rod is a mighty difficult 
thing to choose at first sight. 
Nothing but a spell of hard usage 
will serve to bring out its good and 
bad ' points. The restful balance, the 
resiliency of the entire thing and the 
strength, so that one can come to place 
reliance in it, thereby banishing wor- 
ry and nervousness, all these good qual- 
ities will come to the front with good, 
steady usage under all sorts of weather 
and stream conditions. 
When these qualities are found to be 
'a part of the rod and when they are 
allied with that undefinable something 
which causes one to put all his trust 
into the most important item of his 
possessions, then it is safe to say that 
the rod is a good one and, regardless 
of price or maker, worthy of a place 
in his kit. 
There are rod makers, of course, who 
make it a rule to try and build into 
their rods all these things that serve 
to constitute a perfectly satisfying tool, 
and they place before the buyer an 
article that as a rule 
can be relied upon. 
With this in mind it 
is then but a question 
with the intended buy- 
er as to the material 
he wishes his rod built 
of. 
For general, a 1 1 
around hard service I 
have about come to the 
opinion that the steel 
rod is the safest one 
to take a chance on. 
There is no doubt but 
that it will stand up 
under the most severe 
strain and climatic con- 
d i t i o n s. Equipped 
with agate tip it makes 
a model casting rod. 
On the other hand 
I personally pre- 
fer a split - bamboo 
or wooden rod when it comes to casting 
bait day in and day out; it seems to 
me that there is a sensitive vitality 
within the bamboo and wooden rods 
that can not be found in the metal. This 
might possibly be due to personal pre- 
dilection, as I have always favored the 
use of the bamboo in my angling, but 
at any rate it is a good, safe material 
to pin one’s faith to. 
After bamboo I have found lance- 
wood a good rod material. There is a 
liveliness and pleasing lightness to it 
that makes a rod of that construction 
dainty and satisfying to use. In play- 
ing a hooked fish I do not know of a 
rod that telegraphs all the details of 
the fish’s actions more vividly than the 
lancewood; there should be at least one 
of these rods in every man’s outfit. 
A great many virtues found in a rod 
are due to the nature of its fittings in 
the way of windings and guides. The 
bamboo and the wooden rods should be 
well wound with some good grade of 
silk in order to insure them against 
solitting at the seams and checking, 
and over all should be applied several 
Finding out the good and bad points of a casting rod 
