March 14, 1908.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
mtt joints of heavy fly-rods size A is the proper 
hing. It is the commercial size that can be ob- 
ained anywhere. Size O is suitable for joints, 
ind size OO for tips of most rods, while for 
our and five-ounce fly-rods OO is best. One 
eason for this is that on tips the heavier silk 
s likely to be cut through by the line as it 
hoots through the guides in casting the fly, 
vhereas the finer silk windings may be un¬ 
affected. On tournament fly-rods, when the 
ine is coiled on a platform that is covered with 
;rit, it is not unusual to see the windings of 
ips cut through as if with a dull knife. 
As stated in a previous chapter, smaller sizes 
if silk than A are difficult to obtain of the retail 
rade, but there is a way to so utilize A silk 
hat it will answer every requirement, with a 
asting supply always at hand in the nearest 
ry goods store. This method follows: 
Having selected the colors desired, wind the 
uides and ferrules—if the latter are split or ser- 
ated—with size A. If the ferrule and guide 
•findings are to have borders of another color, 
tave these until the last thing. Take a spool 
if A and cut off a piece a foot long and rub 
his carefully with wax, which must be color- 
ess and free from foreign matter that will 
larken the silk. Twist this piece of silk in the 
ipposite direction to that followed in its manu- 
acture, so that the strands will separate, and 
iold them apart until each one of the three can 
>e removed and laid aside. Now take up one 
)f the strands and wax it thoroughly. It will 
emain a trifle kinky, but that will not matter. 
\fter it is waxed, it will cease trying to snarl 
ip, as at first, and you will have a really strong 
hread of silk floss much softer than the three- 
fly strand from which it was taken. 1 ry it on 
he thin tip of a fly-rod, and you will notice 
hat in winding it will lie flat and spread out a 
rifle, like a ribbon, while it will not look so 
umpy, even, as a thread of OO silk, and after 
he rod has been varnished the windings will be 
ery neat and workmanlike. 
It is obvious that this thread is not as strong 
is three-ply, and it should be tested to deter- 
nine how much strain it will bear without 
>reaking. It is stronger, however, than would 
;e supposed, and I have wound a fly-rod tip 
vith separated strands of O without breaking 
nore than three all told; so that the A strands 
vill give little trouble on this score if prop- 
:rly waxed. 
Of course, in employing this method, you 
cannot work from the spool, but must cut off 
suitable lengths and wax and separate the 
strands before beginning to wind. This is more 
tedious than employing silk direct from the 
spool, but you have the advantage of prepar¬ 
ing the material for several windings at one 
time, and a little experimenting will determine 
how much to cut for certain work. A strand 
fifteen inches in length will make four or five 
narrow windings for a fly-rod tip, but for the 
joint and butt much longer strands will be 
necessary. 
Because of the flat, ribbon-like form of the 
separated strands, fewer turns to each wind¬ 
ing will be the rule than if OO were used; 
but the silk is so thin when tightly wound 
that no objections can be raised to its bulk. 
Given a coat of shellac on the silk only, and 
the entire rod then coated with the best light 
coach varnish, put on while warm, the rod win 
be a work of art, and a finger rubbed over its 
length will barely feel the windings. 
Finally, the thinner the silk employed in 
windings, the less will they be cut and frayed by 
the fly line. A great many of the enameled fly 
FIG. 53- 
lines break, or, rather, the enamel breaks in 
places if much used, so that the line is not 
smooth and wiry as when new, and such lines 
wear the windings rapidly, particularly those in 
which large sizes of silk^are used. I have seen 
new tournament fly-rods with every winding on 
the tips cut entirely through after a few days’ 
use, necessitating considerable expense in re¬ 
newing windings and varnish; but this is often 
due to insufficient varnish in the first place, or 
to coating the rod with shellac instead of good 
varnish. It is much less trouble and cheaper to 
shellac windings, rod and all at one time than 
to shellac the windings, then varnish over all, 
two coats; but it is not so satisfactory to the 
owner of the rod. 
Amateur Rodmaking. 
Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 16. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: I have been much interested in 
your articles on rodmaking. It strikes me that 
the instructions are unusually clear, and I do not 
see why the beginner should have the least 
trouble in following them. Geo. A. Irwin. 
419 
The Sportsmen’s Show Tournament. 
The fly- and bait-casting tournament, held in 
connection with the National Sportsmen’s Show 
in Madison Square Garden, New York city, came 
to an end Saturday night, March 7. Taken alto¬ 
gether, it was one of the best tournaments ever 
held indoors, not because of the number of en¬ 
tries, but for the reason that it attracted the in¬ 
terested attention of a very large number of 
anglers and fly- and bait-casters. Many of these 
men will not enter a contest in a public place, but 
will watch it with the keenest interest. 1 hey also 
attend all the important events, pick up infor¬ 
mation, watch all the actions of the contestants, 
meet fellow anglers and have a good time gen¬ 
erally. 
Scores were made in several of the important 
contests that would have caused a profound sen¬ 
sation ten years ago. To land a half-ounce weight 
in the water 150 feet away, using a free running 
reel, would have been regarded as marvelous then, 
but this was done several times in the recent 
tournament, and when R. C. Leonard scored 177 
feet in one cast and averaged 154 feet 113-5 
inches in five consecutive casts, it was taken as a 
fig. 54. fig. 55- 
matter of course. In that one event five men cast 
over 150 feet. 
In the open fly events one had to cast 95 feet to 
get a place, and the average in the light rod 
events was so high that good casting counted for 
nothing; it had to be of the very best to win. 
The bait-casting events were all held in day¬ 
light, and the fly events at night. The former 
were handicapped by conditions inherent in all 
indoor contests of the sort, but the latter were 
very trying because of lack of clear space for¬ 
ward and back of the casting platform, and the 
absence of strong light. The arena was suffi¬ 
ciently lighted, but this light was offset by the 
water in the tank and the dark background, com¬ 
pelling one to cast the fly as he would in fishing 
for trout after dark. 
The tournament was managed by C. Easman 
Jacobus, who deserves the highest praise for the 
manner in which he conducted it without assist¬ 
ance. Well known anglers acted as the judges in 
the various events, and they and the contestants 
themselves helped to carry the events to a suc¬ 
cessful conclusion, but Mr. Jacobus worked hard 
and faithfully. 
There was only one incident that marred the 
many pleasant features of the affair. That was 
