The Rod and Reel on Salt Water. 
I.—Construction of Surf Rods and the Selection 
of Tackle, Together with their Care. 
The most important step in the construction 
of a surf-casting rod is the selection of the 
wood. While authorities differ as to the kind 
of wood, none do upon the point that it should 
be straight grained and free from blemish. 
While there are many woods—as lancewood, 
snakewood, greenheart, bethabara—which make 
really good rods, there is small doubt but that 
greenheart is king of them all. Snakewood 
makes the most sightly rod, as it takes on a 
high polish, and its beautifully mottled effect is 
strikingly handsome, but it does not have the 
superb resiliency of greenheart, nor the extreme 
toughness of fiber of lancewood, and resiliency 
is the chiefest charm of a rod. It is the quick 
snappy action characteristic of greenheart which 
makes it such a prime favorite for surf-casting 
rods. Doubtless there are many anglers who do 
not have the remotest idea of the proper con¬ 
struction of a rod, nor the full meaning of the 
term “surf-casting.” 
If technique is required in placing the fly in 
the desired pool or ripple, with the long willowy 
rod of the trout fisherman, skill and strength 
are requisites in the performance of the surf 
angler, standing on the sandy beach, driving his 
four-ounce sinker and heavily-baited hook 150 
or 200 feet seaward, perchance in the face of a 
half gale of wind. And what of the rod? To 
withstand the severe strain it must be the best, 
both in material and workmanship. The bargain 
counter product which may be sold as “just as 
good” would be a sorry looking object after a 
single hour’s use in the hands of the surf fisher¬ 
man among a school of bluefish; indeed, it would 
be a question whether the first strike would not 
put it out of use. 
The surf-casting rod should never have more 
than two parts. The butt should be eighteen to 
twenty inches in length—governed somewhat by 
the length of the arm of the owner—should be 
turned from a good piece of white hickory or 
other hard, strong wood and fitted with a neat 
German silver butt cap, at the other end a heavy 
German silver reel seat to intersect and lock 
the tip of the rod in the space between the butt 
cap and the reel seat. 
It may be wound with either cork, hard-laid 
seine twine or heavy fishing line. The latter, if 
the rodmaker be a novice, is the most practi¬ 
cable, as it is much easier to put on than either 
cork or cane. It should be laid on in a thin 
coating of glue. First put on the wood, the 
winding to be carefully done, covering all the 
wood, and when completed the end drawn under 
the winding and carefully clipped, so that neither 
the beginning nor the ending shall show. After 
this two coats of good shellac should be applied 
and as many of good varnish to prevent the 
water entering, and to preserve the wrapping 
and wood indefinitely. The tip should be in 
one piece, the length to be governed somewhat 
by the height of the angler. A long casting rod 
in the hands of a man of short stature is a snare, 
for the tip almost invariably hits the ground, 
thereby breaking the cast. No matter what wood 
may be settled on for use, accept none that is 
not perfectly straight grained. It should be split 
out—never sawn. 
The dowel which locks down in the butt into 
a corresponding cup should first be worked on, 
after which the male ferrule should be carefully 
turned on. Above this a hand grip of six inches 
should be wound in the same way as the butt 
piece and tapered to the winding check, which 
is a narrow German silver band of one-half inch 
in length and constitutes the proper finish of the 
grip. The balance of the tip must be worked 
PLAYING A DRUMFISH IN THE SURF AT BARNEGAT 
BEACH, NEW JERSEY. 
to a gradual taper, so that the spring of the rod, 
which is so essential to successful surf-casting, 
will be equally distributed throughout its entire 
length After the general taper has been given 
to the tip by rough planing, a small iron finish¬ 
ing plane may be employed, and by keeping the 
rod turning almost continuously, this tool will 
bring the rod to the sandpaper stage. The 
amateur constructing his first rod will need prac¬ 
tice and patience. There will be problems to be 
worked out, which it is impossible to give rule 
for, but by thorough diligence and the exercise of 
the above virtue he will find himself possessed 
of an asset that is above price. When the rod 
is brought down nearly to its proper diameter 
the chances are strong that the inexperienced 
hand will encounter his most serious difficulty; 
namely, a set or curve caused by the action of 
the atmosphere on the freshly exposed wood 
fiber. This need cause no uneasiness, for by 
heating the outward course of the rod to a point 
just short of charring, then springing it back 
in the natural direction of a straight line and 
briskly rubbing with the hand, it will be possible 
in nearly every case to straighten the rod per¬ 
manently. As a precaution it might be well to 
add, never steam a curved or sprung tip to 
straighten it, as it destroys the life of the rod. 
Sandpapering should be thoroughly done, leav¬ 
ing no suggestion of unevenness, and by using 
successive degrees of fineness a surprising finish 
may be imparted to the wood. 
When thoroughly smoothed, lay on three coats 
of good rubbing varnish, and when perfectly dry 
rub down with good pumice stone and linseed 
oil, after which the guides, which should be of 
agate and of good size double mounted, should 
be whipped on with silk of a color to suit the 
fancy of the owner. The whipping should be 
gone over with shellac at least twice to insure 
protection from the salt water, and two good 
coats of varnish now laid over the whole rod, 
after which a slight rubbing with pumice stone 
and oil may be given, and then a thorough rub¬ 
bing down with the palm of the hand, as in 
piano finishing, will bring out the grain of the 
wood and impart a most beautiful polish. An 
agate casting tip completes the rod, and if care¬ 
fully constructed as described, it will be beauti¬ 
ful as well as serviceable. It is understood that 
there are rodmakers who will construct such a 
rod at a cost from $18 to $25 and will guarantee 
against ordinary breakage. 
As with rods so with reels. The market is 
flooded with the cheap bargain counter variety, 
but such are not worth carrying home for this 
class of fishing. The watchword should be in 
relation to all surf tackle: the best, the very best 
the purse will allow. The reel should be at 
least 2-0 in size and of high grade rubber and 
German silver. The new throw-off reels are 
most admirable in this class of fishing, as the 
device permits only the spool to revolve when 
the cast is made, the handle remaining station¬ 
ary. Such reels cost from $25 to $50 each, 
are as near perfection as can be imagined and 
will, if given proper care, last many years and 
give their owner unbounded satisfaction. 
It would be a matter of surprise to the un¬ 
initiated to visit the tackle stores of the 
metropolis and see to what high state the reel 
manufacturers have carried their trade in their 
finest productions. While perfect in outline and 
proportion, the mechanism of the best material 
known to the artisan is as carefully constructed 
and adjusted as the finest chronometer, and is 
almost as noiseless in action. 
The line, which has been aptly termed the 
connecting link between the angler and his 
quarry, must be of the best material and work¬ 
manship. The twisted or laid line only should be 
used, for it is a question if there has yet been 
made a braided line that is of any service in this 
class of fishing no matter what the material. 
The line should be at least 600 feet in length. 
There are two terms used by line manufacturers, 
namely, “regular” and “special,” the special lines 
having more threads to a given diameter than 
