Fly rods are sometimes made to attach their joints by screws at the butt ends. Whipping rods so made is of course unnecessary, but I do not approve of screw-jointed rods, as they cannot be made sufficiently light and pliable.
THE REEL.
I prefer the spring cog-check wheel, which, when the line is lengthened or shortened, makes a noise like that caused by winding up a clock. By this reel the line may be lengthened or shortened with sufficient rapidity, and with precisely, and no more than the proper resistance, the checks preventing the line running out too fast. This reel is, I think, far preferable to the multiplying reel, which is very liable to get out of order.
THE LINE.
I prefer a horsehair line. In length it should be proportioned to the size of the river you fish. For large rivers seventy or eighty yards are not too much; for narrow rivers thirty or forty yards are sufficient. It should gradually taper towards the end to which the gut or tail line is attached, so that from four to five yards should be little thicker than the gut itself. The gut, or tail line, should be at least three yards long; thick and strong for rainy and windy weather and discoloured water. It cannot be too fine for bright weather and clear water, with little wind.
CHAPTER II.
ARTIFICIAL FLIES.
Volumes have been written on this subject, teaching the manner of making hundreds of different artificial flies, the materials and paraphernalia requisite for the finished fly-maker, the particular flies proper for various rivers, and for each month of the fishing season, &c., &c. All this, I consider, is perfectly useless, and I am decidedly of opinion, that when trout are disposed to take the fly, it matters not what fly is used, as to shape or colour, provided it be of the proper size. When trout are not disposed to take the fly, you may try all the flies in your book, without success. I have, by way of experiment, fished during an entire season with the coachman and governor only, and have been uniformly successful with those two flies, even during the May fly season, when the water has been covered with May flies, and the fish taking them greedily. The May fly is doubtless a great favourite with trout, and I would not recommend fishing with any other fly during the May fly season, although trout will take them before, as well as after the season. These flies make their appearance about the end of May, and disappear about the end of June.