CHAPTER II
The Fly Rod
It would seem that the tentative dry fly caster cannot too carefully consider the details of the rod which he will use in the pursuit of the sport. The majority of anglers cannot well afford a battery of fly-rods; moreover, there is no market for used fishing rods, as in the case of firearms, so that if the rod proves unsatisfactory it cannot be got rid of unless one practically gives it away. It is claimed that, in time, an angler will "grow to" any sort of rod, regardless of its unfitness to him personally or of inherent faultiness in some respect; possibly this is true. Patience is, indeed, a virtue possessed by many good fishermen, but, in this instance, it is safe to say that not one fly-caster in twenty can bring himself to the continued use of a rod from which he derives no pleasure and which actually handicaps him on the stream.
The demands of dry fly casting on the rod are exacting in the extreme. On a river where there is much dry fly water probably the rod does double the amount of work required of the wet fly rod; the need of continually drying the fly by false casting keeps the rod in almost constant action. If the rod is unsuitable in length, balance, or in some other detail of construction, this continual whipping in casting and drying the fly is anything but enjoyable. If the rod is really poorly constructed, of poor material, and thrown together rather than painstakingly fitted, a few hours of dry fly work will surely bring about its relegation to the scrap-heap—where, indeed, it belonged in the first place.
The selection of the rod for dry fly work, then, should be made with deliberation and based upon the best information obtainable. In this connection it may be noted that it is the fashion with a certain class of sportsmen to consider the purchase of a fly-rod which, relatively, may be termed an expensive one, simply a foolish waste of money and entirely a matter of "pretense and affectation." Usually this opinion is wholly the result of misinformation and lack of experience. No angler who ever had the pleasure of a day's fishing with a first-class fly-rod—provided, initially, he possessed sufficient skill and experience to thoroughly appreciate the revelation, for the action of such a rod is, indeed, a revelation to one accustomed to the use of an inferior article—ever willingly returned to the use of the makeshift rod with which perhaps he had theretofore been contented.
The purchaser of a shotgun is usually aware of the fact that beyond a certain limit, varying with guns by different makers, he is paying for finish pure and simple—not for practical shooting efficiency in the weapon. But in the case of the fly-rod this is not true—with due deference to the opinion of the man who holds otherwise, simply, I am sure, because he has yet to cast a fly with a genuine fly-rod. All this, of course, within reason; it should be manifest that a merely "highly ornate" rod spells increased cost without return in practical casting and fishing value. However, the gingerbread fly-rod is so rare that it may safely be disregarded as a factor in the present discussion—also, parenthetically, as a factor in the day's score on the trout stream.
Reducing the matter to the practical dollars-and-cents basis, it may be said in all truthfulness that up to thirty dollars, taking an average of fly-rods by different makers, every additional dollar spent on the rod inevitably means a commensurate increase in the rod's efficiency, serviceability, and all-round desirability. But while no experienced fly-caster would, I believe, take exception to the above, it still remains to be said that if economy is, indeed, an object—and that it is may usually be taken for granted—a very good rod, quite satisfactory in action, hang, and general construction, may be obtained for half the above amount plus some little discretion in its purchase. Wherefore, for the benefit of the sportsman who is willing to grant that only the best of tools are suited to the purpose of the fly-caster, and particularly to the work of the dry fly man, but who, nevertheless, wishes to obtain his outfit with the least expenditure commensurate with real efficiency in the equipment, it would seem desirable to describe briefly the characteristics of a first-class fly-rod.
To the question, Exactly what constitutes a really efficient and satisfactory rod for dry fly-fishing? ninety-nine out of one hundred expert and experienced fly-fishermen—men who have been through the mill, and so far as the rod is concerned, passed the experimental stage of the game—would, I believe, answer at once, with the utmost confidence, practically as follows: A rod constructed by hand, by an experienced rod-maker, of thoroughly seasoned and carefully-selected split-bamboo, in six strips; in length suited to the character of the water and the fishing upon and for which it will be used, having good balance (not heavy in or out of hand), strength, adequate casting power together with a pleasant and resilient action, a speedy not a slow rod, not too pliant nor too stiff, and, finally, beyond reproach in the matter of guides, windings, handgrasp material, ferrules, and so on.