The record-union., 1891-04-13
PISCATORIAL.
A Few Notes on the Kinds of Rod
and Tackle to Use.
Casting the FIy-Nfethod of killing a
Fish-Some Suggestions for the
ing.
TTruckee Republican,

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Learn to cast fly, and you will never
go back to bait fishing from choice. Get
good flies and you will not regret the
extra money they cost you. Don't buy
cheap imitation or trade-made flies, as
they are no good.
Don't buy pole large enough for
derrick or clothes prop; buy fine rod,
take care of it, and learn to use it
thoroughly. Never buy cheap rod, as a
rod fit for trouting must be as fine as it is
possible to make them, and it should not
make a shadow on the water. Cheap
rods are like cheap guns, sham. Good
trout rods cost good deal of time and
labor, cheap rods are turned out in a
rapid running lathe and are a delusion.
Get the best material of everything you
need, and buy of good maker. Never be
tempted to buy cheap flies because they
are bargains, or cheap rods because some
one is selling out. Cheap things for
trouting are a fraud, a delusion and a
snare.
The rod, of course, is of the most inn
portance in an outfit, as very much de-
ponds on its perfection. For ordinary ny
fishing for trout a rod from nine and a
half to ten feet will be found most conye-
nient. / use a nine and a half foot rod
and find that it meets all my require
ments. 1t is well to let your rod have
weight enough to have some back bone"
in it; very light and Timber rods are OBJ
jectionable, because with them one cam
not east well against or across the wind,
and it is impossible to hook your fish
with any certainty, especially with long
line out, or to handle one properly When
hooked. A timber rod will not react
quickly enough, nor strongly enough to
lift the line and fix the hook firmly, be-
cause when the upward motion is made
in the act of striking, the point of the rod
first goes down, and unless 1t is stiff as 1t
will do to have it and cast well, it Will not
react until the fish has found out his mis-
take and rejected the fraud. The hang,
or balance, of rod is of the greatest I'M
portance. Let it be ever so well made
otherwise, if not properly balanced 1t Will
be worthless.
CASTING THE FLY.
1t is a very difficult matter to teach fly
fishing by mail or in the columns OF a
Newspaper, still there are some general
principles which may be laid down, and
in the absence of teacher some prof.
cheney may be acquired by observing
these rules and by practice: The most
difficult attainment in trout catching is to
be able, with instructive accuracy, to
measure the distance traversed by the
backward movement of your line. If you
begin the return too soon your line will
snap, and thereby endanger your fly; if
you are too tardy it viii drop and thereby
lose the continuity of tension indeSpenSa-
bile to a graceful and effective forward
movement. This essential act can only
be attained by practice. Some attain it
readily. others never. The first thing to
beimpressed upon the novice is not to
attempt long casts; these are for the dis
tant future. Water is by far the best
go IL,
Sistance to the line when retrieving is eX-
actly what he will experience in actual
fishing. Let him procure a good split
bamboo trout rod. 1t should be of mod
crate stiffness, yet with action enough to
do its work without violent eXertion.
The selection of this rod is something he
should consult an expert upon. Between
one stiff as a bean pole, and one of the
Undergo -shiftless things so weak in the
back that when one strikes a fish with it
the tip goes down instead of striking.
Such are called double-action; / would
choose the bean-pole.
THE LINE AND THE ROD
Should fit each other in the exact proper
ton. a heavy line on light and timber
rod is almost as bad a combination as
could be made. Presuming that he has
his line, rod and reel all in proportion,
and fitting each other well, the reel al
ways below his hand, he takes his posi-
tion where there is no obstacle behind
him to interfere with his back cast. 1t is
entirely upon this back east in the re-
trieving OF the line that his success de-
pends. 1t must on no account touch the
ground or water behind him. Let him
begin with about fifteen feet of line, his
rod in an erect position, and then make
forward cast, his elbow close to the body,
and the movement mainly with the wrist;
rs the line lies out upon the water, with
10 tn tS n,-fnp bn oh
draw it back a foot or two slowly, grad
ually increasing its speed, and then with
the spring OF his rod send it behind him
with an upward motion of his wrist. stop
his rod at nearly a vertical position, then
allowing lust as much time for the line TO
be Strengthened out behind as If occupied
in going forward. He should practice
this until he can lay his line straight upon
the water in the spot where he wishes il
to land. When he has accomplished this
to his satisfaction, let him take his left
hand and reel of a few feet more line
while it lies upon the water and before he
retrieves it. The resistance of the water
viii then draw his extra line through the
rings, and he must allow a little more
time for the line to get behind than he did
before. Hemust
ALSO BEAR IN MIND
That ms rod must not stand at a greater
angle than fOrty-five degrees behind him,
Ii
vertical he Will find that it Will 90 back
to about this angle. 1t would be well TO
count one, two, three backward, timing
it as musician counts his beats. As he
gets ont more line it Will be necessary 10
draw it nearer him, in order TO start it
from the water, than when he was max
ing shorter casts, but in all cases he must
start 1t slowly, increasing the speed until
he gives II a twltch which sends il back
always bearing in mind that it is the rod
which is to 90 the work by its spring
and not entirely his muscle. The east of
a fly is a knack which can only be ac-
auired by practice. Should he fail giving
IL time to straighten ont behind him. he
will hear n snap like the crack of wnip.
which, in case he had a fly upon the
leader, would be snapped off; but, should
he give IT too much time, he win find
that the line falls in the water behind him
and impedeS his east. 4 longer east can
be made without flies than with them, as
Al rule, and only when he attainS the pro-
Gciency of having his east 90 straight out
behind him and can start il lust at that
moment when it stTaightens without
looking behind TO see where it is, should
he attempt To use the fly.
There is a peculiar upward motion of
the wrist attained only by practice which
sends the fly, instead OF straight behind
1he caster, up into the air, and an expert
can do this without danger of catching
low bushes, which may be close behind
him. He should beware of slashing his
line forward, in the hope of getting out
by main strength, remembering that the
elasticity of the rod is the projecting
power and that the physical strength OF
the caster is very small factor in send
@ Nj DNC