The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-07-21
sPLlT-BAMBoO BAlT-cAsTIMGRo ROD


Ny Dear Buck:
Without a doubt, old-timer, the one
piece rod is the ideal bait caster, but
when it comes to toting it around, it
IS the unhundiest article one could
find in years travel. You simply
cannot tote it along on trip without
the haunting fear that someone will
assist you to break il, but once on the
water with O little old One-piece split
bamboo rod, 1t shows up like four-of-a-
kind after lean run. For the perma-
nent fishing camp or the chap that Is
lucky enough to live right close TO
good fishing waters, there is no bet
ter rod than the One-piece.
For the two-pieCe rod there Is but
one style of construction that should
be considered, and that is the short
butt and long tip. A rod of this kind
comes the nearest to having the same
amount of action and strength as the
one-piece rod as the ferrule is set well
down below the center, allowing the
strain to be distributed equally ana
giving the bamboo chance to spring
without being sti1fened by a ferrule.
and the action killed. This short butt.
long-tip construction gives you snap
DIV rod that shoots out the cast without
unnecessary strain on the wrists ana
arm. In selecting a rod of two-plece
construction, side-step the rod with
the ferrule directly in the middle, the
point of greatest strain In landing a
fish.
I Three-Piece Handy to Garry.
The main thing in favor of the
three-piece rod is the fact that you can
! stick 1t in q suitcase and carry 1t With
out any bother. Every place you put
a ferrule on rod kills that much
more resiliency in the bamboo. The
! ferrule is unbend0ble and at that point
comes the break when the load on the
bamboo Is too severe, this is hum
dred to one shot and you can play II
clean across the board and never take
q chance on your money. Although
serrated ferrules are used In the more
expensive rods, they cannot eliminate
the severe strain which generally
causes the rod to break either right
above or below the ferrule. Even at
that. the three-piece rod is stronger
than the two-piece rod when the fer
rule on the latter is in the middle.
Early in the bait-Casting game the
rods were generally made either four
or four and half feet in length Dut
as the sport grew in popularity, they
stretched them up to six and haif
feet. making all stops between. 1t is
matter OF personal choice as to length,
probably the most popular size belhg
the five footer. This makes rod that
has O good swing to it and still car
ries enough backbone to hold the big
ones, and at the same time is long
enough to give fine play in landing the
fish. For overhead casting while sit
ting in boat, the five-foOter makes an
ideal size. and is about right for dis
lance casts. Split-bamboo rods aver
age about an ounce to the foot, and
at that rate a five-footer would only
tax your wrists to the tune OF nVe
ounces. which isn't such a great OLD
load TO toss around during the days
fishing.
Fittings for the Rod.
The fittings Of the rod are an impor'
tant feature-they not only add to the
life of the rod but also II Of the right
kind. add to casting qualities, and eV-
ery little help to lessen the effort ana
work Of casting makes quite differ
ence in a few hours fishing. The FER
rules should be of German silver
they are stronger and better maze
than the brass ferruleS which are gen.
erally nickel-plated, and many de-
feet can be hidden under coating OF
| nickel.
The selection of the hand grip, as
TO STYLE, lies between the single ano
. the double grip After O days cast
ing with the double grip you Will won
der how you ever got along without IL
1 If is far more comfortable to fsf
with, the upper grip giving you
l tirmer and easier hold on the rod IL
t reellng in the line, and at the same
time eliminating the cranped position
< Of the left hand. II you have never
. USED the uOuDIe 6iiP, Oio A'N'
Yourself to good thing and seiec
: that STYLE in your next rod. In tn
way of material, the solid cork grip
0 which Is really made of series
). cork washers, makes the finest grip II
the game and 1t sure has soft feel t
the hand.
: OF course you will want lockin
raeI seat. the majority Of rods hav
q them anyway and who wants to thro'
his reel into the drink right at To
time when he has chance to hook To
big one. Flnger-pulls are going IL
tie into the discard, but 1t Is no al:
,, grace to have one on your ROD an
l. at that 1t assists the short-hngere
caster to maintain better control ove
his casts. II you feel that you wi
l. have better control over your re
I with the finger pull, get it-you're II