Rod (fishing)

“ Again, where the favorite pool lies close by the overhanging rock, upon some accommodating ledge of which the angler crawls prone to the earth, hiding from the sharp eye of the watchful fish, he can with a long rod jerk out the line, and twitching it over the surface, beguile the prey; while with a shorter one he might be deprived of concealment, and stand confessed a laughing-stock to the fish, dangling a useless line close to the rocky bank. If the water, the wind, or the fish are strong, the rod should be the same ”

“ Casting the menhaden bait is similar to casting the float and sinker, only the power is enormously increased and deficiencies proportionally magnified. The line is wound up till the bait, if a single one, is almost two feet from the tip, the rod is extended behind the fisherman, who turns his body for the purpose, and then brought forward with a steady but vigorous swing that discharges it without a jerk, like an apple thrown from a stick by rustic youths. ”

“ A slick is the oil of the menhaden floating over the waves, and extended frequently by tide or current a long distance, attracts the bass, by suggesting to them that their prey is near at hand.{154}
Where the water is clear it is customary in rod-fishing, which is the only scientific mode, to use two hooks; the smaller, some two feet below the other is attached to a fine line or gut leader, and denominated without any apparent reason the fly-hook. Many of the best fishermen never use more than one bait, and where the fish are large and plenty, one is sufficient. ”

“ For dry-fly fishing however, and general use, and for almost unending wear, a split-cane rod by one of the first-class makers will probably best suit the requirements of the average man; only in selecting the rod, of whatever pattern, great care should be devoted to getting one which, with reel and line attached, will make a harmonious whole. ”

“ A jointed-rod is convenient for carrying, but if one lives within walking or driving distance of his fishing a rod in one piece, such as is easily made from a slender bamboo with an elastic tip of good wood spliced on, is as good for bait-fishing as any. If besides bait-fishing one desires to use the fly, then the best rod is a rather stout fly-rod about ten feet in length, because it can be used for bait-fishing, while a bait-rod cannot be used to cast a fly. ”

“ They substitute for rod a young cedar sapling, denuded of bark and seasoned by age, and attaching to the upper end a stout cord, fish with the large flannel swathed hook in the rapids and below the falls of the Potomac, at the old chain bridge, and without a reel, kill bass of twenty or thirty pounds.
No spot can be imagined more wild and romantic, and with proper tackle, the reel, the lithe salmon rod, and the artistic fly—no sport can be more exciting. ”

“ The double-built rod—a rod in which each triangular strip of cane, as finally ready for completing the rod, is composed of two strips cemented together, superimposed, thus having two thicknesses of the hard outer enamel—is undoubtedly desirable where great strength is imperative, but hardly requisite for the trout fly-rod. ”

“ An important point is to commence with proper tackle, for it is of no use to attempt to catch trout with a cart-rope tied to a hedge-stake. First, then, with regard to the Rod. A good rod is the angler's chief requisite, and extraordinary progress has been made in the art of manufacturing rods within the last few years. ”

“ Fly-rods built for tournament work, especially for long-distance casting, are marvels in their way, but it does not follow that they are adapted, or the best, for work on the stream. The essential and most important office of a rod is that which is exhibited after a fish is hooked—in other words, in the playing and landing of the fish. In practical angling the act of casting, either with fly or bait, is merely preliminary and subordinate to the real uses of a rod. The poorest fly-rod made will cast a fly thirty [72] or forty feet, which is about as far as called for in ordinary angling. ”

“ He is being ‘played’ with such a fishing-rod as the skill of a Wilson or a Stoddart never could invent; a living line, with elasticity beyond that of the most delicate fly-rod, which follows every lunge, shortening and lengthening, slipping and twining round every piece of gravel and stem of sea-weed, with a tiring drag such as no Highland wrist or step could ever bring to bear on salmon or trout. ”

“ A bad rod is likely to snap in striking a heavy fish. Rods fitted with several tops are at once the best and most convenient. Some anglers have one rod for trolling, another for barbel, perch, or other heavy fish, as well as one for [92] fly-fishing—which boys may have when they become men—but a thoroughly good rod will suit the juvenile for all purposes. We have now one with which we can fish for anything, from a bleak to a pike, by only changing the top and second joints. ”

“ The ten-foot fly-rod, other things being equal, is probably the most efficient tool for the dry fly fisherman. However, a nine-and-a-half-foot rod is a sweeter rod to handle, is suited to a greater diversity of trout waters, and, granting good material and action, is sufficiently powerful for average work—the foregoing, by the way, with the understanding that increased length spells increased capacity for handling the line, which certainly does not follow unless the rods are built on the same proportional dimensions and in proportionate weights. ”

“ If you are fishing in running water, drop the bait quietly into the water and so manage the rod that it shall neither hasten nor hinder the movement of the bait, which should travel as nearly as possible as it would if it were not upon a hook. All the time you are to keep as much as possible out of sight. When you feel the pluck of the fish drop the point of your rod and wait a second or two before you attempt to strike the hook into the flesh. ”

“ For ordinary fly-fishing for trout, a rod from ten to twelve feet in length will be found most convenient.
I use a ten-foot rod, and find it meets all my requirements.
It is well to let your rod have weight enough to have some “back-bone” in it; very light and very limber rods are objectionable, because with them one cannot cast well against, or across the wind; and it is impossible to hook your fish with any certainty—especially with a long line out—or to handle one properly when hooked. ”

“ There seems to be no instance of the very large fish taking the fly.
There is no need to say much as to tackle, except that it should be strong and that there should be plenty of line. The native spoon can be obtained on the spot. Some fishermen prefer a large rod as better able to hold off a fish which runs under the boat; I should personally prefer a short, stiff, steel-centred rod such as Hardy's 12ft. ”

“ I have several times followed a line of water down to the shore, being rowed out in the bay, and found the water boiling up mixed with land weeds. At such a spot there is no movement of the rod except over the course of the stream. It is almost impossible to describe the sensation caused whilst using the rod; it is sometimes like a current of electricity going through the arms and legs. On raising one foot from the ground the rod descends. The effect produced when walking is that the rod has the appearance of a fishing rod when the fish is hooked,—the rod seems alive. ”

“ For bait-casting the necessary implements are a large reel, running on steel pivots, two hundred yards of flax line attached to a 7° hook with a round head, and a rod of not over nine feet in length, with a large agate funnel top. With such tools experienced fishermen can cast a slice cut from the side of a menhaden, and weighing about three ounces, two hundred, aye, nearly three hundred feet into the curling breakers of the Atlantic ocean, and kill bass that will pull down the scales at fifty, sixty, and seventy pounds. ”

“ A rod constructed by hand, by an experienced rod-maker, of thoroughly seasoned and [26] 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. ”

“ All require for their performance the use of a rod, a line, a hook, and a bait. The first is bottom-fishing, which nearly resembles that mode of sea-fishing with the handline, which we have just described. It consists of angling near the bottom of the water, with worms, gentles, bread, paste, and other animate and inanimate baits; it is the simplest, most common, and most primitive mode of angling, "first learned, and last forgotten."
Trolling is more difficult. It is performed in mid-water, that is, neither at the surface, like fly-fishing, nor at the bottom, as the preceding kind. ”

“ A rod that weighs fourteen ounces is heavy, and I have seen persons with their hands or wrists dreadfully swollen after a single day’s fishing, and have had such persons assure me that their rods were as light as they could be possibly made. Delicacy to me is the first essential in trout-fishing, whether delicacy of rod and tackle, or delicacy of handling and casting. Catching a trout with a stick and a string is not half the fun of catching a flounder, the latter being much more difficult to lug out of water; and delicacy in trout-fishing will bring the best reward. ”

“ Undoubtedly they could be taken with the trolling spoon, and a stout leader of double gut running on swivel traces attached to a dark hand-line would add greatly to the success. In fact, like all other fish, at times they are shy and must be fished for with fine tackle, and then the rod and line come into play. In fishing with a rod from a sailboat, the moment a fish is struck the sheet is eased off, the boat run up into the wind, and the fish killed at leisure; if the boat were kept in motion, the strain would be too great for the rod and reel. ”

“ The elasticity of a good salmon-rod is like that of steel, and by the aid of such an implement alone{249} can the fly be propelled to a proper distance. The force must be transmitted to the tip end of the leader, and the angler must feel in casting that his rod is up to its share of the work. It must neither drag, for in that case the line follows the impulse feebly; nor be too stiff, for then no life can be imparted to the line. If the rod is weak, it cannot cast with power; if it is harsh, it cannot cast at all. ”

“ Good rods can be obtained running from nine to eleven feet and from four to seven ounces. For narrow, shallow streams overhung with trees and shrubbery, and where the fish are small, the lightest and shortest rod is sufficient and most convenient. For larger streams or open water the rod should not exceed ten feet, and six ounces. Where trout are exceptionally large, as in the Lake Superior region or in Maine, the maximum of eleven feet, and seven ounces will be about right for most anglers. ”

“ ARTIFICIAL BAIT AND FLY-FISHING. In fly-fishing, a rod, and a good rod, is one of the prime requisites, upon the excellence of which depends, in a great measure, the successful exercise of the angler’s skill. An excellent rod may be made of different materials and in different manners, a choice among which will depend upon fancied, more than real superiority; but each writer has his favorites, and, if able, is entitled to give the reasons for his preference.
Fly-fishing is mainly confined to salmon and trout-fishing; for these, essentially different implements are required ”

“ Where the multiplying reel is placed on top, with the handle to the right, and the thumb used for guiding the line on the spool, there is a constant tendency of the reel to get to the under side, where it properly belongs. To overcome this wabbling of the reel, and to insure more steadiness, the butt of the rod is braced against the stomach by the reel-on-top anglers—certainly a most ungraceful and unbecoming thing to do with a light rod. With the tarpon or tuna rod, and with the reel either on top or underneath, a socket for the rod butt becomes necessary in playing a very heavy fish. ”

“ In actual fishing the angler is considered an expert who alone and unaided can strike, play and land a five-pound trout or a fifteen-pound salmon. Those are tests of skill that far exceed casting ninety feet in an open pond with a top-heavy rod.
Reels have kept up with the march of improvement in fishing tackle, and are now made much lighter and stronger than in days gone by. Hard rubber has taken the place of metal to a great extent, making the reel very much lighter. ”

“ Practice at first with a line only as long again as the rod, and lengthen it by degrees, as you find you progress. In drawing the line out of the water, incline the rod rather to the right, then describe a sort of half circle round your head by elevating the rod and giving it a motion towards your left. The moment the line thrown reaches its whole length, the fly should touch the water, else it will be checked, and recoil, falling heavily, and making a splash, which must by all means be avoided, or it will frighten away all the fish in the immediate neighborhood. ”

“ Fishing is the One Sport of Our Childhood That Holds Our Interest Through Life
In selecting our tackle, we must always keep in mind the kind of fish we expect to catch. For general, fresh-water use, except fly casting, an eight-foot rod weighing seven or eight ounces will fill most purposes. A fly rod should be a foot longer and at least two ounces lighter. ”