Fishing Rods

( Originally Published 1912 )

IN all the angler's outfit there is no other article so important as the rod, and when a true angler has found one that is just right for his particular kind of fishing he cares for it as tenderly as the sports-man gunner cares for his fine, high-priced firearms, and has a greater regard for it. This is but natural, and a fine fishing rod, especially the light and resilient fly-rod, cannot fairly be compared with a firearm, or other sporting equipment. A gun in the hands of a hunter becomes only the means by which the end is attained, but the fishing rod in the hands of the angler is something more — it is, when in use, as a part of himself, seemingly like an extension of his arm, and he uses it as though it were a portion of that member, and not a separate and inanimate article.

Of course there are rods and rods, from the beautiful four ounce fly rod costing a whole pocketful of money to the humble cane rod used in still fishing and costing only a few cents. Naturally the choice of rod depends on the style of fishing that it is needed for and the kind of fish that it is expected to take.

Many kinds of native woods have been experimented with but for light rods nothing has been found equal to the woods imported for this purpose, and commonly used. Of all solid wood rods those made of lancewood are most common in this country. They are cheaper than others and the wood is lighter than bethabara and greenheart, also softer, but it is a very good wood. Greenheart is an excellent wood, more pliant than lancewood and also harder and heavier. It is not used in this country as much as lancewood, and it is said that for some reason good greenheart cannot be imported, or if it is, it gets bad here in our climate. Of this I do not know, but greenheart is the favorite rod wood in England and the English greenheart rods are fine ones, though heavier than the American rods, usually. Bethabara is a fine wood but is not so common. It is more resilient than either of the others. The wood is dark colored and very hard and close grained. It is very strong and springy and makes excellent rods. Another wood used by a Canadian firm is called kaliki. This is a native wood, coming from British Columbia. It is said to make very good rods.

Those who use solid wood rods are divided into as many classes as there are kinds of wood and each defends valiantly the wood of his choice, but the users of wood rods are in the minority. The largest number of anglers in this country pin their faith to the built-up rod of Calcutta bamboo. These rods have each section made of six triangular strips of bamboo, fitted perfectly their entire length and glued together so that they form a six-sided strip, with the hard outside part of the bamboo on the outside of the stick. After gluing the wood is wound tightly with a cord and when dry the ferrules are fitted and the sticks are wound at close intervals with silk thread. This makes a rod much stronger than any solid wood rod and it is exceedingly springy and casts accurately. But it will be seen that such a rod, if faithfully made requires a lot of labor and this naturally makes it expensive. Carefully made, of first class materials it makes the best kind of rod for any kind of fishing that money can buy, but if poorly constructed or made of second grade material it is likely to prove less worthy than the solid wood rod. For this reason it is advised that when the purchaser can afford to pay well for a rod he get the split bamboo, but if he cannot put plenty of money into it he will be wise to select a solid wood rod, for he is more likely to get a good greenheart or lancewood rod at from three to five dollars than a good split bamboo at twice as much.

The illustration showing the construction of a split bamboo rod and the cross section of bamboo and wood rods shows plainly why a built up rod, if well made, is stronger than a solid wood rod. In the bamboo rod the grain parallels the center on every side. For this reason it must have equal strength and backbone, and the same action, no matter which way it is turned. In addition to this the material composing it is harder and stronger than any wood. The solid wood rod has the grain running directly across the strip, all in the same direction as shown. It is bound to be unequal in action as the rod is turned, and less strong than the bamboo.

One New York City firm is making rods of what. is called steel vine. They claim it to be a very strong material and the rods are built up of six strips, the same as the barn-boo, but are rounded afterwards instead of being left in the hexagonal form.

The only other rod material of importance is steel. Steel rods are in general use and quite popular for bait fishing. Steel is especially well liked for the short rods made for the new style bait-casting. The greatest advantage of the steel rod is that it does not warp or set, but always hangs true. Steel rods are of course hollow but for all of that they are heavier than other rods, usually. They will stand more abuse than any other rod.

For fresh water fishing there are two distinct types of rod, namely, the bait rod and the fly rod. Their difference is in length and weight and the position of the reel seat. Bait rods are shorter, stiffer, and heavier than fly rods, and have the reel seat above the handle where the spool of the reel can be controlled in casting, for bait-casting is done from the reel, that is, the weight of the bait or its momentum, draws the line from the reel. The fly rod has the reel seat below the hand grasp, for in fly-casting the line is not cast from the reel but is drawn off and controlled by hand. With the reel below the hand the rod balances nicer and is less tiring.

Bait and fly rods usually consist of three sections. The first is called the butt section, the next the second joint, and the smallest piece is usually called the tip, but as there is a line guide on the end of this piece called a tip also this is likely to cause confusion. The English people call the smallest section the "top."

These sections are fitted with ferrules so that they may be fastened together. These are of two pieces known respectively as the male and female ferrules. The male ferrule is the smaller and fits into the other. The end of the male ferrule is solid so that water cannot reach the wood, and the female ferrule, at the bottom, has a metal floor for the same purpose. Some rods have tapered dowels in the ferrules but this is not generally considered a good idea and is going out of use. The ferrules are made of brass, usually nickel plated, or of German silver. The English give the ferrules a dark color by oxidizing, which is a good idea. In a well made rod the ferrules should fit over the wood which should not be cut down for the purpose, and they should be cemented to the wood but not pinned, as they are sometimes. The base of the ferrule is wound with silk thread and the most improved styles are split, at the base (split ferrules) or cut into long points (serrated ferrules), and the wrapping is put over these cuts. The highest grade have a rib around the edge of the female ferrule, called a welt.

As mentioned before the rods are wound at intervals with fine silk thread. This is to strengthen and stiffen the rod. The line guides are also fastened on by wrapping.

Line guides are made in many patterns and the illustration given here shows the most common kinds. For fly rods the ring and keeper guides are used much, especially on the cheaper grades, but small, light standing guides, especially the snake guides are better, as the line runs more freely and casts better. Many fishermen have the first guide, the one next the reel, of agate, or to be exact, a metal guide with an agate lining. Agate is very hard and smooth, does not wear the enamel off the line and in turn is not worn by the friction of the line. Offering less resistance to the line it enables the user to cast farther.

The end guide on the end 'of the tip joint, which as I explained before is also called a tip, should be a simple ring on a fly rod, but is best if lined with agate as it will cast better and will not harm the line. Those that are bent to one side so that they offer no resistance to the line are best. It is not necessary or advisable to have the other guides of agate on a fly rod, but on a bait-casting rod this is advised if you care to go to the expense. Anyway on a bait-casting rod it is generally conceded best to have large guides and tip, while on a fly rod they should be small and light.

The part of the butt section that is held in the hand is called the grip, grasp or handle. On a solid wood rod it is usually a part of the butt joint, simply an enlargement, and may be plain wood, cork or celluloid, and many are wound with hard twine or split cane. They are all good and the angler may take his choice though most of them choose cork, especially for a fly rod, as it will not slip and is not likely to cramp the hand, also is very light and durable.

As stated before the reel seat of a fly rod is located below the grip and that of a bait rod above. The reel seat is usually of metal to match the ferrules and has two raised ribs to hold the reel from slipping. At one end is a fixed band under which the end of the reel base is slipped and a movable band is drawn over the other end of the base to fasten it in place. On some reel seats the band locks in place by means of grooves. Some rods have a place bedded in the wood for the reel base, and have the bands only in-stead of the metal reel seat, and this is preferred by many. This is the Britisher's idea.

The butt of the American rods is finished with a metal cap, but the English rods have a large rubber knob or button on the end of the butt and this adds much to the appearance of the rod.

All wood or split bamboo rods must be varnished to keep the water from penetrating the wood. Steel rods are enameled.

To catch bottom feeding fish, such as carp, bullheads, suckers, perch, and other fish of that kind, all that is needed is a long cane pole, and it is better for that kind of fishing than any other rod. No reel is needed, for the line is tied directly to the rod. Other rods may be used though for this kind of work, and a jointed rod is always more convenient for carrying. A nice four-piece Calcutta bamboo rod, about sixteen feet long, may be purchased for a dollar or a little more perhaps, in our eastern cities, and better ones up to two and a half dollars. These have line guides and reel bands. Jointed cane rods of ten or twelve feet may be purchased for fifty cents. Or you can buy a jointed plain wood rod, and if you like you may buy the trimmings and make the rod yourself, as explained elsewhere in this book.

For fishing with minnow bait for bass and such fish a three-piece bait rod is used. This has always been a favorite style of fishing for such game fish as take the live minnow or small frog. For this use the Henshall pattern rod has always been a favorite. This may be of steel, of split and glued bamboo, or of solid wood such as lancewood, greenheart or bethabara.

The Henshall bass rod is eight feet, three inches long, and weighs eight ounces with solid metal reel seat, and seven and one-half ounces when made with reel bands only, which was the way Dr. Henshall preferred it. The standard rod of this style was made of three pieces, the butt of white ash and the other two joints of lancewood. Another rod favored by this great fisherman and originated by him was of split bamboo, eight feet, one inch in length and of a weight of six and a half ounces. The steel rod is eight feet, six inches long and weighs ten ounces. All fishing tackle dealers sell such rods.

In late years the casting of artificial baits with a short, stiff rod, by the overhead cast, has become a very popular way of fishing for bass and such fish. The bait-casting rod for this kind of work should be between four and a half and six feet long, but the best length seems to be about five feet. The rule is to use a short rod for the heavy artificial baits and for the lighter lures a longer rod may be used, but a long rod of seven or eight feet could not be used for this kind of casting.

The material of the bait-casting rod may be either solid wood, steel, or split bamboo. Some anglers prefer the solid wood rod, others like the steel rod best, and many swear by the split bamboo.

The rod may be of one, two or three pieces. A one-piece rod is best in real use but too unhandy in transportation. A joint in a rod either weakens it there or makes a stiff and inactive place, but when it comes to choice of the two evils the sensible person always chooses the lesser, and in this case it is the joints. A rod that is made in two pieces has a joint at the part where the greatest strain comes, providing that the joint is in the middle of the rod, but the best two-piece rods have the joint below the middle so that the tip section is considerably longer than the butt section and these are almost equal to a one-piece rod in action. Perhaps the most convenient of all is the three-piece rod, and all things considered, it is to be preferred by the aver-age fisherman.

A bait-casting rod may have any kind of handle desired and of any material, but solid cork is probably best as it is soft and light, gives a good grip without tiring the hand, and is durable. Beware of the cork handle that has a sheet of cork veneered on the outside of a wood core; it will loosen and come off in time. Such a grip may be improved by winding it closely with hard twine or fishing line. The shape of the handle may be as you like, and the rod may have a single or double grasp, whichever you prefer.

On a bait-casting rod the reel seat is above the grasp, or between them if it has a double grasp. It is well if the reel band has some method of locking in place so that it cannot slip, for in bait-casting the regular reel band of the live bait or fly rod is likely to slip, because of the different way of casting. Some makers attach a finger hook to the reel band but this, while used universally a few years ago, is now going out of use.

The line guides and tip should be of agate, anyway of very hard metal, and of fair size so that there is no tendency to bind, but it is doubtful whether the very large guides and tips are the best, as they offer more chance for the line to become entangled in them. They should stand up away from the rod so that the wet line will not cling to it.

In weight the bait-casting rod should not exceed eight ounces, and should be lighter, but, of course, there is a limit in this direction. Split bamboo rods may be lighter than any others, and a rod of five and a half or six feet should weigh just that many ounces. A solid wood rod would be somewhat heavier, perhaps an ounce average, and a steel rod is even heavier than one of wood.

The action of a bait-casting rod at the best is nothing to speak of, but where there is a difference choose the one that has the most life and snap to it. One could not expect much action in a five and a half foot rod, however, and for that reason many of the old-time anglers who are accustomed to the longer bait rod do not take kindly to the newer, short, stiff affair now so much used. It is certain that there is less pleasure in playing and handling a fish with a bait-casting rod, but longer and more accurate casts can be made with it.

Bait-casting rods vary in price, naturally, and one can pay just about what he can afford, or what he chooses. Of course the more you pay the better the article you get. A bait-casting rod may be secured for the sum of one dollar that will give good service, but the best cost from twenty to thirty dollars. Very good wood rods may be purchased at RODS.

from three to five dollars ; split bamboo comes much higher. Good steel rods cost five dollars or more.

But if the bait-casting rod is a mechanical fish-killer the light and graceful fly rod is the very opposite. It is the aristocratic angler's tool, and, of course, is adapted to an entirely different class of fishing.

Fly rods are made of the same materials as bait rods, but here the selection of material is of even greater importance. Split bamboo is the best yet, but solid wood rods are also used considerably though not as much so as at one time. Greenheart is the favorite wood in England and beautiful rods are made of it, but the English ideas of fly-casting are not exactly the same as ours and therefore greenheart is not so popular in our own country, though a favorite in Canada. Lancewood is more used here and is a very good material, but the best of solid woods is bethabara or noibe wood, which is only selected bethabara. But split bamboo is the universal favorite because of its greater strength, which allows the rod to be made lighter, and this is of the greatest importance.

Fly rods for trout and bass should be of a length from eight to eleven feet, but nine and a half or ten feet is about the standard. Lighter rods may be used to fish for trout in lakes than in streams, for there they are somewhat less active and do not have a current to help them out in fighting. For lake fishing the longer rods may also be used. In bass rods there is less latitude in choice and a slightly heavier rod than for trout is recommended. For catching the smaller trout in small mountain streams extremely light rods are sometimes used. The lightest rods made weigh only one and three-fourths ounces, or a trifle more, and are seven feet long.

These rods are very delicate, however, and should only be used by experts. For general trout fishing a split bamboo rod ten feet long, weighing about five and a half ounces, is right, and for black bass it should weigh six ounces, or a little more, especially where the fish run fairly heavy or are found in rapid streams. Solid wood rods should be from a half ounce to an ounce heavier.

German silver ring and keeper guides were formerly furnished on nearly all fly rods, especially the cheaper ones, but now the snake guides are used more and they are the best metal guides, as they are always in position for the line to run through without binding. The tip should always be of agate, the small offset kind, as the friction here and the sharp angle of the line causes the enamel to wear off quickly. For the same reason the first guide above the reel should be of agate, but it should be small. It is not necessary that the other guides be of agate as the line runs straight through them, and agate would add to the weight of the rod.

In fly fishing, unless the automatic reel is used, nearly all anglers retrieve the line by hand and the reel takes no part in the playing of the fish. It merely holds the line that is not in use. This way of handling the line throws quite an angle in it where it enters the first guide, and as a consequence the line wears rapidly unless an agate guide is used. As an agate guide will only make your rod cost about fifty cents more and a new fly line will cost anywhere from one dollar to three and a half, or perhaps more, it will be readily seen that an agate first guide is cheapest.

German silver, bronzed, or oxidized ferrules are best in the opinion of many fly fishers, as they say the flashy nickel-plated ones will frighten the fish, and I do not doubt that the brook trout will be frightened by them sometimes, yet it doesn't seem that this would make so very much difference. The greatest objection to nickel plate is that it wears off and exposes to view the brass that it covers.

The linnet and more active a fly rod is the better it will cast. A rather stiff rod is generally preferred, especially a stiff first and second section. If you know what a rod should be you can soon pick out a perfect one if you have an opportunity to try them, and that is the way to buy if you are convenient to a sporting goods store. Try switching the rod as in casting and if there is a weak spot in it you can readily feel it. Hold the rod out by the butt and sight along it to see how evenly it droops, then turn it slowly and see whether the droop changes, which it should not. Then attach a line and see how the rod bends; also see that the joints line up well one with another.

As before intimated, the length and weight of rod should be governed by the kind of fishing and the character of the waters to be fished. Where the streams are swift and brush dense along the banks, and the trout or bass of varying size, as is usually the case in streams, the rod should be of only about eight and a half feet. An ideal, all-around, fly rod would be of six strip split (not sawed) bamboo, carefully fitted and hand-made throughout; length ten feet; weight six and one-half ounces. It should have a solid cork grasp and reel bands only; standing snake guides of bronzed steel or other hard, rust proof metal, the first guide a small agate and a small agate, angle tip, like No. 13 in the illustration of tips. The ferrules should be oxidized, as well as all metal parts; they should be waterproof, with serrated base, and welted edge; cemented but not pinned. I prefer green or orange and black wrappings, but that is immaterial. The highest grade elastic varnish should be used.

Such a rod will answer for trout or bass fishing in any and all waters and will be all right to use with worms or a small spinner. It will do for any kind of surface feeding fish, if not too large.

American made salmon fly rods run in length from four-teen to sixteen feet, and in weights from eighteen to thirty-two ounces. They are used with both hands and have double grasp, one above and one below the reel seat. They are usually made of split bamboo but solid wood is also used. In detail they are the same as trout and bass fly rods.

The strongest rods are those used for fishing in salt-water, for such fish as tarpon, tuna, yellowtail, etc. All kinds of rod woods and split bamboo are used. Such rods are always short and stout, ranging in length from five to seven and one-half feet and weighing from ten to twenty-four ounces, depending on the kind of fish they are to be used for. They may be of two sections with removable butt; two pieces with solid butt and one piece with detachable butt. The latter is always best for heavy fish, though more difficult to transport. These rods usually have cane-wound handles with a short cane-wound section above the reel seat, for they must be used with two hands. They are fitted with double trumpet or bell-shaped guides, so that the line may be changed from side to side to prevent warping the rod. The tip is preferably of agate and of the double hole pattern. The illustration shows such a tip in full size and gives an idea of the size of such a rod. The ferrules, in jointed rods, are welted, for sake of strength, and the joints are doweled, as a rule.

For surf fishing for drum, striped bass and such salt-water fishes a rod of seven to nine feet, weighing eighteen or twenty ounces, is used. It should be stiff and have great strength and springiness. Guides and tip should be of agate. A long cane-wound handle is usually chosen though the spring butt is much used now. It is a long, springy butt-piece with a cane-wound grip at each end.

The proper tackle to use for the different sea fishes is given elsewhere.

Nearly all rods are accompanied by an extra tip section to use in case one gives out. Fly rods and fine bait rods are usually put up on a grooved wood form so they will not be injured. Others are put in a leather' case, and still other* in partitioned cloth bags.