Fly rods and fly-tackle; suggestions as to their manufacture and use by Wells Henry P. (Henry Parkhurst) 1842-1904

Author:Wells, Henry P. (Henry Parkhurst), 1842-1904
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Fishing, Fly casting
Publisher: New York, Harper
Published: 1885-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

Two courses are then open. One is to cool at once with water, and then to scrub well with an old toothbrush, holding the brass below the surface till clean; the other, less agreeable but giving a better result, is to allow the brass to cool naturally, and then to scrub the surface clean in the same manner, but dry. After being thus scrubbed, rub well with a dry cloth until all crock is removed. You will then have deposited a beautiful soft dead surface of black oxide of copper on your brass. It has a very attractive appearance, wears very well, and when the sharper edges after two or three seasons rub bright, you can, if you wish, re-black in the same way an indefinite number of times. The whole original expense will not exceed fifty cents, and the same solution may

be used again and again, till consumed by evaporation, and the little withdrawn upon the surface of the articles dipped therein. Any copper-alloy may be thus blackened.

THE HANDLE.

Use a handle with a ferrule immediately above it—or, better still, sunk into it—to receive the butt joint, the whole so arranged that while the handle remains still, the butt joint can be turned readily, so as to present the rings either beneath or on top of the rod. One handle will thus do for all single-handed fly-rods, heavy or light. You can cast with the rings underneath or above, while the reel always remains in its normal and only convenient position—that below the hand and under the handle —and you can change from one to the other as your fancy dictates. You can play your fish in the same way, changing the direction of the strain in an instant, and a dozen times on the same fish if you wish. Also in ordering or making a new rod, you will not only save the expense of a new handle and its furniture, but avoid the temptation to use strong language when you find your old reels will not fit. Again, your rod, even if of inferior material, will always remain straight and uniform in action.

Next to discarding the dowel pin, I believe this to be the most valuable improvement which can be applied to the fly-rod as ,at present made. I am aware this construction is not altogether new; but it is uncommon, while its great merit should make it universal. And even when employed, it is not unfrequently regarded either as a mere ornament or as a device to make possible a cheaper or lighter handle, while its most important function, the ability frequently to reverse the direction in which the

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strain is brought upon tlie rod, is altogether ignored. Let any gentleman have one of his rods, especially if it has already taken a set, cut immediately above the handle, and a short, well-fitted simple ferrule inserted to reunite the divided portions, and then try it for one campaign.

Of course, to bring the rings above, but half a revolution

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