secret fishing tricks by g&j.herters

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED

by GEORGE LEONARD HERTER

and JACQUES P. HERTER

Also Authors Of: Professional Fly Tying, Spinning and Tackle

Making Manual

and Manufacturers Guide Professional Guide Manual

Volume I Professional Guide Manual Volume II

Professional Net Making Manual The Correct Way To

Fillet and French Fry Fish

Fitting and Finishing Gunstocks Bull Cook and

Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices

Dedicated To My Wife Berthe E. Herter

No one else would ever love and care for a person with such fixed

habits and strong opinions as myself.

COPYRIGHTED 1949

COPYRIGHTED 1953

COYPRIGHTED 1958

COPYRIGHTED 1961

by GEORGE

LEONARD HERTER and JACQUES P.

HERTER

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced in any form without permission of George Leonard Herter.

10th Edition

INTRODUCTION

This book was not written with the thought of expressing any personal opinions. Rather it was brought out to express the thoughts of many noteworthy men in the rod building field.

This book is not intended to be a literary piece of work in any sense of the word. The author does not make any pretense at being a polished writer.

CHAPTER I

A BRIEF EARLY HISTORY OF SPLIT

BAMBOO ROD S

It is always interesting to know the true history of the things you work with. The history of the split-bamboo fly rod has been needlessly confused by many modern authors and would-be historians. It is strange how some men, who invariably have never invented anything worth while themselves, seem to enjoy discrediting some truly deserving inventor.

In England, the first mention of a split type or "rent and glued up" rod that bears any authenticity, was made in 1847 in the first edition of Edward Fitzgibbon's book "Hand Book of Angling". This book stated that a Mr. Bowness, 12 Bellyard, Temple Bar, London, made a three section split-bamboo rod which had been in use for a few years at the time the book was written. It is likely this rod was made in the early or middle eighteen forties although nothing about this has ever been proved. Research by the late Dr. J. A. Henshall before 1875 proved that this rod was made with the enamel turned to the inside. The same book also mentions the method used by a Mr. Little, 15 Fetter Lane, London, a rod maker. He made a salmon rod with an ash butt; the other joints were made of three section split and glued-up bamboo cane. The split-bamboo part of the rod was made with the enamel on the outside as we do it today.

Thus, as far as written record goes, credit possibly should go to Mr. Bowness for making the first section of split bamboo with enamel inside. For the first section of split bomboo with the enamel side out, credit belongs to Mr. Little of England and Mr. Samuel Phillippe of America. Both were making rod sections with the enamel side out around 1846.

Mr. Marston an editor of the English Fishing Gazette wrote some interesting comment on the history of split bamboo fishing rods. Mr. Marston was unquestionably well meaning, but the authenticity of most of these comments has never been proved. Mr. Marston wrote that he found in Blaine's "Encyclopedia of Rural Sports," first edition 1840, that Blaine, in describing the manufacture of fly rods, mentions split bamboo. No one has ever been able to show where Blaine received his information or to locate any British manufacturer who was making split-bamboo rods or sections at that time. Mr. Marston also mentions that in 1836, Ronald, in his first edition of "Fly Fisher's Entomology," refers to a bamboo top joint for a fly rod. This top joint was undoubtedly made of whole cane as was the practice at that time. Whole cane for fishing rods and parts of fishing rods was in use before any written history, and this quotation from Ronald means nothing. Mr. Marston believed that Mr. Ronald referred to split-bamboo because, in an edition 20 years later when split bamboo rods and rod joints were beginning to be considerably used in England, he still phrased his book the same on this point. This is more than likely just wishful thinking on the part of Mr. Marston. Mr. Marston also mentioned that Chettham, in his book "Anglers Vade Mecum" published in 1681, wrote directions on how to get the arrow and bow maker to saw and plane wood for rod making. Mr, Marston reasons that bows for archers were made of several pieces glued together before rods were so made and that it was the custom of fishing tackle makers to

A BRIEF EARLY HISTORY OF SPLIT BAMBOO RODS 5

get the bow and arrow makers to help them. Hence, he deduces that split and glued up rods were made in England probably late in the 16th century. Split wood rods may have been made in England at this time, but this proves nothing regarding split-bamboo rods. Truthfully, if one wants to guess as Mr. Marston has, split-wood rods and even split-bamboo rods were more than likely to have been in use in China long before even bows of split wood were in use in England.

W. D. Coggeshall of England, a member of The London Fly Fishers' Club, found the following in a copy of "The young Angler's Companion". The published date is unknown. "The fly rod is generally made of hickory, with a top of several pieces joined together, cut out of the solid part of the large bamboo, the butt is sometimes made of ash." The publication had no date, but Mr. Coggeshall judged it to have been printed between 1810 and 1820 from the anglers costumes as shown in some color prints of the publication. If it "generally" was the custom, between 1810 and 1820, to have the top of the fly rod made of pieces of bamboo, Mr. Coggeshall's guess is not off a little but a mile or more. The known rod makers between 1810 and 1820 were not using split bamboo tips on their rods. It has never been even remotely proved when the issue of "The Young Angler's Companion" in question was published.

The father of modern complete four and six strip bamboo fly rod making, however, was Samuel Phillippe. Phillippe was born August 9. 1801, in Reading, Pennsylvania. Many authors and would-be-historians have confused the facts about Samuel Phillippe through lack of knowledge. They were also misled by men seeking to discredit Phillippe for business and publicity reasons. The sportsman among them should have hung their heads in shame. This also applies to his present day critics.

Dr. James A. Henshall, noted fishing author, wrote the facts regarding Phillippe, honestly and fairly many years ago. In fact, he started writing them while Phillippe was still alive. Dr. Henshall knew Phillippe's family, nearly all of his friends and rod builders of his era personally. He examined many Phillippe rods and had one of his own that he used for fishing. Dr. Henshall proved, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Phillippe invented four and six strip split bamboo rods and shared the inventing of the use of split-bamboo for rod sections, enameled sides out, with Mr. Little of England. All of the famous rod makers of that era agreed heartily on this.

As before mentioned, many modern authors have ignored the facts and have confused the issue with many false and misleading

One of the first Phillippe rods. This rod was owned

by Dr. J. A. Henshall.

statements. This is not sportsmanship, neither is it just plain common sense. It is hardly possible for present day men to know as much about Phillippe or what he did as men who lived with him in his era.

6 A BRIEF EARLY HISTORY OF SPLIT BAMBOO RODS

Here are facts, authenticated as given by Mr. Solon C. Phillippe, of Easton, Pa., (son of Samuel Phillippe) to Dr. J. A. Henshall. This son worked with his father.

"Samuel Phillippe was born August 9, 1801, in Reading, Pa., and died in Easton, Pa., May 25, 1877. He went to Easton when about sixteen years old, where he learned the trade of gunsmith with Mr. Peter Young. He was a skilled workman in wood, or metal. He made violins and fishing rods in addition to his regular work as a gunsmith. He received a silver medal for one of his violins from the Franklin Inst-tute Fair, at Philadelphia. He made the first "Kinsey" fishing hooks from patterns furnished by Phin-eus Kinsey, of Easton, Pa. He was a good trout fisherman, and fished at times in company with Thad. Norris, of Philadelphia, and Judge Jas. Madison Porter, Colonel T. R. Sitgreaves, Wm. Green, Phineus Kinsey, John and Abraham De-Hart, Sheriff Heckman and others of Easton.

"He visited a number of places with Mr. Thad. Norris, when the latter was seeking a location for a trout hatchery, and which was finally located near Bloomsburg, N. at work on split-bamboo rods in his shop. Charles F. Murphy, himself a noted rod maker, of Newark, N. J., also visited Phillippe to learn something of his method of making split-bamboo rods.

"In his first experiments Phillippe made tips and second joints of two, and then three sections of split-bamboo, enamel outside, with butts of solid cane or ash. But these rods would not cast the fly true. He then made the joints of four sections, and found that they would cast perfectly in any direction. He then made complete rods of four sections, including the butt, and later of six sections or strips; the enamel was always on the outside. These rods were for his own use, but afterward he made some for his friends, one of the first being for Colonel T. R. Sitgreaves, with ash butt and joints of four section split-bamboo.

"His books show that the first split-bamboo rod sold was in 1848. This was a four-section rod in three pieces, all split-bamboo, including the butt. His first rods were made certainly as early as 1845. Solon Phillippe learned rod making, in addition to the trade of gunsmith, from his father. In 1859 Solon made a complete rod of six sections; the hand piece, 18 inches long, was made of twelve sections of hard wood. In 1876 he made a three piece rod, with hand piece of red wood, and balance of rod of eight sections or strips, four of split-bamboo, and four of snakewood, alternating."

Here is a letter from Mr. George W. Stout of Easton, Pa., to Dr. Henshall:

"I came to this town in 1851. I made my first split-bamboo rod in 1860, and got my idea from Phillippe's rods. I was an amateur only, and never made more than a dozen in all.

Samuel Phillippe J. Mr.

Norris often saw Phillippe


"Ex-Sheriff Thos. Heckman, now in his eighty-sixth year, was a life-long acquaintance of Phillippe, and often went fishing with him. He is well preserved, with an excellent memory, and is good authority. He says he knows that Samuel Phillippe made split-bamboo rods in 1846. Edward Innes, a man of repute, aged about sixty-seven, remembers seeing him making one of these rods in 1847. You may rely implicitly on the evidence of Heckman and Innes, who both fished with Sam before, and many years after 1846. Innes was much at Sam's shop before 1847 and fixes the date by its being just before he removed to Philadelphia, where he resided several years."

A letter from Mr. Thos. Heckman, ex-Sheriff of Easton, Pa., to Dr. Henshall reads as follows:

"I knew Sam Phillippe a great many years, some sixty or seventy. I have fished with him many times, sometimes for a week's camping in the mountains of Monroe County. He was the first man in this part of the country to build a split-bamboo rod. He made two for me, one of which is still in good condition. To my best recollection he built his first rod about 1846; he made his own ferrules, rings, and keepers."

Here is a letter from Abbey and Imbrie, of New York City to Dr. Henshall:

"Your account of the origin of the split-bamboo rod is perfectly correct. Our Mr. Abbey, the writer, was the active member of Andrew Clerk and Co. at the time of the origination, by Mr. Phillippe, of the split bamboo rod, and is therefore well acquainted with its history down to the present time."

A letter from Mr. Chas. F. Murphy, famous early rodmaker of Newark, N. J., states:

"Mr. Chas. Luke, of this city, formerly of Easton, Pa., used to fish and hunt with Mr. Phillippe, and frequented his workshop, where he saw him use split-bamboo for fly rods certainly as far back as 1848. Luke moved from Easton to Newark in 1850. I am very certain you can give Phillippe credit for the discovery of split-bamboo for fly rods without fear of being contradicted. While making rods for Andrew Clerk and Co., Mr. Abbey, of that firm, showed Mr. Green and myself a rod made by Mr. Phillippe, the top and second joint made of split-bamboo, with butt joint made from white ash. I made the first split-bamboo salmon rod, also the first black bass rod of split-bamboo."

Further corroboration is found in this letter from Dr. W. W. Bowlby of New York City to Dr. Henshall:

"My earliest recollection of the split-bamboo rod dates back to about the year 1852. At that time I lived in New Jersey, near Easton, Pa., and fished in the same waters in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with an old gunsmith of Easton, known among us as 'Old Sam Phillippe.' It was about the year above-named that I saw a split-bamboo rod in his possession, and he informed me at the time that he was the originator of the idea; and to him, I earnestly believe, belongs the credit of having first conceived the idea of constructing a rod from such material."

Mr. Asher J. Odenwalder, 45 South 4th Street of Easton, Pennsylvania, a noted present day collector of fishing rods, has a six strip bamboo rod made by Phillippe. The cigar shaped Phillippe grip is even made from bamboo on this rod, and it is beautifully checkered.

8 A BRIEF EARLY HISTORY OF SPLIT BAMBOO RODS

Because this grip swelled from the rod, itself, people who observed the rod thought the butt was made from wood, not bamboo. This is not at all true but shows the class of people who take it upon themselves to be authorities on rods.

The following measurements of Mr. Odenwalder's Phillippe rod were taken by Mr. V. C. Marinaro, a man who is a marvelous maker of rods. Mr. Marinaro, however, makes rods only for his own use.

Three sections of six-strip bamboo; length 11 feet; swelled grip checkered bamboo; diameter of swelled grip at largest diameter 1 inch; butt section above checkering 34/64; middle of butt section 25/64; top of butt section 23/64; middle section 19/64 - 18/64 - 14/64; tip 12/64 - 10/64 - 5/64; dovetailed ferrules sizes 19/64 and 12/64.

After Samuel Phillippe's death, some competitors, although fully granting that Phillippe invented the four and six strip bamboo rods, tried to dim his popularity by saying his rods had been crudely made. They also claimed that they had never been made with all the sections constructed of split-bamboo. They reported that his butt sections were always made of ash. Nothing could be more of a lie than these statements. A Mr. Mitchell, a rod maker of New York, was especially jealous of anyone questioning his opinions on rods. He actually knew little about rods or rod history but set himself up as a self styled authority. He made many of the misleading and false statements regarding Phillippe. He even had an article published in the American Angler, regarding rod making which was not only badly incorrect but which also falsely discredited Phillippe.

Phillippe was a violin maker, and his rod work was never equalled by any of the competitors of his era. After 1870, Phillippe made no fishing rods as his health did not permit it.

At the World's fair in Chicago, the United States Department of Fisheries displayed rods made by Phillippe of six strips and all sections were made of bamboo.

In 1861, E. A. Green and Thadeus Norris made four strip, three section bamboo rods for their own use. They were copied directly from Phillippe's rods, and they learned how to make them from Phillippe.

In 1863, Charles Murphy, who also learned what he knew about fine rod making from Phillippe, made trout split bamboo rods for the commercial trade. In 1865 Murphy made the first split-bamboo salmon rod which was taken to Scotland by Dr. Andrew Clerk where it aroused much favorable comment. It was a four strip rod. Its design was at once copied by English and Scotch rod makers. The first split-bamboo black bass rod was made by Murphy in 1866. It also was a four strip rod.

In 1870, H. L. Leonard of Bangor, Maine, brought out a six strip rod with the enamel on the outside. Leonard did not originate the rod; not only Phillippe, but also Phillippe's son, had made such rods many years before. This fact was well known to all the recognized rod makers of the era and also to Andrew Clerk and Co. to whom Phillippe, Murphy, and Leonard sold rods. The company acted as advisor to all these rod makers, assisted and encouraged them at all times and kept them informed of improvements made by individuals of the group.

The Clerk Company exported a great many six strip and twelve strip rods to England. In fact, for years they had standing orders for


all they could secure. Many of these rods were shipped back to America and sold as English made rods at ridiculously high prices. (The Andrew Clerk Company was succeeded by Abbey and Imbrie).

In 1877, Leonard and William Mills and Sons went into partnership and the factory was moved from Bangor, Maine, to Central Valley, New York. It is still operating in this location.

After this time, many fine rod makers sprang up all over the States, and today America is the home of fine rod makers known the world over. Nearly all of the well known rod makers of today now, however, make both split-bamboo and glass rods.

CHAPTER II

BAMBOOS OR CANES USED FOR MAKING SPLIT BAMBOO RODS

A great deal of false information has been published regarding the bamboos or canes used for making split-bamboo fishing rods. In fact, practically all published information on this subject is incorrect. I will endeavor to straighten out some of the worst errors.

Bamboo is a genus of grasses. The word "bambusa" is sometimes used in place of the word bamboo. This is incorrect. Bambusa is only one of the many genera names for bamboo. There are some six or seven hundred known species of bamboo at present. They all have underground root system much like ordinary quack grass. Each system has from five or six to over a hundred stems sprouting from it. Bamboo grows in height from a few feet to over a hundred feet. Different species of bamboo vary greatly as to the diameters. Bambusa Guadua of New Granada and some Philippine and Java bamboos will grow to as large as fifteen or sixteen inches in diameter. The foliage found on bamboo is denser at the top of the bamboo than toward the bottom. The branches do not develop on the stem until the stem has reached its full height. The stem of bamboo is jointed like ordinary grass. The joint is called a "node" and goes completely through the stem to form a partition. The outside of the stem, when dry, is hard and siliceous. The inside pithy and soft and, in most cases, hollow. The stem, or stalk, of bamboo is botanically called a "culm". The word "cane" so often given to a stalk or culm is also a botanical name. Cane refers to any plant that has long, elastic stems that have a hard outer surface.

Bamboos are found in all mild climates that are not too dry, such as the southern part of the United States, Central and South America, Africa, China, South Pacific Islands, Burma, India, etc. Certain bamboos of India and China, however, are the only ones generally used for split-bamboo rod making. Bamboos have a great many uses besides fishing rod manufacture. Bamboo sprouts are eaten like asparagus. The juice of some bamboos thickens and is called "Indian Honey". The various bamboos have seeds, nuts and apple-like fruits that are used as food. The stems or culms are used to make furniture, nails, baskets, houses, fortifications, water pipes, water bottles, etc. In World War II many of the Japanese "pill boxes" were supported with bamboo.

CALCUTTA CANE: Calcutta cane or bamboo is a trade name given to bamboo coming from India or that general part of the world. It means no specific species of bamboo; in fact it does not even necessarily mean that the bamboo is from India. There are a dozen or more different species which have been imported as Calcutta cane. Bamboos from India and surrounding territory, exported as Calcutta cane, are, in general, species like Bambusa Arundinacea or Arundinaria Falcata or Bambusa Tulda that are fine grained with the power fibers (or fibers that make up the main strength of the bamboo) close to the outside surface of the bamboo. Calcutta bamboos were formerly used for split-bamboo fishing rod making very extensively; in fact, they were the first bamboos to be used for split-bamboo fishing rods. So-called Tonkin canes or bamboos, however, proved so superior to Calcutta bamboos that the use of Calcutta bamboos, except for a few specific pur-poses, has been abandoned.

MATERIALS USED FOR MAKING SPLIT BAMBOO RODS 11

One of the many popular myths about Calcutta bamboos concerns the brown burned places usually found on these bamboos. Many reasons were given for these brown burnt marks. A popular one was that the men cut the bamboo then burned the leaves from the bamboo rather then cut them off. Another was that it was burned in places to drive out the insects. Actually, practically all Calcutta bamboos have no leaves or branches on them for quite some distance from the butt; at least for a greater distance than should ever be used for good rod making. The leaves that do appear on bamboos or easily cut or broken off. When the bamboos are cut, they are green and soft and cutting them is no problem at all. The brown or burned spots found on some Calcutta Canes are, in reality, put on laboriously by hand as decoration. This was originally done on the order of exporters who thought the bamboo so decorated was more attractive for furniture making and for use as curtain poles. None of this is based on hearsay but has been verified by Albert Severin, an employee of Herter's who has lived in India.

Another very popular Calcutta bamboo myth is the one regarding "male" and "female" bamboos. "Male" Calcutta canes have been known to the trade as bamboos that are solid or nearly solid. That is bamboos that are not hollow at all or which have just a very small cavity in the center. They are hard and tough and have large nodes. These so called "male" Calcutta bamboos (Dendrocalamus Strictus) have never been used to any extent for split-bamboo rods, but just as they come they make very good salt water rods of various sorts.

"Female" Calcutta bamboo is the name given to all distinctly hollow Calcutta bamboo. As before mentioned, there are a great many different species of these bamboos, although the trade groups them all as Calcutta cane or bamboo.

TONKIN CANE: "Tonkin Cane" is a trade name given by importers to bamboos coming from China. "Tsinglee Cane" is another trade name used for such bamboos. In some cases, these names have been used for imported Japanese bamboos and bamboos coming in from various Pacific islands. The name "Tonkin cane" was in use long before such bamboos were used for split bamboo fishing rods. The name "Tonkin Cane" covers well over twenty-five species of bamboo and actually means nothing as a means of identification. The idea that Tonkin Cane came from the Tonkin province of French Indo-China is purely a fable. This particular area produces no bam^ boos of any quality suitable for anything and never has. The finest bamboo for split-bamboo rod making is the bamboo Arundinaria Amabilis McClure.

It is a cultivated bamboo, not one found in a wild state. Herter's have standing orders for all of this bamboo that is grown.

This bamboo was discovered by F. A. McClure, an American. Mr. McClure has spent a large part of his life in China studying bamboos. He is the unquestioned world's authority on Chinese bamboos and one of the world's top authorities on bamboos of all kinds. I want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. McClure for the great help he has always been to me and for the ready cooperation he has always given me.

Arundinaria Amabilis McClure bamboo grows on occasion, as high as forty feet and as thick as 2 Vz inches in diameter. This is very

12 MATERIALS USED FOR MAKING SPLIT BAMBOO RODS

much the exception, however, not the rule. One of its characteristics is the erect straight stem with no crooks or bends or very, very slight ones. The stems are gently tapered, not sharply tapered as many bamboos are. The nodes are not large and are flat. The wood is of high density. The foliage is an olive green in color. The stems are green before cutting and have a grayish-green hue at the nodes. It takes ten years to produce stems of maximum size. This bamboo should be cut after the stem is four years old for use in the best quality split-bamboo rods. The size of the bamboo is not important, but the age is very important. This bamboo is usually grown on hillsides, although it produces just as well on bottom land if the land is not too moist. The story that bamboo must be grown on hillsides facing the sea so the winds can bend the stems is purely a myth. No bamboo for rod making is grown on hillsides near the seas. The bending and waving of bamboo in the wind does not affect its density or quality in any way. This statement is

backed by botanical tests.

Arundinaria Amabilis McClure bamboo is not found any more in the wild state, as all of the wild bamboo is either dead or has been transplanted and is under cultivation.

This bamboo is found in Kwangsi Province in an oval area not more than 25 miles long. In only about half of this area is bamboo cultivated extensively. Today, enough of this bamboo is produced so that only a small percentage of the split-bamboo fishing rods in the world can be made from it. During periods of from three to six years, when the bamboo flowers and nearly dies off, none of this bamboo is available at all. Consequently reserve stocks must be built up. The finest split bamboo rods in the world are made from this bamboo. If Arundinaria Amabilis McClure bamboo is properly seasoned and dried, there is practically no waste. Nearly all of it will make the finest possible quality rods. In other bamboos, waste might easily run as high as 80% or even higher.

The large majority of rod makers the world over, however, still know little, if anything, regarding bamboos and keep on buying "Tonkin Cane" which they believe is a distinct type of bamboo. Nearly every time they get a shipment of bamboo, it is a different species, yet they have not discovered this. Their buyers are not rod builders in most cases. The following bamboos are usually sold as Tonkin Cane. They are all very inferior bamboos for rod making when compared with the Arundinaria Amabilis McClure:

1. Man Lei Chuk. 2. Lei Kaang Chuk. 3. Foo Chuk. 4. Paak Chuk. 5. Pat Chuk.

Arundinaria Amabilis McClure

Bamboo.


The real technical knowledge of Arundinaria Amabilis McClure is confined to F. A. McClure. Although they should have technical information regarding this bamboo, none of the following institutions to date have it: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; British Museum; Arnold Arboretum; University of Zurich; Conservatoire et Jardins Botaniques, Geneva; Museum Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris; Botanishcher Gartens und Museums, Berlin Dahlem.

Arundinaria Amabilis McClure bamboo is harvested at any time of the year. There is no particular harvesting season. The stems are cut off just below the ground with a heavy knife. The stems are not difficult to cut when they are alive and green. The foliage on the bamboo acts as a sort of parachute, and the stems fall gently to the ground. The bamboo is not damaged or strained in any way in its fall as some people would like to have you believe. This is not my opinion but that of university professors of forestry, who have spent lifetimes studying bamboo. The branches and leaves on the upper part of the stem are cut off after the bamboo is felled. Arundinaria Amabilis McClure has no leaves or branches on the lower part of the stem. On large stems, the tops are cut off and used by the farmers for fencing, etc., as there is no sale for them. The stems are now bundled, carried to the nearest river and floated to a beach of fine white sand. Here the stems are scoured with wet sand. The stems then are tied in bundles and left to dry. They bleach to a pale biege or dark cream color in the sun. At night and in the case of rain, the stems are put under shelters. It takes about a week to quick dry and bleach the stems. The stems then are taken by boat or barge down the Sui River to the town of Fatshan. Here the bamboo is inspected.

Most of Arundinaria Amabilis McClure bamboo grows perfectly straight. Some stems have a slight bend that is visible only to a trained observer. Other bamboos have a bad tendency to grow quite crooked. The bamboo is inspected and straightened when necessary. Bamboo is straightened by the following processes: A charcoal fire is built in an earthenware pot. Two bricks are laid across the pot, covering all the opening except a slit approximately 2 inches wide. A bundle of bamboo is placed 3 or 4 feet above the pot so that it gradually warms up. The worker then takes a warmed up stem from the bundle and checks it for bends. If he finds a bend, he holds the area in the slit be tween the bricks for a second or two and then straightens the bamboo by one of two methods. If the bamboo is Arundinaria Bamboo.Amabilis McClure, he uses a hand straightening tool, as the bend is slight. If he is straightening some other species of bamboo that has a bad bend or is heavy and bent, he straightens it with the rope-type of bamboo straightener.

The bamboo is never heated enough so that it is even slightly scorched. The heating does not damage the bamboo in any way, contrary to common opinions or, rather, "guesses."

The pectin compounds which cement plant cells together are soluble in hot water. These pectin compounds, when the straightening of the bamboo is done in China, contain about 25% water. The heating of the bamboo warms the water enough to allow the tissues to adjust very slightly so that the bamboo can be straightened. When

14 MATERIALS USED FOR MAKING SPLIT BAMBOO RODS

the tissues cool, the pectin layers quickly harden again and hold the tissues as rigidly as before but in their new position.

Rope-type of Bamboo Straightener.

At this stage (that is, after the bamboo is straightened and when it contains 25% to 30% moisture) it is shipped to rod makers with the exception of Herter's. Herter's were the first and are still the only company seasoning bamboo in China and the only company importing Arundinaria Amabilis McClure bamboo. George Leonard Herter worked out this process.

The Herter process is as follows: Every stem of the bamboo is carefully split with a knife down one side to allow it to shrink as it dries without strain. The stems are then further sun-dried until they reach a moisture content of not more than 13%. The sun drying also helps greatly to kill any beetles or beetle eggs that might be in the stems.

When the bamboo is down to 13% moisture content or less it is shipped to the United States or other warehouse points. Once bamboo has been dried down to 13%, it picks up moisture content very slowly, as the cells of the bamboo have become dried and are hard. The bamboo after being received by Herter's is then scientifically kiln dried down to approximately 4% moisture content. Storing and drying bamboo anywhere in the United States under natural air drying conditions with the exception of parts of Arizona and Death Valley will never reduce the moisture content of the bamboo to less than 8% and very rarely as low as 8%. A hundred years of storing and drying will not reduce it lower than this. The humidity in most states will not permit moisture contents of less than this from natural drying. If your climate has a relative humidity of 50% you can air dry bamboo to % moisture content. With 60% relative humidity, it can be dried

DRYING SLIT

Herter's Method of Splitting one Side of the Bamboo Stem to al-low for Perfect Drying Without Strain.


to 11% moisture content and at 70% relative humidity to 13½%. Bamboo with 13% moisture content will shrink or swell a little in any part of the United States. Although such bamboo is used for 95% of the production rods manufactured in North America. A really good rod simply cannot be made from it. The best bamboo rods must be made from bamboo with not more than 7% moisture content and preferable around 4%. By careful, slow, scientific kiln drying, the moisture content of bamboo can be safely reduced to as low as 4% without damaging the bamboo in anyway. However, ordinary wood kilns cannot be used at all, as they will ruin bamboo. A wood kiln that has scientific humidity and heat controls must be used.

Thousands of tests on bamboo rod sections proved this all important and until now an unknown fact. The moisture content of a bamboo rod section is the most important factor in giving the rod "back bone" or suitable stiffness. Arrangement of nodes, fit at the glue line of strips, number of strips used in the rod are all of minor importance compared to the importance of the moisture content of the bamboo.

Removing the moisture content of bamboo after it has been made up into a rod section should never be done.

Some amateur rod builders advocate building a small drying oven and drying out the completed rod sections in it. Never do this. Drying out a rod section shrinks it causing stresses and strains on both the rod and the glue or cement used to cement the section together. Such sections are apt to break or warp at anytime during use.

Other amateurs place rod sections in sand and put them in their attic to dry out. This does nothing for the sections.

Remember this important fact. In order to make a good bamboo rod the bamboo must be dried down to 7% moisture content or less before the rod sections are made.

CHAPTER III

HOW TO READ A MICROMETER CALIPER

Illustration shows Herter's adjustable Rod Builder's Micrometer with a rod strip being measured. The micrometer reading is 290 thousandths of an inch. The figures 1 and 2 are completely visible. The distance between each of these numbers represents 100 thousandths of an inch. Each marked interval between these numbers represents 25 thousandths of an inch. The numbers on the thimble (E) represents thousandths. Numbers 1 and 2 are completely visible (200 thousandths). But the number 3 is not completely visible so only the three marks that are completely visible between the numbers 2 and 3 are counted. This gives us three markings on the barrel (D) (75 thousandths) and 15 thousandths on the thimble (E) which totals the reading to 290 thousandths of an inch.

In fine rod building, it is necessary to use a micrometer to measure your rod strips for absolute accuracy. Rod strips are always measured from the apex of the strip to the center of the enamel side, as the illustration shows. The thickness of the enamel and under-ena-mel are not counted in measuring, so if they are left on the strip they should be deducted.

It is not difficult to learn to read a micro-meter. In fact, if you follow these instructions and do not get impatient, you can learn to read a micrometer in ten minutes.

The paragraphs below describe the various parts of the micrometer, how it works and how to read it. In using a micrometer to measure remember to never turn the thimble more than enough to barely make the spindle touch the object to be measured. The spindle (C) is attached to the thimble (E) on the inside. The spindle is threaded to fit a nut in the frame (A), where it passes through the frame. The frame is held stationary, the thimble (E) is revolved by the thumb and the finger, and the spindle (C), being attached to the thimble, revolves with it and moves through the nut

HOW TO READ A MICROMETER CALIPER 17

in the frame, approaching or receding from the anvil (B). The article to be measured is placed between the anvil (B) and the spindle (C). The measurement of the opening between the anvil and the spindle is shown by the lines and figures on the barrel (D) and the thimble (E).

The pitch of the screw threads on the concealed part of the spindle is 40 to an inch. One complete revolution of the spindle therefore moves it longitudinally one fortieth (or twenty-five thousands) of an inch. The barrel (D) is marked with 40 lines to the inch, corresponding to the number of threads on the spindle. When the caliper is closed, the beveled edge of the thimble coincides with the line marked O on the barrel, and the O line on the thimble agrees with the horizontal line on the barrel. Open the caliper by revolving the thimble one full revolution or until the O line on the thimble again coincides with the horizontal line on the barrel; the distance between the anvil (B) and the spindle (C) is then 1/40 or (.025) of an inch, and the beveled edge of the thimble will coincide with the second vertical line on the barrel. Each vertical line on the barrel indicates a distance of 25 thousandths of an inch. Every fourth line is made longer than the others, and is numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. Each numbered line indicates a distance of four times 1/40 of an inch, one-tenth of an inch or one hundred thousandths.

The beveled edge of the thimble is marked in twenty-five divisions, and every fifth line is numbered, from 0 to 25. Rotating the thimble from one of these marks to the next moves the spindle longitudinally 1/25 of twenty-five thousands, or one thousandth of an inch. Rotating it two divisions indicates two thousandths, etc. Twenty-five divisions will indicate a complete revolution, .025 or 1/40 of an inch.

To read the caliper, therefore, multiply the number of vertical divisions completely not partially visible on the barrel by 25, and add to this figure the number of divisions on the bevel of the thimble, from 0 to the line which coincides with the horizontal line on the sleeve, thus you have the reading of the micrometer.

CHAPTER IV

V BLOCK PLANING FORMS

V blocks are wooden or metal blocks with angle grooves for planing strips of bamboo into the exact proper angles so that the strips will fit together perfectly to form a section of a rod. Custom rod mak ers the world over use V blocks to build their hand made rods. During the last few years, the use of wooden V blocks has died out nearly entirely. Wooden V blocks are notoriously inaccurate, easily damaged, and very difficult to make with precision.

V blocks are now used only as devices to hold the strips for planing to insure correct angles. The actual measuring of the strips as they are planed in the V block is done with a micrometer. In the old days a 1/64 inch gauge was usually used, but such a gauge is not nearly accurate enough for present day rods even in the lowest price field.

V blocks were also used limitedly at one time as the actual mea suring device for planing strips to the exact measurements. The grooves in the V block were made just the exact depth and width de sired for the strips to be used on a certain rod. Then the strips were planed down flat in the grooves of the V block. Such a V block, of course, would only make one particular rod, and that inaccurately, as it is difficult to plane down to a surface within a few thousandths of complete accuracy. These old types of V blocks were made of wood and if you did plane down too close on the strip you ruined the surface of the block and all accuracy of the grooves. Wooden V blocks were used years ago in both England and America. They were used for a number of reasons during their era. One reason was so that the rod maker could make his V blocks himself and thus not impart any trade secrets to others. The second was because their cost was low. In the third place, rods in past eras did not require the precision they do to-

day. Fourth, machine shops capable of making precision V blocks were very rare and usually a long distance from the rod makers.

As a matter of record, I shall describe some of the ways in which wooden V blocks were made.

One method was to make a set-up as shown in the illustration by properly beveling pieces of wood so they could be put together to form a groove of the desired angle.

This set up, itself, is no easy thing to make even fairly accurately. It is obvious that, if the piece of wood for the half of the V block is not perfectly true and held perfectly straight by the wedges, the

Across section of one method for planing a piece of wood to form half of the

groove in a wood V block.

20 V BLOCK PLANING FORMS

Another type of wooden V block that was supposed to be a measuring device is as follows. A piece of wood, as long or a little longer than each section of the rod to be bulit and from 2 % to 3 inches square, was selected. Three center lines were scored down the middle of 3 faces of the piece with a carpenter's gauge. Then a rabbet plane with

One Type of Wood V-Block Used As Measuring Device

a cutting blade about a half-inch wide was taken and the blade ground to a 60 degree angle. This was checked for accuracy with a rod maker's angle gauge. Then this plane was used to groove out the

marks of the carpenter's gauge to 60 degree angles. To do this accurately is a really difficult task, as the small plane always wants to follow the grain of the wood or has a tendency to slip

from the hard to the soft spots in the wood. Then the 60 degree point on a rod maker's gauge was sharpened so it could be used as a scraper and the grooves were scraped out carefully with this. The grooves were roughly tapered by making a holder for the gauge, as the illustration shows.

The wood in such a V block, even if kiln or air-dried properly, will swell in wet weather and

shrink in hot weather enough so that the grooves will not be accurate enough for a good modern rod even if the block is varnished. A careless cut of the plane on such a V block, of course, will ruin it.

In 1947, a book by Mr. G. Lawton Moss, M.C., T.D., called "How to Build Your Own Split-Cane Fishing Rod" was published in England. The book is small but manages to contain a great many incorrect ideas on the making of split-bamboo rods. Mr. Moss advocates the use of a "former" for planing

^ ^ OF

BAMBOO 'GLUED TO FLAT "OF

FORMER! DOTTED LINES INDICATE FINISHED STRIP.

PLANE AWAY SURPLUS BAMBOO.

BASE OF BRASS SUPPORT TWO BRASS STRIPS

STRIP 3/16” THICK SAME THICKNESS- AS BRASS.

FOR SET SCREW. ROD MAKERS GAUGE.

DEPTH INDICATING ARROW

ROD MAKERS ANGLE GAUGE RIVETS OR BOLTS. WITH POINT SHARPENED L.ARGE SET SCREW. FOR SCRAPING OUT GROOVES. Holder for rod maker's gauge so the grooves can be scraped out in wood and roughly tapered.

rod strips. A "former" is a piece of hard wood—a little longer than the strips you desire to make planed to form angles of 60 degrees. The top of this piece is then planed off flat and to different

"Former" advocated by Mr. Moss for planing rod strips.

V BLOCK PLANING FORMS 21

depths so that the flat is tapered as you desire your strips to be tapered. A piece of bamboo is then glued to this flat area with a glue that can be easily loosened when desired. In order to do this, you must plane the bamboo strip flat on the enamel side before gluing. By doing this, you will plane off some of the power fibers, thus ruining the bamboo for a fine quality rod. I heartily disprove of this method. You then plane off the surplus bamboo, loosen the glue and you have your strip.

As the use of wooden V blocks went out, the use of steel V blocks came in. Adjustable steel V blocks were at first used to some extent but were soon abandoned for the following reasons:

1. They were very expensive .to make, as they required a great deal of skilled machining if they were to be made accurately. 2. They could not be used as measuring devices for straight tapered rods, as had first been anticipated. It was found that it was impossible to plane the strips accurately enough in the planing form without measuring the strips carefully.

These adjustable steel V blocks were made of two steel bars of cold rolled steel ¾ to 1 inch thick and 3 feet to 4 feet long. The edges of the steel bars were beveled at 60 degrees with the face widths as indicated in the illustration. The bars were held to the metal or wood base-board by right angle steel holders. When it was desired to switch the bevel surfaces, the machine screws were removed and the bars

were turned over to the bevel desired; then the machine screws were put back. The bars, as you will note in the cross section, have four tapped or threaded holes to take the machine screws in the various positions the bar may be put into.

The bolt in the adjusting slot can be moved back and forth to allow you to adjust the distance between the steel bars. The illustration shows the bars adjusted to 2/16 inch wide at one end and 3/16 inch wide at the other end. This would be for a strip about 2/16 inch wide at one end and tapered to about 3/16 inch wide at the other.

22 V BLOCK PLANING FORMS

A steel V block with a "track" built in it so a plane could run along this track and plane the strip to a certain desired depth was

used by early machine made rod makers. The strips were cut and beveled on a planing machine. These early machines were not very accurate. After the strips had been cut on it, they were placed in a "track" type of steel V block and planed down accurately enough to fit together.

Of late years, the hand made rod makers have all come to the use of steel V

blocks with enough grooves of various widths in them so that a strip of nearly any size, from the smallest to the largest, can be held in them and planed to the proper angle. These later type of steel V blocks are not measuring devices, as this is not desirable. They hold the strips while they are planed to the proper angle and measurements.

"Track" type steel V block.

CHAPTER V

SPLITTING AND PREPARING BAMBOO STRIPS FOR PLANING

Bamboo, for split bamboo rod building is available in 8 foot, 6 foot, and 46 inch lengths. In constructing the popular 9 foot, 3 piece fly rod you should purchase the 8 foot cane. This is cut into two 48 inch lengths, leaving sufficient length for node spacing. Most eight foot canes have enough material in them for one 9 foot fly rod with three sections and an extra tip. This will vary with the diameter of the cane and the size rod being constructed. The 46 inch cane is also excellent for 3 piece, 9 foot fly rod construction. It is also used for 2 piece casting and spinning rods and for extra tips for 9 foot 3 piece rods. In building two piece fly rods, 7½ foot, 8 foot, 8½ foot and on one piece casting rods, 6 foot cane should be used.

In handling and working cane, wear leather or sturdy canvas gloves to protect your hands from cuts, as the edges of cane are extremely sharp. If you find it difficult to hold the plane with a gloved hand, leave the glove off your planing hand.

File the nodes (nodes are the joints) on the cane smooth and level with the outside of the cane. (See illustration.) The outside of the cane

NODE'

p»TV4 S40E

24 SPLITTING AND PREPARING BAMBOO STRIPS

cane together usually average from .003 to .009 of an inch in thickness. Both the enamel and the under-enamel of the cane serve no purpose in rod making and are removed. (Directions will follow.)

Just beneath the under-enamel of the cane are the power fibers. They usually average about .125 of an inch or more in thickness on a good cane. The fibers directly under the under-enamel are, however, the finest and strongest. These fibers run lengthwise with the cane and are quickly visible if you sand off the enamel and under-enamel. These power fibers are the strongest fibers of the cane and are the fibers that give your rod its strength and power. If possible, do not sand any of them away. If you have to sand them away after your rod is completed to reduce the strength of the rod, do so as little as possible.

Some rod makers are prone to sand the outside of tip sections on light and medium rods to any desired dimensions. They believe that because these sections are so small in diameter that they are practically all power fibers and it makes little difference if you sand some off. This is not true. Even on the finest tips, do not sand off power fiibers if at all possible, as the strongest ones are at the surface and you need them for the best tips.

After all the nodes on the cane have been filed level, take a heavy butcher or hunting knife and place it across the end of the cane as illustration shows. Tap it with a hammer to start it in the cane, then push and twist it down through the cane, splitting the cane in half. Now split the halves in quarters, using the same method.

Now remove the inside protruding parts of the nodes so they are even with the inside or pith side of the cane. A medium size gouge or small chisel with a hammer works well. A heavy hunting knife or a wood rasp can also be used and will do a good enough job.

Now split the quarters in eighths. See illustration. Do this by laying the strips on your bench, pith side down. Put the point of a knife

SPLITTING AND PREPARING BAMBOO STRIPS 25

on the outside of the node where you desire it split and drive the point of the knife through the strip with a hammer. Then twist the knife until the strip splits about half way to the next node. (Never

more than half way.) Now do the same on the next node and make the splits run together; thus proceed to split the entire strip.

Testing Cane for Rod Making Figure 1. Superior quality for rods. Figure 2. Excellent quality for rods. Figure 3. Poor quality. Not suitable for rods.

Take one of the eighths and grasp it firmly by each end with your hands. Slowly bring your hands together until the cane breaks. If the cane fibers appear approximately as in figures 1 or 2 of the illustration, the cane is to be used to make your rod. If the piece breaks off

OUTSIDE

OF STRIP

NOOE

NODE

NOOE

26 SPLITTING AND PREPARING BAMBOO STRIPS

sharply as in Figure 3, the cane is not to be used for rod making. Discard any such poor cane and select another cane to make your rod.

Now that the cane has been split into eight pieces, you may continue to split some of the strips down for the tip and middle sections. The others may be used for large butt sections. Each rod that is built may require different width strips to be split from the cane; hence there can be no exact standard in splitting the cane to width. This will be learned with very little experience.

Some of the strips may be very crooked and will need straightening before planing. These can be straightened by holding in a jet of steam from an ordinary kettle spout. Expose to steam jet for a minute or so and apply pressure in an opposite direction from the bend until straight.

In removing the enamel there are two methods that can be used but must now be decided on. Either is satisfactory. We will describe them both. The first: take some fine sand paper or a scraper and sand or scrape off the enamel and under-enamel down to the power fibers on all the strips. Thus, when you are measuring the strips for size later on, you will get true measurements.

Second method. Take one of the strips and, with Herter's Rod Maker's Micrometer, measure the thickness of the strip. Then scrape or sand off a small patch of the enamel and under-enamel down to the power fibers; then re-measure the strip on this spot. The difference will be the enamel thickness of the strip. This figure must be added to all measurements of the specifications for the rod you're building. This latter method is used if you leave the enamel and under-enamel on the strips until they are completely made and glued together to form a rod section.

The advantage of the latter method is that the glue tends to stick less to the enamel of the cane than the power fibers and hence any glue that dries on the outside of the rod in gluing chips off easily.

Now select the five or six strips that are to be used in making the section. (5 for a 5 strip rod, 6 for a 6 strip rod.) It is better to have them far too wide than too narrow. Always use the heavy end of the cane for the end that will face the reel seat or butt of the rod. Lay the strips on your work bench side-by-side with the enamel side up. Shift the strips in the manner shown by the illustration so that no two nodes are together. This will give you a spiral node layout.

There has been considerable controversy on node spacing. The spiral node layout of course is the best for hand made rods. It's not as important however as has been previously taught by many rod

SPLITTING AND PREPARING BAMBOO STRIPS 27

makers. A great many manufacturers now pay little attention to node spacing and they make the finest rods. The node is actually the strongest part of the strip. You can test this yourself by taking a strip of cane that has been split from the culm and try to break it at the node. Bend it with the enamel side out the same as it would bend in your rod. You will note the strip will in nearly all cases break between the nodes. So actually, when you find two or even three nodes together on a rod section it will have little or no effect upon the strength or action of the section. Above all it will not be a weak spot. If the cane you have selected for your rod has unusually high nodes, it may be necessary to cut down into the fibers considerably when filing the node level. In cases such as this, it then may tend to weaken the strip at this point and more attention should be paid to node spacing.

From the heavy ends of your strips, measure the length of the section, plus about five inches. Mark all the strips at this measurement. The extra 5 inches for the section length is allowed so that if, in planing you damage an end of a strip, you will still have something to go on (When the strips are completed, glued, and dried you cut the section to the proper length you desire before putting on the ferrule.) Now number the strips from 1 to 5 or from 1 to 6 depending on whether you are making a five or six strip rod. Do this on the enamel side with a pencil or crayon. Then dip the heavy ends of the strips in ink so that they will not become mixed when planing them.

PLANING AND GLUING BAMBOO ROD STRIPS 29

may also be covered with Herter's latex. This is superior to leather as rubber does not cut as easily. Now take one to three or four cuts with your plane the full length of the strip on one side only. Follow the instructions in illustration exactly. It is of the utmost importance. The plane blade should be set so your shavings measure from five to seven thousandths of an inch in thickness. Now turn the strip over and take exactly the same number of cuts on the other side of the strip. Never plane the enamel side of the strips, only the two raw edges. This of course is imperative. The strip may splinter slightly at some of the nodes. If this is the case and you're using Herter's Rod Builder's Plane, close the blade opening on the bottom of the plane, just leaving enough clearance for the shavings to come through as previously explained. Keep rotating the strip taking three or four cuts on a side each time you rotate it. Do this three or four times until the strip is roughly triangular and slightly tapered. Do not attempt to plane the strip down to, or near its final measurements. Now lay this number 1 strip aside and plane the balance of the strips for the butt section in the same manner.

In planing down the sides of the strips as instructed above to form a rough triangle, the point or apex of the triangle must be kept in a perpendicular line with the center of the enamel side at all times. You will find this a little difficult at first. More than likely as you are planing on a strip you will find that one side of the strip becomes wider than the other and hence the apex of the triangle is not in perpendicular line with the center of the enamel side. This must be corrected as soon as it is noticed.

If the right side of the strip is wider, place the enamel side of the strip toward the right side of the block, tilt the heel or rear of your plane down and take one to three light cuts. Then turn the strip over

and again tilt the heel of the plane down, and take one to three light cuts. Rotate the strip until this condition is corrected.

If the left of the strip is wider, as shown in the illustration, place the enamel side of the strip towards the left side of the block, tilt

30 PLANING AND GLUING BAMBOO ROD STRIPS

the toe or front of the plane down and take one to three light cuts, then turn the strip over and again tilt the toe of the plane down and take one to three light cuts. Rotate the strip until this condition is corrected.

The apex of the triangle of the strip may also be straightened in many cases by placing your rod maker's gauge in a vice and draw or press the faulty strip through the V in the gauge, scraping off the sides until they fit perfectly in the V.

The reason for roughly working down all the strips at the same time is to give beginners a chance to "get the feel" of planing strips before they are brought down to exact measurements. It also eliminates the necessity of changing the plane blade setting as you will note later.

Now take strip number 1 and mark off the measurement intervals on the strip. In marking the measurement intervals on the strips, start at the heavy end. The extra five inches at the small end of the strip is merely a precaution, as before mentioned, in case one end of the strip is spoiled. Also, in gluing the strips together to form the section, it may be necessary or desirable to have these extra five inches or so to cut off in case the end gluing turns out badly. Before putting the ferrule on the completed section, this extra length is cut off. At each measurement interval mark in the measurement you desire on the enamel side of the strip. This eliminates having to refer to the measure-ments while planing and checking the strip. Put in the measurement intervals and specifications on all the strips in the section. Now change the plane blade setting so that the shavings measure about two to four thousandths inches in thickness. (It is best if at all possible to have two planes, one set fine and one coarse, to avoid changing the setting on the plane.) Take strip number 1 of the butt section, place it in the grooves in the V block that roughly corresponds to these measurements and plane it carefully down to the exact measurements you desire. Work from the small end of the strip back toward the heavy end. That is, plane the first measurement on the small end to measurement by planing toward the small end. Then set the micrometer for the next measurement and then starting at the first measurement slide the micrometer toward the second measurement until it binds. Put a pencil mark on the two raw edges at this point and proceed planing being careful not to plane further than the pencil marks. Continue this procedure the full length of the strip. Rotate the strips as before, taking a cut off one side and then one off the other as you get the strip down to the exact measurements. Be sure the apex of the strip is always carefully kept in a perpendicular line with the center of the enameled side.

At first, if you are afraid to use a plane when you start getting the strips down close to where you want them, use a flat file to take the strips down to exact measurements. Always file lengthwise, or it will sliver the strips. A file is also excellent for finishing tip section strips. A razor blade is also good for finishing strips. Scrape the strips lengthwise when using a razor blade.

When you believe you have all the strips down to the given mea-surements, pressure wrap them in your Pressure Wrapping Machine


without glue to check their fit. If satisfactory, the strips can be glued; if not mark the poorly fitted spots with a pencil, place these strips back in the V block and file them lightly near the apex. Then wrap the section again without glue and check it. Keep this up until the strips fit together perfectly. Then glue and wrap them.

You will find Resin base glue will give you the results desired in this all important part of rod building. Too much care cannot be given to the gluing. Hot glues, fish and animal glues are not satisfactory for rod building. Hot humid days soften such glues, making the rod's action soft and useless for good casting.

Strips that have broken edges or poorly planed edges that cannot be brought together in the pressure wrap-ping machines should not be used in a section. Make new strips to replace them. Save these spoiled strips, if they are from the butt section, as they can be used in making strips for the tip or middle section. When a strip is spoiled, replace it with another from the same cane whenever possible so that the general quality of the cane will remain as similar as possible.

A common practice with many bamboo rod makers is to fill in any gaps between the rod sections with a filler in the exact color of the bamboo. The match between the filler and the bamboo is so perfect that only an expert can tell if the rod has been so filled. Rods so filled are of course not of as good a quality as unfilled rods.

Some rod makers also use a glue in the same color as the bamboo and let the glue fill in any gaps in the joints. This also is of course not a good practice.

SINGLE AND SPIRAL WRAPPING OF GLUED ROD SECTIONS WITH A PRESSURE WRAPPING

MACHINE

To pressure-wrap glued strips of a rod with a pressure wrapping and rod winding machine, hold the rod strips in your left hand with the belt looped over the larger end of the rod (Fig. 1). Add one more loop as in Figure 2, then put the belt over the crank handle and onto the pulley, as illustrated in Figure 3. Lay the strips in the grooved rod-holder of the machine, and be sure that the belt on the underside of the strips is between the prongs (Fig. 4).

BAD FIT CAUSED BY POOR PLANING.

FIT CAUSED BY BROKEN EDGE.


Additional weight other than that afforded by the sliding weight which crank is attached to must be added when wrapping any section. To do this, suspend a bucket partly filled with sand (or any heavy object) on the hook located beneath the crank handle (Fig. 3). When making the initial winding on the glued strips, an additional weight of between 5 to 15 pounds will be sufficient depending upon the strength of the section.

In winding rods, it is necessary to use rod wrapping cord or a similar cotton cord. Do not use a linen thread under any circumstances. When linen thread is used, the tension disc

of the machine will flatten and separate the individual fibers of the thread, and it will break under the lightest tension.

Thread the rod wrapping cord through the tension

disc at the top of the machine (Fig. 3). The cord must pass through the tension disc at a right angle or it will continually slip out of the disc. The angle of application also helps to keep the cord out of the way when winding glued strips. If your cord is in a box or a can, place it to one side of the machine at the proper angle. If your cord is on a spool, sink a dowel in your table at an angle from the machine, place the spool on

34 PLANNING AND GLUING BAMBO ROD STRIPS

it at corresponding spots on each end. (Fig. 6). Thus, the strips can be laid on any surface, and the tape will hold them together in proper position for assembly before gluing (Fig. 7). After the sections are laid out, glue can be applied with a brush to all sections at the same time. If this method is used, it is not necessary to tie the glue strips together before running them through our machine.

If this is your first rod, you may worry about the fact that the strips (before gluing) or the sections (after gluing) may be crooked. This is to be expected and is not to be construed as a fault in your rod. There are many ways of straightening these bends. The easiest way to straighten a section after it has been glued and wrapped is to slap it against a piece of linoleum before the glue has an opportunity to set. You can also straighten the section by bending it with your hands after it is glued and wrapped. This straightening must be done in five to ten minutes. After approximately ten minutes the glue begins to jel and the section should not be bent. Some rod makers advise hanging a weight on the end of a section and suspending it from the ceiling. This is not a uniformly successful method, but it is useful in maintaining straightness in a section after the bends are taken out by the methods described above.

Do not remove the wrappings from the glued rod sections for at least 5 days. When using Resin Base Glue do not subject the sections to temperature of less than 65 degrees F. for this period.

There is considerable controversy over the aging of sections. This hinges mainly on the type of bamboo and glue that is used. Some of the well known rod makers age their sections for six months, others three months and still others allow no aging period. You have read previously, the data on air and Kiln dried wood. Bamboo Kiln dried to 7% moisture content or less has less moisture than any air dried bamboo, hence it is obvious that aging your sections would not be necessary. If you are using a water soluble glue or one of the various hot glues, fish glues, etc., then the aging period is recommended. Even though Kiln dried bamboo is used the strips will take on a certain percentage of the moisture contained within the glue. If this moisture is not allowed to dry out the sections will have a tendency to be "softer" then the specifications would indicate. Most of the companies selling the various types of bamboo or "tonkin cane" do not bother to Kiln dry it. This bamboo usually is air dried, however, in most cases not long enough. This bamboo may contain from 13% to 25% moisture content and truthfully is worthless for fine rod building. If you are using bamboo that you are in doubt about the moisture content, we suggest you age your sections. If you have access to a place that can give you a moisture reading on the bamboo, by all means have them do it. All commercial kilns and some lumber com-panies could do this for you.

After the sections have been glued and aged, if necessary some


will require straightening. Sections can be easily straightened by passing back and forth through the steam from an ordinary kettle spout, at the same time applying pressure in the opposite r direction of the bend, until the section is straight. We recommend getting them as straight as possible when gluing as they will hold their shape much better.

Rod strips may, of course, be glued together to form rod sections without the use of the pressure wrapping machine. The results, as you can well imagine, are not satisfactory for modern split-bamboo fly rods. You cannot apply enough uniform pressure to the strips, and poor glue lines are the result. Today few rods are made without the use of pressure wrapping machines.

As a matter of record, I will describe the gluing of strips to form a rod section without the use of a pressure wrapping machine. Rod wrapping cord should be used for all sections. Lay out the strips with cellophane tape holding them together, as before described, and apply the glue to them. Then press the strips together, and hold them together with rubber bands at the two ends and in the middle. Now wipe off as much excess glue as possible with a rag. Now double a long length of the cord and make a noose in it. as

the illustration shows. Tap the ends of the strips on the floor or table top to make sure they are all in line. Slip the noose over the butt end of the piece and tighten the noose as illustration shows. Make several turns of the cord around the strips toward the middle of the section to keep the noose tight. Now, keeping the cord tight, lay the section down on a table with the butt end

toward your left hand. Roll the section away from you with your left hand, and put tension on the cord with your right hand as it is spirally wound

onto the section. The short end of cord will wind down. Keep the winds about ê of an inch or less apart. If you do all this properly you will find that the strips do not twist and also that the rolling on the level table top keeps your section straight. When you complete the winding, take several tight turns around the section at the end and carefully tie off your winding cord very tightly. Now wipe off the excess glue with a damp (not wet) rag. Do not use a wet rag, as you do not want any excess of moisture on the section. If you do have any bends or twists in the section at this stage take them out by counter bending or counter twisting the section. Now place the wrapped section on a level table top and roll it over the table top with your hands. Exert a good steady pressure on the section with your hands as you roll it. Keep this up for three to five minutes. In hand gluing, usual-

STEAM

Straightening a Crooked Rod

Section with Steam Jet.

Noose of double linen thread.


ly only one wrap is used. If you desire a double wrap, wrap the section again, using the same pro-cess but start the windings in the opposite direction so as to form a double spiral wrap.

Here is a brief word regarding section lengths. It is very desirable but not absolutely necessary to have all the sections of your rod the same length, or nearly so, when the rod is unjointed. For example, assume you are making a nine foot three piece rod. Such a rod will have one ferrule joining the butt and middle section, in which the male ferrule would be about one inch long, or, in other words, the ferrule would seat one inch. It would also have one ferrule joining the middle and tip section which would seat about 3/4 of an inch. (Always buy your ferrules before commencing your rods so you will know their exact seating length.)

A nine foot rod jointed together ready for fishing would measure 108 inches long from end to end. This rod unjointed, with its three sections laid end to end with the ferrules not seated but barely touching, will measure 109.75 inches long. The extra 13/4 inches in unjointed length is gained from the seating parts of the male ferrules. So, to have all the sections of the rod of equal length when unjointed, divide

the 109.75 inches by three, which will give you 36.583 inches. This is the length that each unjointed section must be when completely finished. On the butt section, about an inch of this length will be the empty forward part of the female ferrule. The cane length, then, of the butt section is 35.583 inches. The middle section has a male ferrule on the end toward the butt which is filled with cane and a female ferrule on the end toward the tip that has an empty space 3/4 inches long for seating the male ferrule of the tip. Hence, the cane length of the mid-dle section will be 35.833 inches long and 36.583. including the empty space of its female ferrule.

The tip section has only a male ferrule on one end. This ferrule is filled with the cane so the cane length of the tip section will be 36.583 inches long.


The above measurements are taken from conventional type ferrules. These will vary of course with different type ferrules and with different ferrule manufacturers. Therefore you actually should have the ferrules before cutting the sections to length so as to have the exact measurements.

CHAPTER VII

FERRULES The fore runner of ferrules

was the "wrapped splice joint."

Figure 1. Cross section of the end of a beveled rod section with metal protecting cap. Figure 2. The beveled ends of two rod sections are placed together and wrapped with linen thread. For purpose of illustration, the sections are shown with shorter bevels than they

FIG.2 HEAVY LINEN THREAD

The Wrapped Spliced Joint.

actually had. This joint was made as illustration shows. The beveled ends of the sections were covered with metal protecting caps when not in use. The caps were removed when the rod was to be jointed and beeswax was smeared onto the beveled surfaces. The beveled surfaces were wrapped, and then hot beeswax was poured over the wrappings.

I have heard men who had never tried rods with these wrapped spliced joints state that rods so joined were superior to those jointed with our present day ferrules. I have used rods with the best of wrapped spliced joints; they are not bad, but terrible. It is impossible to bind the splice together tight enough to prevent a slight movement in casting. This results in a nice sloppy action fine for rug beating, but not for fishing.

DOWELED FERRULES

So called "Doweled" ferrules were used considerably for a short period some forty years back. These doweled ferrules were thought, at the time, to be stronger and more secure than other types of fer-

rules. This, of course, was not at all true but was firmly believed for a number of years. Doweled ferrules at best were clumsy affairs hard

METAL PROTECTING CAR

FERRULES 39

to manufacture and hard to fit onto rods. Many types of doweled ferrules were made. The best of the doweled ferrules was patented by George I. Varney of Poughkeepsie, New York, in April of 1895. Varney not only brought out the best of the doweled type of ferrule but also made improvements on other types of ferrules during his lifetime.

Doweled ferrules are used only by two American rod makers on salt water rods at present, but are still used by a considerable number of British rod makers on fly rods at this writing.

SWISS-TYPE FERRULES

One type of ferrule originated in Switzerland and used in other parts of Europe is known as a Swiss-type ferrule. They are ferrules in which the male ferrule is all center and has no shoulder. This makes it possible to put the male ferrule on the rod section without stepping down the section end to fit the center. This greatly strengthens the rod section.

There are three ways in which Swiss-type ferrules may be made. No. 1. Turning on a metal lathe from a solid bar of metal. The male ferrule is drilled to proper size and cut off. Here the male ferrule may have a slight shoulder. In some cases it may be necessary to machine the center, or seating portion of the male ferrule slightly, to insure a smooth surface for a good fit. Serrations are milled in the cap on a milling machine. The female ferrule has two inside diameters as you can note from the illustrations. The large hole is drilled first and then the smaller. The outside is then turned down. The welt may either be turned or a separate piece made and sweat soldered in place. Serrations are put in the cap in the final operation. No. 2. Precision tubing; the male ferrule is just one length of tubing with one end closed by a small metal turning that is sweat soldered in place. The female

Swiss-type Ferrule

ferrule is made up of two different sizes of tubing; one soldered partially into the other. The welt is a small metal turning soldered on the female ferrule. Serrations are put in on a milling machine. No. 3 Drawing; The male ferrule is drawn from a small sheet of metal. The metal is heated and placed in a steel die which presses and stretches it to shape. The female ferrule may be drawn the same way also, however the end must be cut out after drawing and also the welt soldered in place. The female ferrule may also be drawn from a piece of tubing; either by swelling the end to take the male ferrule or by compressing the end that fits over the section end.

Swiss type ferrules, although used here for a great many years, failed to gain any popularity until after World War II. They are superior in every way to the conventional type of ferrules that are in general use here. The reason they are not widely used on all rods is that ferrule makers were already tooled up for other ferrules when they became familiar with Swiss-type ferrules. Tooling up for ferrule making is no small item; as long as the ferrules they were making

40 FERRULES

served the purpose, manufacturers did not feel like spending a great deal of money to bring out another type of ferrule.

Herter's were one of the first companies to offer Swiss ferrules to the public and they are now available in a price range suitable for everyone.

In measuring a Swiss-type ferrule take the inside diameter measurement at the cap ends. For example, an 18/64 ferrule will have an inside diameter of .281 on both the male and female at its cap ends. On the conventional type ferrules, the outside diameter of the male center would be .281.

FRICTION FERRULES

Friction ferrules get their name from the fact that they hold together by a friction fit; that is, a good snug fit. Friction ferrules come in two general types, the conventional and the Swiss. The conventional friction ferrule is the most widely used, but the Swiss-type friction ferrule is superior to it. Conventional-type ferrules are those in which the male ferrule has a center and a shoulder. Swiss-type friction ferrules are those where the male ferrule has only a center and the center is approximately the same diameter as the section on which it is fitted.

On a salt water rod with detachable butt or grip, another type of friction ferrule is used. It is the same as a conventional friction ferrule, except that the female part of the ferrule has a reel seat built on it or, in other words, the reel seat is a combination reel seat and female ferrule.

FRICTION FERRULES THAT ARE NOT SATISFACTORY

Two versions of the friction-type of ferrule that are not satisfactory are the pin lock, and screw lock friction-type of ferrule; both are British. Either type is unnecessary, and only complicates, without improvement, a simple friction-type of ferrule.

The pin lock friction-type ferrule is one in which the female ferrule has a spiral slot cut in the top. The male ferrule has a pin near the top that fits into this slot and is twisted, locking the male ferrule to the female ferrule.

The screw-lock friction-type of ferrule is really a masterpiece in making a simple mechanism complicated. The top of the female ferrule is slotted length-wise an eighth of an inch or so, and the top of the female ferrule is also threaded down for about a sixteenth of an inch. The male ferrule has a pin near the top that fits into the slot on the female ferrule. The pin fits deep enough in the slot so that it is below the threaded end of the female ferrule. The male ferrule has a loose threaded collar that rides above the pin. This collar is now screwed onto the end of the female ferrule. You have to use a rod with such ferrules really to appreciate their very bad points. If you have a special man to keep the dust and dirt out of them and otherwise keep them in working order they are not too bad; otherwise they are terrible.

FERRULES 41

THE MANUFACTURE OF FERRULES

Brass, stainless steel, beryllium copper, monel, aluminum alloys, and German silver are the metals used at present for ferrules. German silver, which is known to manufacturers as 18% Nickel silver, is a combination of 18% nickel with copper and zinc. The amount of nickel remains constant but the amounts of copper and zinc vary somewhat from manufacturer to manufacturer. German silver, although greatly inferior in strength and other qualities for good ferrules when compared to such metals as stainless steels, monel, and beryllium copper, makes good ferrules and has long been a favorite. The popularity of German silver is due mainly to its silver-like color that tarnishes in use, thus giving the metal a non-reflecting surface desirable in some fishing areas. Ferrules of any metal can now be given non-reflecting coats of metal plating, however. They also can be lacquered in a dull color to stop reflections under conditions where the reflections might scare fish.

Names for the various parts of a set of the

conventional type of ferrules.

Ferrules are commonly made by four different methods, drawing them from a sheet or ingot, machining them from solid rods, making them from tubes, or spinning them from a piece of sheet metal. The latter method of spinning ferrules is only used on occasion for large sizes of ferrules.

DRAWING FERRULES: The male ferrule usually is the only ferrule drawn at present, as the use of precision tubing has eliminated any necessity of drawing the female part of the ferrule. To draw a male ferrule, either a small sheet or ingot of the desired metal is heated and placed in a steel die that presses and stretches it to the shape of the ferrule.

MACHINING FERRULES: Ferrules, both male and female, can be machined from solid rods of the metal desired. Such work is done on automatic metal lathes. Machining ferrules is a difficult procedure if done properly and is an expensive method. The trouble with the usual machined ferrules are that they are too hurriedly machined and are of very poor quality. Fine quality machined ferrules, however, can and are made.

FERRULES MADE FROM PRECISION TUBING: Precision tubing for ferrule making has to be made to order. Ordinary tubing is not satisfactory for good ferrule making. Precision tubing makes by far the best, most accurate female ferrules and it is very simple to make female ferrules from such tubing. Male ferrules are difficult to make from tubing unless the center end is left open. This is rarely done except on ferrules used on the cheapest salt water rods. On all fly rod and bait casting rod ferrules, the center end must be closed. To make a conventional male ferrule of tubing, two diameters should be used; one for the shoulder and cap and one for the center of the male ferrule. The piece of tubing for the center must fit tightly into the piece for the shoulder and must be sweat-soldered

42 FERRULES

into the piece of tubing for the shoulder. Then a round piece of metal must be stamped, machined, or cut out and sweat soldered to close the center end. It is quite a tricky job if done properly. Drawn male ferrules are better than male ferrules made from tubing, as the center ends are positively water proof and the inside diameter of the shoulder is the same throughout, giving additional strength to the rod at this weak point. In a male ferrule made from two pieces of tubing, the metal from the center necessarily has to extend well up into the shoulder, making the inside diameter of the shoulder smaller at this point and hence weakening the rod section that must be stepped down to fit.

DEFINITIONS FOR THE PARTS OF A SET OF FERRULES

WELT: The welt of a ferrule is found only on the forward end of the female ferrule except in rare cases where it is found occasionally on Swiss-type male ferrules. It is a reinforcing ring around the open end of the female ferrule. It tends to keep the end of the female ferrule from spreading.

There are three usual forms of welts.

Rolled Welt: The metal from the forward end of the female ferrule has been rolled back on itself to form a strengthening ring around the end of the ferrule.

Hand Welt: A ring of metal has been sweat soldered, pressed or heat fitted around the forward end of the female ferrule to strengthen it.

Machine Welt: The female ferrule is turned on a metal lathe from a rod of metal. In turning down the outside of the ferrule body a welt, or metal band, is left on the forward end of the female ferrule to strengthen it.

44 FE R R U LE S

W A T E R P R O O F F E R R U L E S

T h e t e r m w a t e r p r o o f f e r r u l e s i s a t r a d e t e r m w h i c h i n d i c a t e s th a t th e fe m a le fe r ru le h a s a m e ta l d is c s o ld e re d o r p re s s f i t te d in to i t s o th a t w a te r th e o re t ic a l l y c a n n o t g e t in to th e e n d o f th e ro d s e c tio n e n c a s e d b y th e fe m a le fe r ru le . S u c h a m e th o d o f w a te rp ro o fin g a fe r -

ru le , i f d o n e p ro p e rly , is e x c e lle n t. H o w -e v e r , th e y a r e r a re ly p e r fe c t , a s i t i s d i f f i c u l t e i t h e r t o s o l d e r o r t o p r e s s f i t a d is c in to a fe m a le f e r ru le , s o th a t i t i s a c tu a lly w a te r t ig h t . A c tu a lly th e re is n o lo n g e r a n y n e e d o f w a te rp ro o fin g fe -m a le f e r r u l e s w i th m e ta l d i s c s . I f y o u c o v e r t h e e n d o f y o u r r o d s e c t io n w i th

S i l h o w e r f e r r u l e c e m e n t w e l l j u s t b e f o r e y o u s t a r t d r i v i n g o n t h e f e m a le f e r r u l e t h e e n d o f th e r o d s e c t io n w i l l b e r e a l l y w a te r t i g h t .

A M r. W . L . A n g le sw o rth o f E n g la n d a d v o c a te s p o u rin g h o t p ar-r iff in o r typ e m e ta l in to th e e m p ty e n d o f th e fe m a le fe rru le to w a te r -p ro o f i t . H e a ls o , a t tim e s , m a d e a k n o b o n th e e n d o f th e ro d s e c tio n s o th a t th e p a ra f f in o r m e ta l w o u ld a n c h o r i ts e lf f irm ly to th e ro d s e c tio n . A n e y e d ro p p e r w a s u se d to p o u r in th e h o t p ara ffin an d a sp o on to p o u r th e typ e m e ta l . T yp e m e ta l is a le a d a l lo y m e ta l u s e d b y p r in t s h o p s i n t y p e s e t t in g m a c h in e s .

I c a n n o t re c o m m e n d th e u s e o f typ e m e ta l fo r w a te rp ro o fin g fe r -ru le s a s i t a d d s to o m u c h w e ig h t to th e ro d . S i lh o w e r fe r ru le c e m e n t is e a s ie r to u s e th a n e i th e r p a ra ff in o r ty p e m e ta l a n d i t is a b s o lu te ly m o r e e f f e c t i v e . P u t t i n g a k n o b o n th e e n d o f t h e r o d s e c t io n i s n o t a t a l l n e c e s s a r y .

FERRULES 45

MOUNTING A CONVENTIONAL MALE FERRULE

If there is any enamel or under-enamel on the rod section clean this off with fine sand paper. Re-check your section for length. If it is too long, cut it off at the larger end. Now lay the male ferrule along side the end of the section, as illustration shows. We are assuming that you are putting on a tubular constructed male ferrule. Such a ferrule

has an inside shoulder different from the outside shoulder as illustration shows. Now mark with a pencil the exact length of the ferrule less the thickness of the metal of the center end of the ferrule on the rod section. (Under close scrutiny the thickness of the cap is visible from the outside). This is indicated in the illustration as the dotted line. The encircling pencil line is not to be removed at all but remains on the rod permanently. You will see the reason for this later on. Now take a piece of half-inch to one inch wide adhesive tape; wrap it tightly around the rod section, as the illustration shows. The forward edge of the adhesive tape is to be exactly on the pencil line. The adhesive tape is put onto your rod section so that you can only cut down the end of the rod section in front of the tape as is necessary in order to put on your male ferrule. In other words, it prevents you from marring up or cutting down your rod section where it should be left untouched.

Now take a strip of number one sand paper wide enough to cover the entire part of your rod section to be cut down. Hold the sandpaper with your left hand around the rod section and just in front of the adhesive tape. Now rapidly revolve the rod section by rolling the smaller end back and forth over your knee with your right hand. If you do this carefully, you can "blend" the sides of the section just in front of the adhesive tape and "round" the rest of the end of the section to fit the largest diameter of the shoulder of the male ferrule.

Now examine the inside of the male ferrule carefully. Determine if the inside shoulder is finished off square or tapering. Carefully measure the distance from the open end of the male ferrule to the inside shoulder. At this exact distance from the forward edge of your present band of adhesive tape, make another pencil line that com-

46 FERRULES

pletely encircles the rounded area of the section. This pencil line marks the point at which the rounded area must be cut down still further to fit the inside diameter of the center of the male ferrule. With a sharp knife score over this new pencil line about ten thousandths of an inch deep. Now put on another piece of adhesive tape to cover the area between this scored line and the first piece of adhesive tape. This is to protect the area from accidental damage.

Now take a medium fine sharp file in your left hand and roll the bamboo section on ironing board or table with your right hand. Hold the file against the rotating section end, cutting it down carefully to fit the inside diameter of the center of the male ferrule. As you work, keep trying the male ferrule onto the section so you will, at all times, know how you are coming along on the fit. After you have a good close fit, remove the two pieces of adhesive tape. Coat the cut down area with Silhower ferrule cement. This cement takes from two to four weeks to dry, but is the finest ferrule cement made in the world and to be strongly recommended above all other ferrule cements. Once a ferrule is put on with this cement, the ferrule is on for the life of the rod. If you do not have the time to let this type of ferrule cement dry, use the stick-type of ferrule cement. Melt the stick-type with a small flame of any kind and cover the desired area with the cement as it turns liquid.

Ferrule driving plugs are used by some custom rod makers and are an

excellent way to put on ferrules. If properly made, they support the ferrule as it is being driven on and prevent any damage being done to the ferrule in the process. They are excellent to use but of course there are other satisfactory methods of mounting ferrules. We will describe first, however, the mounting of ferrules using ferrule driving plugs.

On the left of the illustration on the following page is a plug for

FERRULES 47

setting male ferrules and on the right of the illustration is one for setting female ferrules.

A ferrule driving plug for a male ferrule is really a steel counter part of the outside of the male ferrule that fits about a thousandth of an inch loose. A ferrule driving plug for the male ferrule must bear on the ferrule shoulder and the center end of the ferrule at the same time. This is of the utmost importance. Each male ferrule, of course, has to have its own male ferrule driving plug. In other words, for every size of male ferrule, you must have an individual male driving plug in this size made for it.

Now put the male driving ferrule over the male ferrule and slip it onto the prepared end of the rod section. Hold the rod section in your left hand and place the end of the rod section against any solid object. If Silhower ferrule cement is being used, now just tap the male ferrule driving plug slowly until the

male ferrule is seated. Then quickly wipe off any surplus cement. You can tell if the male ferrule is really seated perfectly by observing your first pencil line mark around the rod section. This is important. If stick-type ferrule cement is used, you will have to put a flame onto the cement on the end of the rod section until the cement is flowing freely before you drive on the male ferrule. With Silhower ferrule cement, there is no need to pin on the ferrule, as it will not come off. If any other type of ferrule cement is used and, if there is any question about the bamboo not being thoroughly seasoned, it is best to pin the ferrule. Pinning a ferrule, if done properly, according to the following instructions, does not injure the rod in any way nor does it affect the rod's action in any way. If not done according to these instructions, it ruins the rod.

To pin a ferrule properly, first drill a hole with a metal drill through both the ferrule and the bamboo, 3/8 of an inch from the end of the encased bamboo. This is very important. If you drill this hole further than three eighths of an inch from the end of the bamboo you will damage the rod. A hole twenty-five thousandths in diameter will do for most ferrules. Do not counter-sink either side of the hole you drill; just remove any burrs caused by the drilling. This

Ferrule Driving Plugs.

48 FER R U LES

c a n b e d o n e b y p o lis h in g th e m o f f , t r im m in g th e m o f f w ith a s h a rp k n i fe o r b y tw ir l in g a la rg e r s iz e d d r i l l in th e h o le s w ith y o u r th u m b a n d fin g e r . N o w ta k e a p ie c e o f n ic k e l s ilv e r w ire tw o th o u sa n d th s o f a n in c h in d ia m e te r la rg e r th a n th e h o le . T h a t is , if th e h o le is tw e n ty-fiv e th o u sa n d th s o f a n in c h in d ia m e te r h a v e yo u r w ire tw e n ty-se v e n th o u sa n d th s o f a n in ch in d ia m ete r . F o r fly ro d s m a k e th e len g th o f th e p iece o f w ire ab ou t a h a lf in c h lon g . T ap er o n e en d o f th e w ire to a fin e p o in t b y ro ll in g i t o n s a n d p a p e r o r a f i le . T a k e a l ig h t h a m m e r a n d d r iv e th e w ire th ro u g h th e h o le u n ti l o n ly a b o u t a s ix ty - fo u r th o f a n in c h o f w ire re m a in s u n d riv e n . N o w ta k e a n e n d -c u ttin g p lie rs a n d c u t o f f t h e o th e r e n d o f t h e w i r e s o t h a t o n l y a s i x t y - f o u r th o f a n i n c h o f i t p ro t ru d e s . N e v e r tr y to b re a k o f f th e w ire o r y o u w i l l ru in th e e n ti re jo b . A lw a y s c a re fu lly c u t i t o f f . U s e a s m a l l je w e le r 's h a m m e r o r s m a l l ta c k h a m m e r , a n d c a r e fu l l y r i v e t t h e tw o p r o t r u d in g e n d s o f th e w ire . W h e n th e y a re w e ll r iv e te d , ta k e a fin e je w e le r 's file o r S w iss -typ e f ile a n d f ile o f f th e r iv e t h e a d s flu sh w ith th e fe rru le . U s e a n y g o o d m e ta l p o lis h to p o lish th e w ire e n d s . If yo u d o a p ro p e r jo b , y o u w i l l n o t b e a b le to n o t ic e th a t th e fe r ru le h a s b e e n p in n e d .

M O U N T I N G T H E C O N V E N T I O N A L F E M A L E F E R R U L E

P la c e th e fe m a le fe rru le a lo n g s id e th e e n d o f th e ro d se c tio n , a s i l lu s tra tio n s h o w s . P la c e th e m a le fe r ru le in p o s it io n , a s i l lu s tra t io n s h o w s , s o th a t th e fe m a le fe r ru le is p ro p e r ly p o s it io n e d . E n c irc le th e ro d s e c t io n w i th a p e n c i l l in e a t th e e n d o f th e s e r r a te d c a p o f th e fe m a le fe r ru le . T h is p e n c il l in e m a rk s th e p o s it io n w h e re th e e n d o f th e s e r ra t io n s w i l l b e w h e n th e fe m a le fe r ru le h a s b e e n p u t p ro p e r ly in p la c e o n th e s e c tio n . If th e fe m a le fe r ru le h a s b e e n w a te rp ro o fe d w ith a m e ta l p lu g , m e a su re th e d is ta n c e fro m th e se rra te d e n d o f th e fe rru le to th e m e ta l p lu g , a n d th is d is tan c e w ill h a v e to b e th e d is ta n c e th e fe m a le fe r ru le s e a ts o n to th e ro d . P la c e a d h e s iv e ta p e o n th e ro d

s e c t io n , a s th e i l lu s t ra t io n s h o w s , t o p ro te c t i t f ro m b e in g m a r r e d . B le n d a n d ro u n d th e e n d o f th e ro d s e c tio n s to f i t th e in s id e d ia m e te r o f th e fe m a le fe rru le , u s in g th e s a m e m e th o d s a s d e sc rib e d fo r d o in g th is in f i t t in g th e m a le fe r ru le . T o p in th e fe m a le fe r ru le th e h o le s h o u ld b e d r i l le d % o f a n in c h b a c k f r o m th e e n d o f th e e n c a s e d b a m b o o . T h e s a m e p r o c e d u re a p p l i e s f o r p in n in g a s d e s c r ib e d fo r th e m a le fe r ru le .

.

FERRULES 49

MOUNTING SWISS TYPE FERRULE

Swiss type ferrules have been previously described and are by far the easiest ferrules to mount.

The seating distance of the male ferrule may be measured by using a nail as the illustration shows. Adhesive tape is placed around the rod section as shown in the illustration. Note that the tape is not at the end of the ferrule but rather at the pencil line which has been drawn around the rod section where the serrations begin; around the corners of the sections so that the ferrule will fit tight. Remove the adhesive tape and seat ferrule using the same methods as previously described under conventional ferrules. You will note that the serrated or split cap will flare up onto the flat sides of the rod. When these are wrapped with rod winding thread you will have the best fit possible.

The seating distance of the female ferrule is determined as shown in the illustration. Use the same general procedure in mounting the female ferrule as was used in mounting the male ferrule.

TIGHTENING FERRULES

The fit between the male and female ferrules on rods often becomes so loose from wear that it is impossible to use the rod. Rod makers are very often called upon to repair such ferrules. They can be repaired by the following method. Secure two blocks of steel that are about as thick as the length the empty female ferrule protrudes above the rod section. Be sure that the faces of the blocks fit together well. Place the blocks together and drill two holes through them so that you can thread the holes and bolt the two halves firmly together with two bolts. Now drill a hole exactly in the center of the crack between the blocks. Drill this hole about ten-thousandths smaller than the outside diameter of the female ferrule you desire to repair. After the hole is drilled, open up the two halves of the steel blocks completely by removing the bolts. Then put the two blocks around the protruding empty end of the female ferrule with the ferrule resting in the two halves of the hole, put the bolts back and tighten them down evenly. Give the female ferrule a good squeeze by screwing down the bolts. Then try the male ferrule in it. Keep squeezing the female ferrule until you have compressed it enough so that it again fits the male ferrule tightly.

50 FERRULES

If you make up a few sets of these blocks for the most popular sizes of ferrules, you will find that you can quickly repair any loose ferrules on rods that come into your shop.

If a ferrule again becomes loose after being compressed, it proves that the metal in the ferrule is too soft and loses its shape too quickly under pressure. Such female ferrules must be compressed and reinforced with a width of metal wrapped around them and soldered.

Some rod makers in order to tighten a very loose ferrule on occasion wrap one row of fine nylon thread completely over the center of the male ferrule, then they put varnish or cement on the windings. This is not recommended. If a ferrule is so loose that the male ferrule can be forced into the female ferrule with a coat of thread on it the ferrule is much too loose for practical purposes and should be removed and new ferrules put on to replace it.

A fairly good method of tightening a loose ferrule is as follows: Hold the empty socket of the female ferrule on a wood table top and slowly revolve it. At the same time tap lightly, its outside, with a plastic or leather hammer. If carefully done this will shrink the female ferrule enough so that the male ferrule will fit into it tightly.

STRAIGHTENING THE ROD

Now that you have the ferrules on your rod, put the rod together and sight along it in every position to see that it is straight. If it has some twists or bows in it, put these areas over a small jet of stream. Take a cork with a hollow quill or tube stuck through it and place the cork in the snout of a tea kettle. The small jet of steam coming «out of the tube or quill is just what you want. It takes only a few seconds of steaming on a twisted or crooked area to soften it so that you can straighten it easily and perfectly. Wipe off any moisture left on the rod from the steam.

WINDING FERRULES

Take off the adhesive tape on the rod sections and wash off any of the cement from the tape that sticks to the rod with a small brush dipped in gasoline or carbontetrachloride. Size 5M or varigated silk or Nylon thread is recommended for putting the windings on fly rods of all kinds. Smaller sizes can be and are used by many rod makers, however. There are two schools of thought on winding ferrules. You can start the windings at part of the cap where it joins the body or shoulder of the ferrule and wind down just so the windings cover the ends of the cap. You can also start on the bamboo just in front of the cap and wind up to where the body or shoulder of the ferrule begins. Both methods are satisfactory. The latter is a much easier method. Use the same methods for putting windings on your ferrules as illustrated for putting the windings on your guides.

CHAPTER VIII

ROD ACCESSORIES REEL SEATS FOR

FLY RODS

Reel seats for fly rods are manufactured in three diameters, 5/8 of an inch, 11/16 of an inch and 3/4 of an inch. The five-eighths inch and 11/16 inch diameters are the most popular, being generally used on trout, panfish, bass and streamer fly rods. For bass bug rods, streamer, salmon, and steelhead rods, where a little added weight to the rod is not of great importance, the three-fourth inch reel seat may be used, however they are not recommended as they have no advantage over the 11/16. The 11/16 is becoming a very popular size and is being accepted as the standard by many manufacturers.

Reel seats usually come, or can be bought, with a wooden plug or cork rings that fit to their inside dimensions. If they do not have such a plug, a suitable one can be made from dried birch, sumac, or cedar. Avoid such woods as balsa. Although it is very light in weight, balsa lacks enough resilience for this purpose. If a wood plug is used drill a hole down through the center so that it will fit tightly over the butt of the rod. Using Plasto Resin glue or Risex Liquid Bamboo glue, coat the end of the rod where the plug is to go. Then force the end of the rod into the plug and let it dry for 24 hours. Now coat the outside of the wooden plug with Silhower ferrule cement, and force it into the reel seat. Let it dry for several days. Silhower ferrule cje-ment has no equal for mounting the wood reel seat plug in the reel seat.

Some reel seats require the reel holding butt cap to be screwed onto the end of the rod. In such cases, a metal collar must be fitted

52 ROD ACCESSORIES

on and glued directly to the rod. For such reel seats, a reel holding button must be securely screwed to the butt end of the rod. This button should also be glued onto the cork with Silhower ferrule cement.

Reel seats that have the reel holding butt caps press fitted into place are usually pinned. The pinning operation is clearly illustrated in the drawing. The pinning of the reel seat in no way harms the rod or the reel seat.

ROD ACCESSORIES 53

ROD ACCESSORIES 55

On bait casting rods, the number of guides and sizes are usually as follows:

5 foot rod—4 guides—size 1/4, 7/32, 5/32, 5/32.

6 foot rod—5 guides—size 1/4, 7/32, 7/32, 5/32, 5/32.

The guides used for surf casting rods are the same styles as those used for bait casting rods. The usual surf casting rod for fishing purposes with a seven foot tip carries one guide size which is generally 11/16 inch. The top is also 11/16 inch. Tournament surf casting rods usually have 4 to 5 guides from size 7/8 inch to 1/2 inch with a size 3/4 inch top. On surf rods and saltwater rods in general, you sometimes notice that guides are put on both sides of the rod. In such cases a top must be used which is mechanically made so it can be moved and locked in different positions or a stirrup type of top used which has the ring in it centered so that the line can enter it from either side. The guides are put on the rods so that, if the rod takes a set under a heavy strain, you can change the line to the opposite set of guides, thus putting the pressure on the rod so that it will bend back the set in the rod. This practice of "double" guides is becoming less popular instead of more popular.

In passing, it is interesting to note that statements regarding the hardness of materials can be very misleading. The scale of hardness introduced by Mohs around 1800 is still in use today. It is very un fortunate that a more scientific scale has not been adopted, because an utterly false impression is created by Mohs' figures. His scale runs from 1 to 10. Talc is number 1. Corundum or ruby, as well as a num ber of metals, are number 9. Diamond is number 10. A diamond, how ever, is 85 times harder than the items in number 9; yet it can be said under this law that a number 9 item is only one number less in hard ness than a diamond.

Now we shall proceed to mount the guides on a fly rod. Before putting any guides on your rod, you must first acertain which side of the rod is the stiffest. A deflection board will quickly show you this. For six strip fly rods, guides must be mounted opposite the stiff side of the rod if the rod is to produce maximum results. This is also true for trolling rods, but, on casting rods, just the opposite is true.

The reason for having the guides opposite the stiff side for fly rods is so that the stiff backbone whip of the rod will be brought into action on the forward cast and the weaker action will be concentrated on the less important retrieve.

56 ROD ACCESSORIES

Fasten the weight onto the line which is passed through the guides and attached to the first guide at the butt. Now rotate the rod to all six sides, noting carefully which side on the butt section shows the least deflection. The bottom strip will be the stiffest side of that particular section. Keep this side down and proceed to the middle section. Test it exactly as you did the butt section, keep the stiff side down and proceed to the tip where the same test is repeated. When the stiff sides of all sections of a fly rod are determined, you are ready to proceed with affixing guides permanently on the opposite side.

You can also of course, just locate the stiff est side of the rod or sections by merely bending the sections with your finger tips after you have braced them against a chair, as illustration shows. This method is satisfactory but not as accurate as the deflection board method.

Five strip rods present more of a problem as the flat side has a point opposite it. In Mounting guides on a five strip rod determine which is the stiffest side and then mount the guides on either side of the point opposite the stiffest side.

There are many systems for spacing and for determining the number of guides on fly rods. Most all of them work pretty well. I will describe several for a three section nine foot fly rod.

Most manufacturers have their own recommended guide spacing for the particular action of their rods. When buying unfinished rod blanks or rod kits you will receive a booklet of instructions which include proper guide spacing.

R. W. CROMPTON METHOD: No stripping guide or guide of any kind is put on the butt section. Four guides are put on the middle section and five guides on the tip section. His rods cast very well.

STANDARD METHOD: One stripping guide is put on at the forward part of the butt section; 3 guides on the middle section; four guides on the tip section. Many famous rod makers the world over use this method. Such rods also cast beautifully.

PHILLIPPE METHOD: Phillippe placed one stripping guide on the butt section; four guides on the middle section and five guides on the tip section. This method also is used by many famous rod makers and works very well.

The stripping guide on the usual fly rod is much too small and prevents "shooting" the line the maximum distance. Use a stripping guide on fly rod in sizes 7/32 or 9/32. This allows the line to flow much more freely when "shooting" the line.

SCOTTISH METHOD OF GUIDE SPACING: A number of Scotch rod makers use the following method for spacing guides on trolling

rods. However, never use this method on fly rods. Place the guides on the rod temporarily with cel lophane tape or rubber bands. Mount a reel on the rod, string the line through the guides and tie it to a ringed eye set in the floor or any place at about

Butt Stripping floor level where it cannot move. Now pull on the Guide. rod as if you were hooked into a fish, arching the

rod to put it under strain. Now note the line. It should be touching the rod between each guide in about the same position. If it does not, move the guides until it does. The guides must

ROD ACCESSORIES 57

be adjusted until, under a strain, the line touches the rod between the guides at the same time and in relatively the same general position.

In general, as your guides approach the top of the rod, the distance between the guides should be lessened.

The size of guides used on fly rods is also a great point of controversy. The usual method of sizing the guides on a nine foot fly rod is as follows: A size 7/32 or 9/32 stripping guide on the butt section, size No. 2 and No. 1 guides on the middle section and size No. 1 and No. 1/0 guides on the tip section.

The Goddard method of guide sizes on a nine foot rod or, for that matter, any length of fly rod is to use a stripping guide size 9/32 on the butt section, size 2 guides on the middle section and size 1 guides on the tip section. The theory of this is that, by using large guides on the rod and a large stripping guide, shooting the line is easier, and hence distance casting is easier.

Fig. 1. Hold the guide in place on the rod with cellophane or ad-hesive tape. Start winding the rod winding thread on the rod about a sixty-fourth of an inch in front of the "shoe" or "foot" of the guide you are to wind down. Wind the thread over on itself to get it started. Wet the end of the thread if you have trouble doing this. Fig. 2 Wind tightly to within about a thirty-second of an inch from the end of the shoe of the guide as shown in Fig. 3. Make a loop from a piece

58 ROD ACCESSORIES

of the winding thread or a fine piece of nylon or fishing line and wind it down, as illustration shows. Fig. 4. Put the end of your winding thread in the loop, and secure the end of the thread underneath the windings by pulling the loop. Lay aside the loop, and trim off the surplus end of the winding thread. It is necessary to use a razor blade for cutting the winding thread flush with the windings. Scissors will not do as you cannot cut close enough to the windings. Now take off the adhesive or cellophane tape that is holding the guide in place and wind the other shoe or foot of the guide in the same manner.

There are several other methods advocated to put on winding, none of them are as good as the one described above and should be avoided.

THREAD SIZE GUIDES FOR ROD WRAPPING

Never wax threads used for rod winding, as it prevents the color fixative or rod varnish from sealing and sticking them to the rod. Never use mercerized cotton thread of any kind for rod winding; it has little strength for its diameter and rots out quickly. Nylon rod winding thread is by far the best as it will not deteriorate as will silk. The "stretch" in nylon also helps to bind the guide down tight to the rod.

Fresh Water Rods Fly rods one, two or three piece, size 00 or A silk or nylon. Bait casting rods, one, two or three piece, size 00 for light rods and size

A for heavy ones, silk or nylon. Note: if you desire, you can use heavier sizes on the guides, but this is

not really necessary.

Salt Water Rods Surf rods, medium or light, size A or E, silk or nylon. Surf rods, heavy, size E, silk or nylon or 6 pound test nylon leader material. Three Six rods and light tackle rods, size 00 or A, silk or nylon. Rods with 6 to 9 ounce tips, size A, silk or nylon. Rods with 10 to 24 ounce tips, Size E, silk or nylon or 6 pound test nylon leader material. The same applies to salt water rods as to fresh water rods; that is, if you desire, you can make the windings on the guides of heavier thread than the decorative windings, but this is not at all necessary. On salt water tips 16 ounces and over, fine aluminum wire is also used for windings.

In the illustration Nos. 5 shows a plas tic sleeve. Nos.7 are the feet or the shoes of the guide. The use of plastic sleeves to hold down guides was patented in 1932 by Jack T. Welch of Dowagiac, Michigan. The patent was assigned to the James Heddon's Sons Corporation. As yet no

Plastic sleeve for particular use of this patent has been affixing guides. made.

1 A new type of plastic tape for affixing guides is being used by some manufacturers. It has a gummed surface much like "Scotch tape" and adheres to itself. We have tried

ROD ACCESSORIES 59

several types of the tape and have found it anything but satisfactory and could not recommend it for permanently attaching guides. For in the field repairs, plain "Scotch tape" will temporarily reset a guide that has accidently been torn loose.

HOOK KEEPER FOR FLY RODS

Just ahead of the cork grip on most fly rods is usually found a little loose ring held on the rod by a piece of bent metal. The metal is wound down onto the fly rod. These little rings were originally used on the entire rod as guides and were called ring and keeper guides. When the various stationary ring types of guides were invented, the ring and keeper guides were no longer used as guides. One was still left, however, just in front of the grip on rods so that, when walking along with your rod set up for fishing, you can put the hook on your fly through this ring and it will thus lessen the danger of your leader or line tangling in brush. The idea is excellent. I use such hook keeper-rings on all my rods and find them very helpful. However, on factory rods the little piece of formed metal that holds the ring in place is usually pretty weak, and the ring, itself, is also weak. When you are going through brush you catch your line on some brush occasionally no matter how much care you use. When this does happen, it sometimes pulls the small metal piece holding the ring apart or breaks the windings that hold it down. Silk or Nylon windings, at best, are not too strong. I use a small chrome-plated snake quide, and put a solid bronze split ring on it. This combination makes a much superior hook keeper than is to be found on rods available today. I wind down the guide with 6 pound test nylon leader material. This really holds it on even if you give the hook keeper a real yank.

PUTTING ON TOPS

There are several methods of putting on tops. Some makers carefully sand or scrape with a broken razor blade the end of the tip section so that it exactly fits into the end of the top. The top is then glued on with Silhower ferrule cement. Others just taper the end of the rod section very slightly so that it will fit up into the top only a short distance. Then they cement it on with Silhower ferrule cement and, while the cement is wet, take a flat, smooth-jawed pliers and crimp the top in two or three places so that it fits up against the sides of the rod section. They claim this crimping me-

TOP CRIMPED TO TIP.

thod gives the end of the tip section much more strength, as practically none of it is tapered off or cut away.

If the tops are put on with Silhower ferrule cement, no windings are necessary on the tops to aid in holding them on. In fact, windings

Methods of crimping the top to the rod tip after it has been cemented in place.

60 ROD ACCESSORIES

PENCIL MARK.

Using a broken razor blade to scrape down the rod to fit the top.

are detrimental if wrapped on the top itself. A few windings just below the top are attractive and should be put on for decorative purposes. If stick-type ferrule cement is used to put on tops, it is best to put windings on the lower part of the top and down on the rod section a short distance.

Tops made from tungsten, stainless steel, beryllium copper and monel are all satisfactory if they are heavily dull-chrome plated. The chrome plating gives them a hard, smooth surface that the line will not wear. Agate, glass and porcelain tops have become obsolete. They work very well when they are not cracked, but all three crack

easily and, when cracked, will ruin a line in a short time.

FINISHING THE ROD

There are many methods of finishing rods. Brown-tone or brown colored rods are very popular today. Rods can be made brown by two methods only. One is by staining it with bamboo stain. This gives the rod a good brown color several thousandths of an inch deep. It does not damage the rod in any way. Ordinary wood stains, which are acutally only oil or water with a small amount of color pigment, will not penetrate bamboo. The other method is to stain the bamboo brown by the "fume" or so-called tempering method before you fashion it into a rod. This is the method used by many famous rod companies.

Split the bamboo into the strips desired but do not plane or shape them. These strips are suspended in Ammonia fumes for a period of three weeks. This length of time will produce a very good brown color all the way through the bamboo. The color may be varied by increasing or decreasing the exposure. A "tank" for coloring bamboo can be easily made from lengths of stove pipe. Solder a quart can on the end of the length of pipe for the ammonia. The other end may be covered with a piece of wood into which screw eyes may be attached

BREAK

ROD ACCESSORIES 61

for suspending the bamboo. Do not let the bamboo come in direct contact with the liquid ammonia as they will become discolored.

The bamboo must be air dried for six months after treating. This drying period is to allow sufficient time for the ammonia to work out of the bamboo. These strips may be Kiln dried at 170 degrees F. for six days if there is a Kiln available, this also will remove the ammonia. Ammonia will crystalize resin glues and the sections would fall apart if glued before the ammonia was allowed to work out.

Ammonia dyeing of bamboo also hardens the bamboo somewhat.

Very mild heat is sometimes used in connection with the fume process, but this does not, in itself, have anything to do with coloring the bamboo. The mild heat merely speeds up the fume process. All heat above 170 degrees F is very detrimental to bamboo. Some manufacturers lead you to believe that heat is the factor that makes their rods brown all the way through. This, however, is seldom the case as this is the next thing to burning the wood and rod manufacturers cannot afford to put out poor rods.

The ammonia dyeing of bamboo is supposed to have originated in Scotland. A Scotch rod manufacturer threw away some poorly made rod sections in a manure pile. After a year, he happened to notice the sections as they were uncovered in the manure pile by a farmer. He noticed they were stained dark brown and quite stiff. He tried them and found them to his liking.

Rods may be finished with several different types of rod varnishes or rod finishes. The thing to remember in applying all rod finishes is to apply no more coats than necessary. Too many coats of rod finish will greatly slow down the action of the rod.

The "holding windings" are the first things to consider in finishing a rod. These are the windings that actually serve the purpose of holding your guides, top or ferrules in place on your rod. Other windings on a rod are merely decorative and serve no practical purpose. In fact, decorative windings should be avoided as much as possible, especially in fly and casting rods, as they tend to hinder the natural, much-desired casting action of the bamboo.

If you desire the colors of the rod winding thread to remain much the same after the rod is finished, give them a saturating coat of a good color fixative.

Most of these preparations are cheap collodians and are of little value. A color fixative to serve its purpose, must be a good cement as well as a color fixative so that the windings are cemented tightly to the bamboo.

If you do not care whether the color of the windings will change greatly, rod varnish can be used, to fill your windings. Cut the end of a match flat and chisel-like, as the illustration shows, or se cure a small red sable brush with which to apply the liquid to the windings. A camel's hair brush is not satisfactory. Try to get a red sable which is a trade name for good

A match end pre- quality imported squirrel tail hair. The pared for applying temperature of your varnish, as well as the color fixative or room, must be at least 75 degrees F. You rod varnish to rod cannot varnish well enough for rods below

windings. this temperature. It should be 90 to 100 de-

62 ROD ACCESSORIES

grees F, if possible. Dip your match or brush into your rod varnish, apply, and work it into the windings carefully. Have your rod varnish in a can of hot water so it is warm. Do this whenever you use rod varnish. Wipe off any surplus rod varnish with a clean, lint-free wool rag. Let this first coat dry thoroughly at least two days; if possible, four to six days. Then apply another coat and let it dry. Repeat this procedure until the windings are not only completely filled, but also until there is a distinct covering of varnish over them. This means applying from four to six coats of rod varnish to the windings. After the last coat of the rod varnish is dry, take a piece of felt from an old felt hat; wet it and sprinkle it with powdered lava stone. Rub the rod varnish covering the windings carefully with this pad to smooth it out perfecetly. Rub carefully, as you must not cut down into the windings. When finished, wipe off the lava stone with a damp clean rag.

Rod varnish colors silk winding threads approximately as follows: In general, it darkens them. Pink turns to a medium red; light tan to a dark brown; light green to a dark bright green; red to a burgundy, etc.

After your windings are all smoothed by the lava stone and felt, take a varnish brush not less than a quarter inch wide and give the entire rod and windings a medium, not heavy, coat of rod varnish. Stroke the varnish on length-wise and then cross-wise, then, again lengthwise as a fine cabinet maker does in applying fine finishes. Just stroking the varnish on from end to end is not correct. Now put down your brush and finish properly, spreading and evening the first coat of rod varnish. To do this, hold the ferrule of each joint in one hand and quickly shuttle the joint back and forth between your thumb and first finger three of four times. Do not overdo this; just a very few strokes back and forth will even the varnish coat perfectly. This, again, is nothing but a trick used by fine cabinet makers. Let this first coat of varnish dry from ten days to two weeks; the longer the better. Now take another piece of an old felt hat, wet it, sprinkle with a little powdered lava stone and lightly rub down the rod until the varnish coat is perfectly smooth. Be careful not to cut through the varnish coat in any place. Wipe off the lava stone with a clean damp rag, and let it dry. Now give the rod another coat of varnish and let it again dry for ten days to two weeks. Here opinion of famous rod makers varies greatly. Some apply only two coats of rod varnish, a few apply only one and others apply as many as four or five. The one and two coat rod finishers claim that any more coats than this changes the rod action. The three to five rod finishers claim that it takes three to five coats properly to waterproof the rod. Whatever number of coats you decide on, use the same procedure as described. Apply a coat, rub it down smooth, then apply another. If you want the final coat brilliant, leave it as it is; if not, rub it down to a semi-gloss.

Herter's have brought out a new type of finish that is very effective. It is not new in the eyes of old rod makers as they have used it for the past decade. They have kept it more or less as a secret and have not put it on the market. It may be purchased from Herter's as Natural Tonkin Cane Finish. This is applied before the guides are attached merely by saturating a lint free cloth with the finish and apply with a lengthwise stroke. Two coats are applied allowing 12 hours between coats. The second coat is rubbed lightly with steel fur and then a final coat is applied. The windings are then put on and finished as previously explained.

ROD ACCESSORIES 63

Automobile or floor waxes, or any wax or combination of waxes put over your rod varnish or Tonkin Cane Finish, is just a waste of time insofar as adding materially to waterproofing the rod is concerned. Strange as it may seem to you, waxes of any kind are not extremely waterproof. A good rod varnish, itself, is far more waterproof and water repellent than any wax you might apply.

CHAPTER IX

ROD ACTION

The action of a fishing rod is the behavior of the rod while being cast by an individual. The action of the rod may be the same for all the people who cast with it and it may be different for every person who casts with it. Very few casters cast exactly alike. Their hand, arm, muscular and nervous systems are never exactly alike and they consequently perform a cast with a rod differently than any other hand and arm, etc. The action of most rods will react substantially the same for all casters, however. When a rod does not react the same for one caster as another, the action of the rod for each caster is different. That is, a rod may be called a stiff action by one caster and a medium stiff action by another, and both are correct. The action of a rod, then, depends directly on the particular caster using it and may vary from caster to caster.

We will discuss rod action as it applies to fly rods, only. The rod actions are only discussed in general terms.

WET FLY ACTION

WEJT FLY ACTION: Years ago, a "wet fly action" fly rod was considered to be a rod that was very limber and which bent freely from the grip to the tip. The theory of such limber, soft rods was that they allowed the flies to fall gently into the water and the line to fall straight into the water. Either claim has questionable advantages under many conditions. Gradually, as the years have gone by, fishermen began to find out that these old "buggy whip wet fly rods" were actually poor rods for casting the wet fly and that rods suitable for dry fly casting generally cast wet flies much more satisfactorily. Actually, wet fly rods are non-existent today except when a maker turns out a poor dry fly rod and sells it to some novice as a "wet fly rod."

DRY FLY ACTION

DRY FLY ACTION: There are many ways to build a dry fly rod or dry fly action into a rod. Most of these methods produce good dry fly rods. I will briefly describe some of the better known methods of producing dry fly action in a rod.

HEWITT DRY FLY ACTION: Edward H. Hewitt, as you undoubtedly know, was considered the best fly fisherman for trout in the world. There are those who are prone to minimize Hewitt's abilities for personal reasons or self glory. However, I have never known or heard of anyone from reliable sources who could beat Hewitt for actually putting trout in a creel. Hewitt used a rod with action or the bending in the lower or middle part but not as pronounced as in the standard Dry Fly action. On a three piece rod, for example, the upper half of the middle section and the lower half of the tip have "level tapers", that is, the tapers are slight. This leaves these areas a little stiff. Such a rod has action all over but slightly more of the bending is in the butt section, the lower half of the middle section, and the top half of the tip.

ROD ACTION 65

Hewitt action is identical to the Standard Dry Fly action described below, except that the variations in the "level tapered" areas are less from a straight taper than the Standard Dry Fly action "level tapers."

In one of the last letters from Hewitt, he wrote me that he much preferred this type of rod to all others and that he never was able to wear one out or soften up the action of such a rod no matter how long he use it. This means something coming from Hewitt. He not only had used rods of various types for a great many years but used them a great deal ever year. As always, Hewitt had Leonard make his rods and he always had the highest praised for them.

STANDARD DRY FLY ACTION: (Also called streamer action.) This method of producing dry fly action is to have the majority of the action of the rod, or bending of the rod, in the lower and middle parts. On a three piece rod, for example, the upper half of the middle section and the lower half of the tip have "level tapers"; that is, tapers that are very slight or nearly level. This leaves these areas semi-stiff. Such a rod has action all over it's entire length, as a good dry fly rod should, but most of the bending is in the butt section, the lower half of the middle section and in the top half of the tip. Slight variations of this standard dry fly action are used by practically all of the famous rod makers throughout the world today.

HEDDON DRY FLY ACTION: The dry fly action used by Heddon's a great deal is identical to the standard dry fly action, with one exception. Two or three inches just ahead of the grip, Heddon's taper up their rods very sharply; often as much as seventy-five thousandths of an inch on the diameter of the rod in three or four inches. As a result, the part of the rod just ahead of the grip (and in the grip, itself) is very heavy and stiff. This accomplishes a very important purpose. It stops most of the action or movement of the rod right in front of the grip. In other words, a nine foot rod thus made has about the actual stiffness of an eight foot rod made in the usual manner where the butt end of the rod does not have this quick sharp upward taper and heaviness.

FAST TIP DRY FLY ACTION: These fly rods are made with the tip and upper half of the middle section (on a 3-piece rod) fairly light and the butt section and lower half of the middle section stiff to semi-stiff. If the butt section and lower half of the middle section are too stiff, the rod is very difficult to cast; if semi-stiff, they are not too bad for a good caster. Such a rod is also, at times, referred to as a "steep taper" or "quick taper" rod.

CROMPTON DRY FLY ACTION: (Also called fast butt or streamer action). This action was used by R. W. Crompton. Crompton's dry fly action is exactly like the standard dry fly action except that he tapered the lower half of the butt section inward toward the reel or butt of the rod quite noticeably. That is, the extreme butt of the rod was made light. This gives the rod powerful butt action for distance casting. Forms of this action are aften called "streamer action" and are used by many famous rod makers.

PARABOLIC DRY FLY ACTION: I do not know who first applied this word to rod action, but it undoubtedly was coined by some unthinking writer or sportsman who did not know what the word really meant. It has caused a great deal of needless confusion. The word parabolic, according to modern dictionaries, (I am quoting from Funk

ROD ACTION 67

fully, you will see how the rod bends and where it is semi-stiff. Compare what you see to the illustrations shown here and you will have a pretty accurate picture of the type of rod action you have. The "speed" of the rod is merely another word for "action." If the action of the rod is what you desire, the speed of the rod is automatically correct.

Systems for measuring the vibrations of rods in order to determine the action have not proved of much importance. The Montagu Free Deflection System developed by Mr. Ralph D. Montagu of Oroville, California, was popular some years back but now has fallen into dis-use. His system was as follows: The grip of the fly rod was held in a vise or blocked down tightly on a table-top. The rod was then pressed down and released slightly ahead of the grip until the rod began vibrating well, in an up and down motion. When the vibrations of the rod became what was termed as "regular," they were counted. According to this system, a suitable dry fly rod must have not less than 100 vibrations per minute. The stiffer the rod, the more vibrations you will get per minute using this system; the softer the rod, the less vibrations per minute. Mr. Montagu called the distance from the rod in an immobile horizontal position to the extreme downward end of its arc, as it vibrated regularly, the "Free Deflection Distance." In good dry fly rods, this figured to be about 5 to 6 inches, depending on the length of the rod.

The "point of balance system" of determining rod action was, at one time, a favorite English method which was also fairly popular in America. It is also in dis-use and justly so. The point of balance system involved finding the point on the assembled rod where it balanced perfectly and trying to get rods of equal length and action exactly to balance at the same distance from the butt. This actually is ridiculous, as a little thinking would tell anyone, yet this system had many followers. A slightly heavier reel seat, guides or top would give you an entirely different "action" under this system, yet the actual balance of the rod would be little changed.

Another point often stressed that means little in fly rod making is the tensile strength of the rod. Tensile strength is merely stress strength determined by pulling. This has little to do with fly rod action. In trolling rods, such as salt water rods, tensile strength, however, is important.

A deflection board is an excellent way to test rods but is rarely used. The reason for this is that, if the man operating it or viewing it knows fly rods, it quickly brings out the bad points as well as the good ones. This is very often embarassing, as many very expensive and well-known rods show up very poorly on a deflection board test. The average sporting goods store would not be caught dead with a deflection board anywhere near its premises; neither would many well known rod makers.

A deflection board is made exactly as the illustration shows. The handle of the rod to be tested is placed between the two wooden pegs and a four-ounce weight (when testing fly rods, fresh water spinning rods, and fresh water casting rods) is attached to a line tied to the first butt guide of the rod, as illustration shows. The resultant arc formed by the rod will show the soft, semi-stiff, and stiff parts of the rod. In order exactly to interpret the arc made by the rod you must have the arc of a good rod of the same length and weight to draw a comparison. In other words, to use a deflection board you must have considerable information about rods at hand.

68 ROD ACTION

The rod on the deflection board is a nine foot, three piece dry fly rod, weight 3 ounces. It is made with the standard type of dry fly action. The rod weight is the true one; that is, it does not include the weight of the reel seat and the cork grip. The deflection board must be constructed exactly as the illustration shows. The wooden pegs must be in the exact position as shown. If the rod is tested without the reel seat or cork grip on the rod, or if the reel seat and cork grip are so small that they allow play between the two wooden pegs, shim the rod, the handle or the reel seat up with flat pieces of wood until it is held tightly between the two wooden pegs and exactly in the center of the line indicated.

The true weight of a split-bamboo fly rod is the total weight of the rod assembled for fishing, less the weight of the reel seat and cork grip. This system is rarely used in weighing fly rods any more, but it is the correct one. Usually the entire weight of the assembled rod is taken as the rod weight. This is very misleading; reel seats and grips vary greatly in weight, yet contribute little to the rod action and should not be calculated in determining the true weight of the rod. You can, for example, take a 5 ounce rod, put a heavier reel seat on it than it has and easily make a 6 ounce rod from it; yet such a rod would not have the action of a true 6 ounce rod.

Another important function of a deflection board to the rod maker as previously mentioned is in using the board to ascertain the stiffest flat side of the rod since he must mount the guides opposite this stiffest flat side on fly rods. This gives the fly rod much added strength on the forward part of your cast. This is the part of your cast that requires the power of the fly rod. This is very important, yet it is followed out by the rod makers only on a few of the finest custom rods.

You will be surprised to note that a deflection board will prove to you that all sides of your rod do not have equal power. If you move your rod so it rests on different sides, it will test differently

ROD ACTION 69

on your deflection board. If you want to locate the actual points of stiffness on a four, five, and six strip rod, the deflection board will quickly locate them for you. You will find that, if you rest a four or

4 STRIF 5 STRIP. 6 STRIP

Cross sections of 4, 5, and 6 strip rods and the angles of their strips.

six strip rod in the deflection board holders so that you are bending the rod on a corner, the rod is much stiffer than if you rest it so it is bending on a flat.

CHAPTER X.

ROD CONSTRUCTION

The different qualities of a four, five, or six strip rod can easily be noted on the deflection board. You will find the five strip rod much stiffer than a six strip of the same diameter and stiffer than a four strip rod of the same weight. Either four, five, or six strip rod construction result in excellent rods, and it is a matter of personal preference which you desire to make. In spite of what anyone says or thinks, all of them can be made to cast straight and well. This has been clearly proven in casting machines. The type of construction you use depends on what you want in a rod.

Before deciding whether you want to build rods in 4, 5, or 6 strip construction, you should use rods of these three different types. They all have very different, distinct types of actions. The construction you decide on depends on what you want in a rod. I am not discussing 3, 7, 8, 9, 10. and 11 and 12 strip rods, as they are seldom made any more. The important rod constructions today are the 4, 5. and 6 strip, beyond any question. A four strip rod is the easiest and quickest rod to make of the three important constructions, and the 6 strip is the most difficult and slowest to make. This factor alone, has at times, influenced some rod makers as to which construction they followed. All three constructions definitely produce good usable actions.

On all rods, the corners are the stiffest part of the rod as before mentioned, and the flat sides are more flexible. Any odd number of strip construction such as 5 and 7, etc., will definitely produce stiffer or firmer rods. The reason for this is elemental; each flat of the rod has a corner backing it up which, of course, greatly reinforces the flat side. The deflection board will show this to you clearly. Any university engineer will prove it to you mechanically. A five strip rod, or other

rods made with uneven numbers of strips are not always liked by every caster because of their stiffness.

The late R. W. Crompton has been the great exponent of the five strip rod. Crompton was a good wood craftsman. Crompton turned out, by hand, some good rods. The five strip rod has recently gained some popularity from Nathaniel Uslan. who is marketing five strip rods. Mr. Uslan was a pupil of Mr. Crompton's, and learned rod building from him.

Claude M. Kreider. an amateur rod builder learned amateur rod building from Crompton and wrote a book on it. The book is full of glaring inaccuracies, unintentional, but none the less there.

I knew Crompton personally. He lived in St. Paul. Minnesota. I knew

what he could do and what he could not do very well.

R. W. Crompton

72 ROD CONSTRUCTION

that a four strip rod, per diameter, is much heavier than either a five or six strip rod and what power it gains from more power fiber area is lost to the added weight.

CHART OF ROD TAPERS

I am including a chart of rod tapers mostly in an attempt to clear up some of the confusion and errors that exist regarding them. The drawings show the tapers of the rod for the entire rod, or tip (in the case of detachable tips) with the exception of No. 13, which shows the taper only up to the male ferrule at the butt of a detachable tip rod. All the tapers are greatly exaggerated for purposes of illustration.

The tapers shown can and are varied and are combined in numerous other warps, not shown on this chart, as they are too numerous to illustrate.

ROD CONSTRUCTION 73

2. Standard Dry Fly Taper: This taper is used on fly rods, as has been previously described. It is not used on bait casting rods as illus trated. A form of this taper, with the tip made heavier, is used on bait casting rods and also on spinning rods and surf rods. There are a great many variations of this taper.

3. Fast Tip Dry Fly Taper: This taper is used on fly rods, as has been previously described. It also is used occasionally on light bait casting rods.

4. Crompton Dry Fly Taper: This taper is used on fly rods, as previously described. A form of this taper, with the tip made heavier, is used on bait casting and spinning rods.

5. Castleconnell Kick Taper: This taper was used sometime back in Ireland and England on long salmon fly rods. However, it is no longer in use. The middle part of the rod is made weak so that the rod is top heavy. Because of this the rod "kicks" the line out.

6. Heddon Dry Fly Taper: This taper is used on fly rods, as has been previously described. With the tip part made slightly heavier, it also is used for bait casting, surf and spinning rods.

7. Convex Taper: Ths taper is used somewhat on fly rods and is also used on bait casting rods. It is used on salt water rods of all kinds.

8. Compound Level and Convex Taper: Compound simply means "double" or more than one. Do not let it confuse you. Rods with "compound" tapers simply have two kinds of tapers. This particular compound taper is used to some extent on salt water rods.

9. Concave Taper: This taper is not used on any rods at pre sent.

10. Compound Level and Concave Taper: This taper is also obsolete.

11. Compound Level and Straight Taper: This taper is used oc casionally on salt water rods and bait casting rods.

12. Compound Straight and Straight Taper: This taper is used on bait casting rods, occasionally on surf rods and on salt water rods in general.

13. Straight Taper Sharply Swelled at the Ferrule: This taper is used on fly rods. It also is used on bait casting rods, surf rods, and salt water rods in general.

14. Compound Reverse Straight and Straight Taper: This taper is used occasionally on fly rods.

MAKING A GRAPH OR PLAN OF A ROD

Professional rod makers draw either a graph or a plan of a rod before they begin to make a new rod. If the rod is a success, they keep the plan or the graph so that they can duplicate the rod. Contrary to the opinion of self-styled authorities, if the bamboo is of good quality, rods made from the same plan or graph are identical or so close to being the same in action that there is no difference between them for all practical purposes.

A graph or plan of a rod offers many advantages. It is easier to visualize what the rod will be like when it is completed. A plan also

74 ROD CONSTRUCTION

makes it possible for you to have the measurements at any given point on the rod.

Whether you use a graph or a plan is a matter of personal preference. Either serves the purpose well. Both are made with the thought that the rod is assembled. I strongly recommend the use of a plan or graph for all rod making, both for professionals and amateurs.

I will first describe how to make a plan for a rod. Take a piece of good quality paper anywhere from 18 inches to 3 or four feet long. Set some logical figure to represent 6 inches of the rod on the paper, and mark off the paper in these intervals. For example, if you are making a plan of a 9 foot rod and your paper is 40 inches long, select

A plan of a 9 foot, 3 piece Hardy dry fly rod.

2 inches to represent 6 inches on your rod. Mark off the length of the rod in 2 inch intervals. Draw a straight line through the marks. This straight line represents the center of the rod.

If you have a rod you desire to duplicate, measure the diameter at the butt and divide by two to get the thickness of one strip. Now project this thickness measurement above the center line (using actual measurements, not a scale). Measure the diameter of the tip, divide by 2 and mark this measurement above the other extreme of your center line. Join the butt and tip measurement points with a dotted line. This dotted line will represent a straight taper. If you are making a straight tapered rod this is as far as you need go. Mark in the positions of the ferrules. If you are not making a straight tapered rod, draw in a solid line with the taper you want. Use the straight tapered line as a guide. You will find that it helps considerably to do this. You can now find the width of half of your rod at any point by simply measuring the actual distance between the solid line representing the center of the rod and either the dotted or solid line representing the taper you have decided upon.

To make a graph of a rod, proceed as follows: Secure some "graph" paper. This paper is marked off into squares which are, in turn, marked off into smaller squares. The larger squares are numbered on the width of the paper as well as on the length.

Cross out the numbers on the width of the paper and number the large squares in inches, figuring each large square as 6 inches. Change the figures on the length of the graph paper so that every large square represents ten thousandths of an inch. The illustration shows all this clearly. Now measure, in thousandths, half the diameter of the butt end of the rod you desire to make or duplicate. Put a mark on the left hand margin of the graph paper where this figure coincides with the figures on the graph. Then measure in thousandths the diameter of the tip and put a mark on the graph paper where this figure coincides with the figure on the graph and directly above the length measurement that indicates the end of the rod. Draw a straight line between these two points. This line represents the taper of a

ROD CONSTRUCTION 75

straight tapered rod. If this is the type of taper you are giving your rod, you need go no further with your graph. Mark in the ferrules. To determine the measurement of the rod at any desired point, follow the line from the desired point horizontally to the left edge of the graph which indicates the measurement in thousandths. If you desire a rod of a taper other than a straight taper, figure out the measurement in thousandths you desire the radius of the rod to be at 6 inch intervals

throughout its entire length. Then, by using the thousandths figures on the vertical side of the graph, and the 6 inch interval figures on the horizontal side of the graph, put a dot on the graph paper at each one of these points where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect

ROD CONSTRUCTION 77

HOLLOW RODS

Completely hollow rods of split-bamboo of many types have been made. Some of these rods were completely hollow; others might be hollow for perhaps five or six inches and then left solid for a half-inch or so as to brace the rod. Hollow butt sections on large diameter rods

Cross section of a six strip rod with hollow center.$

(where the diameter of the section is so large that it is impossible to build them solid if single construction is used) are often made and work out very well.

Mr. Powell patented a hollow type of construction on Oct. 31, 1933, as the illustration shows. Figure 1 indicates the power fiber area of the strips above and the pith area of the strips below. Figure 2

'Edwin C. Powell's hollow type six strip rod.

shows the hollow area of the strip before section is assembled. Mr. Powell is a fine rod maker and known for his rods the world over.

H0LLOW CENTER

78 ROD CONSTRUCTION

FRED. D. DEVINE S P I R A L TWISTED ROD

Away back in June of 1892, Fred Devine patented a fly rod in which the strips were twisted to add stiffness to the rod. The strips were glued together and pressure wrapped. Then they were twisted before the glue set, and the twisted rod section was left to dry while firmly held between two vises. Some of Devine's rods are still in use

A spiral twisted rod section made by Devine's method. The letters A. B. C. D. E. F. indicate the strips of the rod. The letter M indicates the female ferrule.

today and remain in excellent condition. His method definitely stiffens a six strip rod. It never became popular, as it gave the rod maker too much extra work. If you like stiff rods, try one made by Devine's method.

ROD CONSTRUCTION 79

section. On the tip section, only one triangular piece was used to fill in between each part of the cross as naturally it was too difficult to make two pieces this small. The outside of Martin's rod was round.

I have been unable to secure one of Martin's rods and have not had the time to build one to date. I have heard very favorable comments concerning them. Martin's construction method is, however, too complicated ever to become popular.

WILLIAM H. STEWART METHOD OF RUNNING THE FISHING LINE THROUGH A HOLLOW

FISHING ROD.

On May 12, 1942, William H. Stewart of East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, patented a method of making a fishing rod hollow

and running the fishing line through the hollow rod instead of putting guides on the rod and running the line through the guides.

FREDERICK S. HERRIS METHOD OF ROD CONSTRUCTION

On February 25, 1930, Mr. Frederick S. Herris of Los Angeles, California, patented a method of making fishing rods which had wires

imbedded in the rod, as the illustration shows. Various methods for imbedding wires in fishing rods have been used in Europe a great many years before this time. The imbedding of wires in rods has never gained any amount of popularity. On fly rods, it tends to give the rod a heavy, slow action; on trolling rods, however, it increases the tensile strength.

FRANCIS M. O'BRIEN METHOD OF MAKING

LAMINATED FISHING RODS

On January 4, 1938, Francis M. O'Brien, Jr. of Miami, Florida patented a heart shaped laminated fishing rod illustrated in the cross section. In the illustration Line 22 is the Strain Dividing Line. The upper half of the rod is subject to tension or stretch, while the lower half is subject to compression. Line 23 shows the center of compression area. Right Hand illustration: This is a cross section of Mr. O'Brien's heart – shaped laminated rod. Guides Round and Heart Shaped Cross Section are mounted on the top of a Laminated Fishing Rod.

William H. Stewart Method of Hollow Rod Construction.

Frederick S. Herris Method of Rod Con- struction.

80 ROD CONSTRUCTION

flat area of this rod. Line 20 is the Strain Dividing Line. Note that it is nearly at the top of the rod. Thus a large part of the rod resists compression, making the rod stiffer. Only a small part of the rod is subject to tension or stretching. Line 21 shows the center of compression and tension areas.

All the pieces of wood in Mr. O'Brien's rod lie on edge in relation to the direction in which the rod is flexed. This gives the rod great strength.

The following description is set forth in Mr. O'Brien's patent:

The lamination piece number 10 is the central lamination and may be slightly thicker than the laterally disposed laminations, and is preferably made of hickory wood. The hickory wood imparts toughness and strength to the pole body. At opposite sides of the middle lamination number 10 of hickory, are disposed lamination number 11 of snake wood which imparts flexibility to the rod, and by disposing the flexible snake wood laminations against the strong and tough hickory lamination, the snake wood is well supported and combines with the hickory to impart the desired strength and flexibility to the pole body.

Against the outer sides of the laminations number 11 are disposed the outer laminations number 12 of bamboo which possesses relatively high recuperative characteristics so that the bamboo while being readily flexible with the snakewood assists in returning the snakewood laminations number 11 and the hickory laminations number 10 to their normal straight line positions to impart a longer life to the fishing rod without its setting or remaining in a bent condition in the direction of flexing under a load.

It will be noted that all of the laminations numbers 10, 11 and 12 are normal to the plane of the back of the rod so that the laminations will offer resistance to bending in an edgewise direction. This provides a rod body which has great resistance to bending, is very strong and is thus well adapted for use in handling heavy loads.

Mr. O'Brien's laminating method produces excellent rods. Mr. O'Brien's method was designed primarily with the idea of salt water rods in mind but it also produces fresh water rods of remarkable quality.

ERIC M. HOLM METHOD OF MAKING LAMINATED FISHING RODS

On December 18, 1934, Mr. Eric M. Holm of Los Angeles, California patented a method of making laminated fishing rods on the order of an automobile spring.

Figure 1 shows the tip of a detachable butt or grip salt water rod made by the Eric Holm method. Figures 2 and 3 show cross sections of the rod.

ROD CONSTRUCTION 81

As illustrated in Figure 1, the principal feature of this invention embraces an arrangement of a number of leaves, 6a, 7a, 8a, and 9a according to a regular laminated spring construction. Figure 1 shows the full leaf in the center and other leaves on opposite sides, short of one another, to provide for various thicknesses of the finished rod.

The intermediate leaves, such as 6a, 7a, 8a, 10a and lla, are preferably tapered, as clearly indicated at 12, so that the finished rod as illustrated in Figure 1 presents an evenly tapered appearance where ever a change of thickness is provided.

Moreover, the individual leaves are also tapered so as to assure a very desirable flexibility in the completed rod.

The individual leaves of this fishing rod are preferably made of strips of bamboo, the outer, such as 9a, being merely flattened and smoothened on one side, while all other or intermediate leaves are flattened and smoothened on opposite sides, besides being tapered at the ends and edgewise as set forth above.

Mr. Holm's method produces excellent rods and, although designed primarily for salt water rods, this is a good method of construction for fresh water bamboo rods.

WARREN BRUCE PIRNIE'S METHOD OF RODCONSTRUCTION

In 1934 Mr. Warren Bruce Pirnie of Greenfield, Mass., patented a method of gluing together pieces of bamboo from which the pith had been removed and then rounding off this glued section to form a rod. The patent was assigned to The Montague Rod and Reel Company

of Montague City, Mass. In general Mr. Firnie's method is to remove the pith from the pieces of bamboo and enough of the enamel and under-enamel so that they can be glued together well. He then

Warren Bruce Pirnie's glues them together. After the pieces Method of strip lam- are dry he turns the glued up section ination. into a round tapered rod. Mr. Pirnie

intends this method of rod structure mostly for casting and salt water rods. However it can also apply to fly rods. Such a rod will bend easiest when the concave part of the strips are toward the pull and is stiffest when the convex part of the rod is toward the pull. The left hand illustration of Bruce Pirnie's method shows the pieces of bamboo with pin and enamel and under-enamel removed and glued together to form a section. Piece 7 is left flat on the bottom so that pressure can be easily applied to the strips while the glue is drying. The right hand illustration shows, in cross section, the 7 strip section rounded to form a rod.

DR. GEORGE PARKER HOLDEN'S 5 STRIP SIX SIDED ROD

Dr. Holden, a number of years back, advocated five strip, six sided fly rods built as the illustration shows.

Figure one shows the strips glued together to form a triangular

82 ROD CONSTRUCTION

s e c t io n . N o te th a t th e c e n te r s t r ip i s d o u b le b u i l t . F ig u re 2 s h o w s th e p o in ts o f th e tr ia n g u -la r s e c tio n p la n e d o f f t o f o r m a 6 s i d e d sec tio n . R o d s so m a d e c a s t w e l l a n d a r e v e r y s t i f f . A n u m b e r o f t h e m a r e s t i l l i n u se to d a y . U s in g D r. H o ld e n 's m e th o d , a n e n t i r e s ix s id e d r o d c a n b e b u i lt u p o f p o w e r f i b e r s a n d s tu rd y fib e rs c lo se to th e p o w e r f ib e rs . P ith

is e n tire ly a v o id e d . D r . H o ld e n 's m e th o d o f m a k in g a s ix s id e d ro d i s v e r y g o o d , b u t

i t i s n o t a m e th o d r o d m a k e r s d e s i r e , s in c e i t r e q u i r e s tw o p la n in g s ; o n e to p la n e th e th r e e s in g le b u i l t s t r ip s a n d o n e d o u b le b u i l t s t r ip to fo rm th e t r ia n g u la r ro d s e c t io n a n d a n o th e r to p la n e o f f th e c o rn e r s o f th e t r ia n g le to fo r m a s ix s id e d s e c t io n .

R E S I N I M P R E G N A T E D S P L I T - B A M B O O F L Y R O D S A N D R E S I N IM P R E G N A T E D F I B E R R O D S

V a rio u s re s in s c a n b e u se d to im p re g n a te b a m b o o . Im p re g n a tin g b a m b o o w ith re s in , o f c o u rs e , in c re a s e s th e w e ig h t o f th e b a m b o o c o n s id e ra b ly . Im p re g n a te d b a m b o o h a s a v e ry d i f fe re n t a c t io n th a n b a m b o o n o t im p re g n a te d . I t a l l g o e s b a c k to w h a t y o u w a n t in a ro d a c t io n . I h a v e a lw a y s p re fe r re d a n a tu ra l b a m b o o a c t io n to a n y o th e r , a n d m o s t o f m y f r ie n d s f e e l th e s a m e w a y a b o u t th is a s I d o .

O n e w e ll k n o w n p ro c e s s fo r im p re g n a t in g b a m b o o is c o v e re d b y th e fo l lo w in g p a te n t N o . 2 ,3 5 2 ,7 4 0 .

P a te n te d J u ly 4 , 1 9 4 4 U N IT E D ST A T E S P A T E N T O FFIC E , 2 ,352 ,740

M E T H O D O F IM P R E G N A T IN G B A M B O O W IT H S Y N T H E T IC R E S IN H a rv e y D . S h a n n o n , W e s tfie ld , N . J . A s s ig n o r to B a k e lite C o rp o ra tio n ,

N e w Y o r k , N . Y . , a c o rp o r a t io n o f N e w J e r s e y N o D ra w in g . A p p lic a tio n M a y 1 4 , 1 9 4 0 ,

S e ria l N o . 3 3 5 ,1 3 7 4 C la im s (C l. 1 1 7 -5 9 )

ROD CONSTRUCTION 83

"This invention relates to the impregnation of bamboo with synthetic resins and to the product produced thereby.

"It is often desirable to impregnate bamboo with synthetic resins of known characteristics in order to impart to it desired properties and yet retain in the bamboo substantially all of the natural resins which were originally present.

"Dried bamboo comprises bundles of fibers running lengthwise of the stalk and the fibrils are extremely difficult to impregnate. Disposed throughout the fibers, cells and cell walls are the natural resins of the bamboo together with various salts which are deposited as the water of the sap evaporates from the bamboo as it is dried. The resins in the bamboo are desirable as they have somewhat of a binding effect on the fibers but the water soluble salts have no particular advantage. The membranes of the cell walls are porous to water as is evident from the fact that bamboo can be thoroughly dried.

"Difficulty has heretofore been experienced in impregnating bamboo with synthetic resins of known characteristics. It has heretofore been proposed with regard to wood to dissolve a resin in an organic solvent, for instance alcohol and force the solution into the cells of the wood; however, this has not been effective with regard to bamboo probably because of the action of the membranes and the difficulty in impregnating the fibrils. Again with regard to wood, it has been proposed to treat the wood with a solution of one of the constituents of the synthetic resin, for instance hexamethylenetetramine, then dry the wood and then treat the wood with an alcoholic solution of a fusible synthetic resin, after which the wood is again dried and thereafter heated to react the fusible resin with the hexamethylenetetramine and form a hardened synthetic resin in situ. In coating wood it has also been proposed to dip the wood in a solution of the unreacted constitutents of the resin to obtain a superficial coating.

"The objections to the first method of treating wood, namely the treatment with synthetic resin dissolved in an organic solvent is that the solvent is expensive, it does not penetrate the cell walls or enter the fibrils as well as water, the solvent is flammable, and also the solvent has tendency to dissolve the natural wood resins which it is desired to retain in the wood and it does not dissolve the salts which it is desired to remove from the wood. The difficulty with the other methods of impregnating wood is that one can never be certain as to how much of the resin constituents are retained in the wood and therefore one never knows the characteristics of the resin which will be formed and hence one does not know the characteristics which will be imparted to the wood after the treatment. Moreover, the second mentioned treatment is expensive in that it requires alternate drying and soaking of the wood. The difficulties experienced with wood are multiplied in connection with bamboo due to its peculiar fibrous structure.

"According to the present invention, a method has been devised for impregnating bamboo with a resin of known characteristics to the end that a final product of known characteristics may be obtained. Furthermore, the method is extremely simple and low in cost and is operable under conditions where vacuum and pressure treatments have been ineffective in thoroughly impregnating the bamboo. Moreover, the treatment does not remove from the bamboo the natural resins which it is desired to retain but does remove the water soluble salts, which do not strengthen the bamboo, and permits their replacement by synthetic resins of known characteristics which impart known, predetermined and desired charactertistics to the bamboo.

84 ROD CONSTRUCTION

"In treating the bamboo, it is soaked in water until it is thoroughly saturated which usually occurs in from two to four days for a piece about 1/4 inch in thickness. The usual tap water may be used for this treatment and it is unnecessary to use specially purified water such as distilled water. It has also been found desirable to use warm water, for instance water maintained at a temperature of approximately 60° C in which case the water absorption may occur in approximately 24 hours. If desired, the water may be circulated through the receptacle in which the bamboo is treated in order to have a fresh supply of water next to the bamboo and prevent concentration of the salt solution next to the surface of the bamboo. After the bamboo has been thoroughly soaked in water and the salts have had an opportunity to dissolve, the water is merely drained or wiped from the surface of the bamboo but the bamboo is not permitted to dry to any material extent.

"After the water is wiped from the bamboo, the piece to be treated is immersed in a water solution of a synthetic resin. Resins of this type may be obtained by reacting a phenolic constituent for instance phenol, cresol, resorcinol, etc. or a urea constituent for instance urea, thiourea, etc. with a reactive aldehyde for instance formaldehyde, paraform etc. but stopping the reaction before the resin has become water insoluble, that is the reaction is continued to the point where one of the constituents has chemically reacted with the other but enlargement of the molecule and polymerization has not taken place sufficiently to render the resin water insoluble. The preferred resin is inherently water soluble. It is important that the reaction does not go too far and it is preferred that the reaction be stopped as soon as the constituents of the resin have combined and before there is any substantial amount of polymerization or enlargement of the molecule. The water soluble resins may in fact be dispersions of the resin in the water but the resin is in such a condition that the watery mass has the characteristics of a solution so far as the present invention is concerned, as the resin is miscible with the water to give a homogeneous mass. Such a mass is contemplated by the term 'solution' and similar terms used herein.

The wet bamboo is permitted to remain in this resin solution for a period of time depending upon the thickness of the bamboo. A section of bamboo approximately 1/4 of an inch thick will automatically impregnate itself in approximately two to four days by soaking at room temperature or at about 60° C. in a water solution containing about 30% of synthetic resin. The resin solution appears to diffuse throughout the bamboo and passes through the membrane walls and enters the fibrils by osmosis or a physiochemical phenomena which is similar thereto. Whatever the physical or chemical phenomena may be, however, it has been found that bamboo can be impregnated by this method whereas very little more than a surface layer can be impregnated by immersing dry bamboo in the resin solution, even though alternate vacuum and pressure be used in an effort to assist the impregnation. It is considered probable that when the dry bamboo is immersed in a resin solution, the water passes through the membrane building up a layer of resin molecules on the outside of the membrane, and these molecules quickly become interlocked to form such aggregates that thereafter they will prevent further penetration of the resin molecules through the membrane whereas with a section of bamboo previously soaked in water, the resin infiltration is so gradual that molecules do not build up such an interlocking structure but retain their small size and are enabled

ROD CONSTRUCTION 85

to pass through the membrane and into the fibrils and thoroughly impregnate the bamboo.

"After the bamboo has been treated in the resin-water solution, the solution is withdrawn and the bamboo is permitted to drain. The bamboo may then be permitted to dry or, if desired, may quickly be flushed with water containing no resin or wiped to remove the surface layer of resin. It is usually preferred, however, to retain the resinous surface layer. Thereafter, the bamboo is permitted to dry and is subsequently heat treated to polymerize the resin to the desired extent. Also, the wet bamboo, after the resin treatment, may be warmed slightly to polymerize the resin while the moisture is present and this heating may take place in a humidity chamber where the evaporation of the water may be controlled. Permitting the bamboo to dry prior to heat treatment has a tendency to withdraw the resin from the center of the bamboo and concentrate it near the surface and thus provide a graduated resin distribution, although leaving a portion of the resin at the center. This is because as the moisture moves from the interior of the bamboo to the surface it carries the resin with it. Polymerizing the resin before the water has escaped enlarges the molecules sufficiently to prevent their passage through the membrane or out of the fibrils and there is a heavier concentration of resin in these places.

"By proceeding in the manner described herein it has been found possible to control the characteristics of the final product. The treated bamboo is somewhat heavier than the untreated material but is much stronger and, on the basis of equal strengths, a piece of bamboo treated in this manner is lighter in weight than untreated bamboo. The finished product may be used for poles for pole vaulting, oars, sailboat masts, shafts of golf clubs and polo mallets, bristles for brushes, etc. Where the resin is baked hard after the woody base material is treated, the composite has great dimensional stability under any atmospheric condition and is resistant to abrasion; it is therefore useful for propellers and other parts of aircraft, patterns for casting, phonograph needles, etc.

"Although a particular and preferred form of the invention has been described, it is recognized that many other forms may be used. For instance a cellulosic wetting agent, may be used with the water as well as other solvents for the resin. Furthermore, as previously stated, the invention, while particularly applicable to bamboo which has not been successfully treated by other methods, is applicable to other woody materials, for instance balsa wood and the more common woods. It is therefore desired that the invention be construed as broadly as the following claims taken in conjunction with the prior art may allow.

"I claim: 1. Method of impregnating bamboo containing cells and membraneous

cell walls with a synthetic resin of the group consisting of phenolic aldehyde resins and urea aldehyde resins, which comprises soaking the bamboo in water until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with water and thereafter, without substantial drying of the bamboo, soaking it in a watery solution comprising the synthetic resin until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with the resin, and insolubilizing the resin and depositing it within and around the cells and cell walls.

2. Method of impregnating bamboo containing cells and membraneous cell walls with a synthetic resin of the group consisting of phenolic aldehyde resins and urea aldehyde resins, which comprises

86 ROD CONSTRUCTION

soaking the bamboo in water until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with water and thereafter, without substantial drying of the bamboo, soaking it in a watery solution comprising the synthetic resin until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with the resin, heating the treated bamboo in a humid atmosphere to decrease travel of the resin to the surface of the bamboo and to insolubilize the resin and deposit it within and around the cells and cell walls.

"3. Method of impregnating bamboo containing cells and membraneous cell walls with a synthetic resin of the group consisting of phenolic aldehyde resins and urea aldehyde resins while retaining in the bamboo the natural resin, which comprises soaking the bamboo in water until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with water and thereafter, without substantial drying of the bamboo, soaking it in a watery solution comprising the synthetic resin until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with the synthetic resin, drying the treated bamboo and insolubilizing the synthetic resin and depositing it within and around the cells and cell walls.

"4. Method of impregnating bamboo containing cells and membraneous cell walls with a synthetic resin of the group consisting of phenolic aldehyde resins and urea aldehyde resins and of removing water soluble elements from the bamboo, which comprises soaking the bamboo in water until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with water and said elements are dissolved out of the bamboo and thereafter, without substantial drying of the bamboo, soaking it in a watery solution comprising the synthetic resin until the cells and cell walls are impregnated with the resin, and insolubilizing the resin and de-positing it within and around the cells and cell walls."

WRAPPED RODS

In the late eighteenth century and in the beginning of the nineteenth century many rod makers tried wrapping split bamboo fly rods with such materials as silk and linen threads, wire, metal ribbons,

etc., with the thought in mind of giving the rods bet ter action. All any of these

William R. Wheeler method of methods did, however, was wrapping metal ribbon on fly rods. to make the rods heavy and Patented in March 1905. slow.

In October, 1897, John M. Kenyon, of Toledo, Ohio, patented the winding of rods from end to end with thread. He preferred to use white silk and then varnish it so it became translucent.

Dr. George Parker Holden was a strong advocate of the Wheeler method of cross winding rods. The good rod makers of today try to put as few windings on rods as possible so that the natural action of the bamboo will not be hindered in any way.

SPINNING RODS

American fresh water spinning rods are usually made seven to seven and one-half feet long. Grips run from 12 to 14 inches long, and the rod runs down through the full length of the grip on all

ROD CONSTRUCTION 87

good spinning rods. The grip is made long so that you can shift your reel to any desired place, thereby to balance the rod with the lure you are casting. For light weight lures your reel should be more toward the butt end of the grip and for heavy lures more toward the front of the grip. The action of a spinning rod should be made with the same general principles as the action on a dry fly rod. Any of the

dry fly rod principles will produce a sat-isfactory spinning rod. A spinning rod should never be a whippy, soft rod. If you take the specifications for any good eight foot dry fly rod and cut off six inches at either end, you will have a good light spinning rod.

Spinning rods weighing from four to five ounces are the most popular in America. Such rods will cast lures from 1/8 to 3/8 of an ounce.

A spinning rod of 5½ to 6½ ounces should be used on lures of ½ ounce to 3/4 ounce.

The guides on a spinning rod are of the utmost importance. In fact, if the guides are not of the correct sizes the rod will not cast at all (or very poorly) no matter how well the rod is made. Never use conventional snake guides on a spinning rod. Use guides that are held well away from the rod by their supports. Good solid metal Sheffield spinning guides or Guild Quality side support spinning guides are excellent for use on either bamboo or fiber glass rods. The butt guide

on a spinning rod must be an all metal guide made just for spinning rods to assure the fact that you will get near maximum performance from the rod. This butt guide should be at least 11/16 inches in diameter for maximum results. It cannot be a heavy standard salt water guide or it will add too much weight to the rod. If your butt guide is too small, you cannot cast well enough with a spinning rod to merit using one. The guide spacing as shown in the illustration is meant to be only a general guide in mounting

spinning rod guides. If you buy your spinning rod in a kit form you should receive complete instructions for assembly that will include correct guide spacing for that particular rod.

If you are new at spinning, be sure to watch the pound test of the line you use. Spinning successfully cannot be done with heavy lines. The lighter the line you use for spinning, the better spinning rods perform.

In Europe, spinning rods are classified by several different methods. One is called the European or French method. See illustration. To classify a rod by

General guide spacing for a

seven foot spinning rod.

WEIGHT MEASURED

IN GRAMS.

(ONE OUNCE EQUALS 28.35 GRANS)

One European or so called French Method of determining the classification of a spinning rod.

88 ROD CONSTRUCTION

this method, the rod is mounted on a wall, as illustration shows, and weights are attached to a line fastened to the rod until the weighted line and a line drawn through the center of the rod handle form a 90 degree angle. Then the total weight used is computed. The total weight in grams (raised or reduced to the nearest hundred) is the classification of the rod. For example, a rod that requires 400 grams to produce the required angle is called a number 400 rod; one that requires 600 grams is called a 600 rod. Actually, this particular system works out about the same as our weight system, unless extra heavy guides and reel holding bands are used. A number 400 European classified rod will weigh about 4 ounces; a number 500 about 5 ounces.

Another system used in Europe, and especially in France, is the weight of the lure method of classifying spinning rods. That is, the classification of the rod is set by the weight of the lightest lure it will cast well and the heaviest lure it will cast well. A French spinning rod classified as Puissance 5 a 10 g. means that the rod will handle lures of 5 to 10 grams in weight. Incidentally, this is the classification used in France for trout fishing. A Puissance 20 a 60 g French spinning rod will handle lures from 20 to 60 grams in weight and is used in angling for carp and northern pike.

A spinning rod Puissance 10 a 25 g. is called in France "Action Americaine." A spinning rod Puissance 10 a 35 g. is used for precision tournament casting and distance casting. Many French spinning rods have only three guides, a large butt guide and two other guides.

No reel seat is used on spinning rods. Instead, two sturdy knurled rings that can be slipped up and down the spinning rod grip are used to hold the reel unto the grip.

FRESH WATER CASTING RODS

The specifications found in this book give you the measurements for bait casting rods of all sorts. The methods for making the bamboo part, or parts, of these rods is the same as described for making the bamboo parts of fly rods. At one time, bait casting rods were considered strictly fresh water rods. This, however, is no longer true. A great many small salt water fish are commonly taken on these rods, and expert fishermen think nothing of catching tarpon on them.

There are a few important points to be brought out relative to the making of bait casting rods that were not covered under the making of fly rods.

ROD CONSTRUCTION 89

Although the illustration does not show one, bait casting rods can be made with the front grip built up on the "bamboo" of the rod itself on such rods as No. 3. In such cases, the front grip can be made by wrapping the area just ahead of the reel seats with heavy linen cord or fishing line, or by gluing cork rings onto the bamboo and sanding them to shape.

By far the most popular types of bait casting rods today are numbers 1 and 2 in the illustration. One piece bait casting rods with no detachable grip or butt are also very popular among those who have means conveniently to carry them. Rod number 3 is an obsolete type, as the ferrule in the center weakens the rod and also destroys much of its action. Rod number 4 is also an obsolete type. It has the female ferrule protruding slightly which is a disadvantage instead of an advantage.

Most bait casting rods are made with double grips, as the large percentage of casters prefer them this way. For the man that "palms" the reel in his hand, the front grip is not necessary, and for him the single grip rod is preferable. Such casters, however, are far in the minority.

Regardless of what type of bait casting rod you make, use a reel seat that has a finger hook on it. The finger hook is not necessary (as it once was) to hold your reel onto the rod. It is necessary so that you can hold onto the rod firmly. Nothing takes the place of this finger hook. Many well known rod makers build expensive split-bamboo casting rods without these finger hooks. This is a bad error, and I have heard them criticized for it on many occasions. If you cannot secure a reel seat for bait casting rods which has a finger hook, make one from spring-tempered stainless steel wire or something similar.

The offset type of detachable grip or butt has become very popular in late years and is now by far the most widely used.

To make the grip or butt on such rod types as number 2, the following method, or a version of it, is used. Take a section of glued up bamboo strips or a piece of aluminum tubing as long as the total butt or grip, minus the length of the empty socket of the female ferrule. Then fit and glue your female ferrule to the end of the bamboo joint or metal tube*with Silhower ferrule cement. Pin the female ferrule to the bamboo or tubing in addition to gluing it. Then glue a grip check tightly around the end of the female ferrule and glue cork rings right up against the grip check to form the front grip. Now glue on a wooden sleeve over which you will fit your reel seat. Then glue and pin the reel seat onto the wooden sleeve. Now glue on your cork rings for the rear cork grip. Shape your cork grips as you desire them. If you have used a bamboo section to build your butt, it should have a little metal collar around the rear end. Screw an aluminum washer below the rear grip. The metal collar on the end of the bamboo section will prevent it from splitting and will hold your screw tightly in place. If you have used metal tubing, glue a wooden plug into the end and screw the washer fastening screw into the wooden plug.

The illustration shows a bait casting rod with a 50 inch tip. It has three guides sizes 9/32, 7/32 and 5/32. This is the conventional number of guides for this length of tip.

90 ROD CONSTRUCTION

FACTORY PRODUCTION OF SPLIT BAMBOO FLY RODS

It is well to have a knowledge of production methods for making split bamboo rods so that you will be able to judge the difference between a rod made entirely by hand or with production methods and so that you can select the methods that you want to use in rod building.

In factory production, the bamboo is graded by the "breaking test" method. Usually there are only two grades selected, those that are suitable for rod making and those that are unsuitable for rod making. The latter is discarded. Contrary to opinion, factories rarely make any further selection or grading of usable bamboo.

The bamboo is split by hand with a wooden mallet and a heavy knife or pushed and twisted through a pipe that has cutting blades set in it. These blades are set in the pipe in the form of a cross. It takes a good workman about ten minutes to split the usual eight foot long bamboo into sixteen strips. Some factories saw the bamboo into strips. This is not as satisfactory, however, unless the grain of the bamboo runs perfectly straight, which is rarely the case. When sawing the bamboo the grain tends to follow the lines of the strips much less. This, of course, reduces the strength of the rod considerably.

Figure 1. Black area is a strip sawed from a piece of bamboo. Figure 2. Black area is a strip split from a piece of bamboo.

The split or sawed pieces of bamboo are then put on a strip cutting machine. Herter's is the only company in the world building these machines. Herter's

modern strip cutting machines are used both here and in England. These machines are especially made to hold the piece of bamboo and to cut it to any desired taper. It cuts accurately to one thousandth of an inch and at the highest speed.

In some factories if strips are desired for quick assembly on 6 strip rods, they are cut to 61½ degrees. This makes it very easy to fit the

Modern bam- outside of the rod sections together quickly and boo cutter. evenly but such construction leaves too much glue

in the center of the rod for absolute perfection.

All strips for good quality rods are cut at angles that allow the strips to fit together perfectly with no excess glue space between the strips.

The strips for production rods usually are glued together with the nodes spaced or staggered according to the "alternate node staggering meth-

Cross section of a six strip rod in which the strips were cut at a 61½ degree angle. The black areas indicate the glue.�$

ROD CONSTRUCTION 91

od." This method greatly simplifies arranging the strips for cutting as well as gluing. The "spiral method" of node staggering or arranging, described elsewhere in this book, is superior to the "alternate method". Node spacing however, as a whole is not a great factor in the action of a rod. The spiral method is too slow for the usual factory production. The alternate node staggering method is as follows: Lay all of the nodes of every other strip in line with each other. Then lay the nodes of the remaining strips in a straight line with each other but a number of inches below the nodes on the original alternating strips.

In factory production, the outside of the nodes are usually ground off on a sanding machine. This works satisfactorily but, of course, does often cut into the power fibers. Leveling off the outside of the nodes by hand is far more satisfactory but is quite costly.

The production gluing of rod strips must be done rapidly. Many of the well known rod makers still use hot, animal or fish glue as it is by far the quickest and least expensive way to glue up fly rods. The old fish glues were made from the bladders of Russian sturgeon. Hot gluing, however, is the poorest method possible to use in gluing up rod sections, as hot glue is greatly affected by weather conditions. On a wet day, such rods have a softer action than on a dry day. Hot gluing is done simply by tying string or a rubber band around one end of the rod section and dipping it into a hot glue tank. The surplus glue is roughly wiped off the outside of the section, another string or rubber band is put onto the other end of the section and the section is run through a pressure wrapping machine. Hot glue can be used day after day by just heating up the glue tank. It does not tend to spoil easily. This saves considerable expense and is convenient.

Synthetic resin glues are much more satisfactory for gluing rod sections, as they are much more waterproof and much stronger than hot glues. However, it takes more time to apply them and they are much more expensive. For best results, they must be brushed onto the strips by hand. Synthetic resin glues will not keep from day to day but must be used within a very short time after they are mixed for best results. Many rod companies are turning to synthetic resin glues in spite of the extra cost.

After the strips are dry the enamel and under-enamel are usually sanded off the strips on a power sander. By so doing, many of the power fibers are sanded from the rod, destroying some of its strength; still worse, this damages the lasting qualities of the rod. For the finest quality rods, the enamel and the under-enamel must be carefully sanded or scraped off entirely by hand.

92 ROD CONSTRUCTION

Factory rods are graded mostly by visible means. If the rod sections on the outside are tight at the glue lines, the rod can be put into any grade. The difference in various grades is made mostly by the type of fittings and finish that is applied to the rod.

On factory rods, as well as custom made rods, the windings are put on by hand. Automatic and semi automatic machines are not used to put on windings, as they can actually be put on faster by hand.

A small device made by Herter's and D. H. Thompson to hold a spool of winding thread under tension is used. The rod is supported on a metal holder that comes with these devices and is turned by hand. Women operators are employed by most rod makers for putting on windings, and they work out much more satisfactorily than men. A good woman operator will put all the windings on a 3 section, 9 foot fly rod in 15 minutes. This includes all guide and ferrule windings.

STIFFENING A SOFT ROD

One of the frequent repair jobs demanded of a rod maker is to stiffen up a fly rod made with too soft an action or of one that has been used so much that it has become soft. Such rods, of course, can be stiffened by making a new section for them. However, this is a task that requires considerable time.

Soft rods can usually be stiffened by the following method. Secure a small electric plate. Remove all rod finish or rod varnish from the rod section you wish to stiffen. Use rod varnish remover so that there is not a trace of finish left on the rod section. Then hold the area of the rod section you desire to stiffen over the electric plate until it is so warm that you can just barely handle it. Now take a brush, dip it into household ammonia and run the brush quickly over the area of the rod section you wish to stiffen. Avoid the fumes from the ammonia as much as possible, as they are very strong and toxic. Let the ammonia remain on the rod section for five minutes; then wipe off any surplus. Let the rod section cool, assemble it in the rod and try it for stiffness. If it is not stiff enough repeat the process until the section is as stiff as required. Do not stiffen the section any more than necessary, of course.

A very soft tip can be stiffened some by cross winding it, using the Wheeler method. It will give the tip a stiffer action but a slower type of stiff action than that resulting from the method described! above.

LAMINATED FISHING RODS

Laminated is actually the wrong word to use in this case, but I know of no other any more suitable so will have to use it. Laminated actually means a "layer or coat lying over another". On some of the rods that we will put in this group this applies; on others, it definitely does not apply. Actually, the rods in thi* group are those built on engineering principles of compression and stretch.

When the building of laminated rods started, I do not know. I am certain it was a very long while back. Bows built on the same engineering principles have been in use for centuries. The amazing thing to me is that little has been done in the field of laminated fishing rods,

ROD CONSTRUCTION 93

whereas in other fields the same principles are well established and used. To date, the only laminated rods, with the exception of a few made by some of the fine rod makers for their own use, are all salt water rods. Three six, light tackle class, heavy tackle class, and extra heavy tackle class salt water rods are commonly made laminated. Actually, the theories behind laminated rods apply to fresh water rods equally as well as they do to salt water rods. I am afraid that our fresh water split-bamboo rod makers fuss around arguing whether 4, 5, or 6 strip rod construction is best when actually, if they put their minds to it, they could develop laminated rods that would be far superior to any examples of these rods ever built.

As before mentioned, laminated rods are built with compression and stretch theories in mind. For example, when strain is put on a round rod a Stress Dividing Line comes into being across its center. Above this line, the wood in the rod is subject to tension and stretching; below this line, the rod is subject to compression. Actually, the

1 2. 3. * &

Cross sections of some popular laminated salt water rods. Cross section No. 1 is Roy Shaver's Trussbuilt laminated rod. The others are various types of pear shaped laminations.

upper half of the rod becomes a fraction longer than the bottom half of the rod under a strain. The bottom half becomes a trifle shorter than normal. In other words, the upper half of the rod stretches a little and the lower half compresses a little in order to take the strain without breaking.

All wood is built up with a cellular structure which will expand or contract to a degree when bent. As a simple example in my own work shop I selected a piece of pine measuring 42 1/4 inches long. Holding the measuring tape in position, I inserted one end of the board under a stationary block and had a friend bend the board down over the edge of the bench. Under his weight, the board broke. Immediately at the breaking point, the convex surface of the board measured 423/8 inches. Naturally, the concave portion was proportionately compressed. This is a simple test of a principle that you can perform in your own shop. The Trussbuilt type of laminated rod, designed by Roy Shaver, is made with layers of bamboo on the top and bottom and with a layer of spruce in

between the bamboo. The bamboo on the top resists tension and the bamboo on the bottom resists compression. The layer of spruce between takes up the adjustment necessary between the two pieces of bamboo. The shape of the rod is like that of a flat leaf auto spring. Robert C. Mankowski, in 1933, caught a 348 pound Marlin on a Light Tackle Trussbuilt rod with a 6 ounce tip. Roy Shaver is a master rod designer of note. He designed and made the first 3/6 rods for Mr. Thomas MC.D. Potter, the

Method of guide mounting on Roy Shaver's Trussbuilt Rod.

94 ROD CONSTRUCTION

originator of this class of tackle. Mr. Shaver also designed the Dualwood rods which were used with good success before he brought out his Trussbuilt rods. These rods were made in the same shape as Mr. Shaver's Trussbuilt rods, except that the top half of the rod was hickory, and the bottom half of the rod was black palm.

In other parts of this book I have described other laminated rods under their inventors' names. Be sure to study these sections together with this discussion so that you will get a general picture of what has been done to date with laminated rods.

Heart-shaped laminated rods are very popular. They are based on the theory of having the Strain Dividing Line near the top of the rod. This gives the rods tremendous compression resistance. Only a small portion of such rod is subject to stretch or tension, as the bulk of the rod is under compression.

Cross section Number 2 shows a rod made up of flat strips of bamboo except at the Stress Dividing Line where a piece of hickory (or other wood) is used to facilitate easy movement between the compression and stretch areas of the rod.

Cross section Number 3 is made up of pieces of bamboo on edge to give terrific compression resistance. The top of the rod generally features a piece of hickory or some other wood which will stretch.

Cross section Number 4 is made up of two pieces of bamboo in the stretch or tension area. A piece of hickory lies on the Stress Dividing Line to permit easy movement between the compression and stretch areas of the rod. The main compression area of the rod is constructed of wood with the grain running up and down to resist compression.

Cross section Number 5 has one piece of bamboo on the top for the stretch or tension area of the rod and three pieces of bamboo on edge for the compression area of the rod.

Heart-shaped laminated rods are excellent for trolling and have amazing strength.

In making all laminated types of rods, glue the different pieces for the rods together to form a long square piece. Use great care in the gluing. Use plenty of clamps and clamp the pieces to be glued between two boards as long as the pieces or a little longer.

Use your ingenuity to plan out a laminated rod to suit your purposes and try it out. You well might be the one to revolutionize rod building.

MAKING SURF RODS

More surf rods are used than any other type of salt water rods, except pier and boat rods. Pier and boat rods are described in another section. They are the salt water rods used to fish with from piers and boats that take out large numbers of fishermen to fish as a group.

Surf fishing is a grand sport and is becoming more and more popular every year.

I will first describe the surf rod generally used for surf fishing. The illustration shows such a rod. You will note that it is quite different from a tournament surf rod. The butt or grip of the surf fishing rod is

96 ROD CONSTRUCTION

to plane strips for the tip of these rods in one operation, consequently, you must move the strips as you plane them in the V block. It is tricky and takes a few attempts, but soon you will be "slipping" the strips in the V block with no trouble at all. Unless you have very heavily walled bamboo, you will find it necessary to build part of the tip hollow. Of course, you can construct the entire tip double built, if you so desire, and have it solid.

You can use either double or single guides on the rod. The use of double guides is becoming less popular instead of more popular. Double guides are designed so that if you get a set in the rod from using it in one position you can turn the rod, use the opposite guide and thus take out the set. If you use double guides, you must use either a "stirrup" or "swivel" type of top.

Stirrup-type of top$

The stirrup type of top is a top that has a ring centered so that the line can enter it from either side. The swivel-type of top is one which has a screw in the end which allows the top to be loosened, turned and locked in the opposite direction. You will note that the surf fishing rod featured has only one guide. Surf fishing rods of this type are by far the largest sellers. However, many surf casters can cast much better with two or even three guides on the rod. If possible, have your customer try casting with rods having various numbers of guides; then let him decide what he wants.

A tournament surf rod is entirely different than one used for fishing, as the illustration clearly shows. It is a formidable tool in the hands of an expert like "Primo" Livenais. When he starts to bend one of these rods it really separates the men from the boys. Consult the specifications given for a tournament surf rod in the specification section.

The grip or butt on a tournament surf rod is made from hickory. It has no reel seat on it, but rather has just two bands of metal at the end with bolts which clamp the bands together. The reel seat is bolted onto the grip in any desired position. The female ferrule is made exceptionally long so that the tip will not come out as a result of the powerful casts necessary with these rods. The female ferrule is also reinforced with a band of metal, lathe turned and press fit so it will not lose shape under the terrific strain it encounters during a cast. The tip of the rod is long and is made hollow for as much of its length as is deemed necessary. Single guides are used. Double guides are not used on tournament rods. Put the finish on surf rods by the same method as described for fly rods. Finish the grip or butt as described under heavy tackle rods.

Mount the guides on both tournament and fishing surf rods on the stiffest side. The stiffest side of the rod can be determined by the sz\na method as used for fly rods previously explained.

MAKING SOLID ALL WOOD RODS

The making of solid non-sectional wood rods has nearly become a thing of the past. A few heavy tackle and extra heavy tackle salt water rods are built of hickory, but these are about the only solid

ROD CONSTRUCTION 97

all wood rods made today. A few maple and hickory salt water pier rods are still made in some areas but definitely to meet price competition. The companies that make them also make quality rods of split-bamboo at higher prices.

As a matter of record, I shall describe some of the methods employed for making all wood rods. We shall assume that we are building a solid hickory tip for a heavy salt water rod with a detachable butt.

Go to a lumber yard that supplies hickory. Look over the planks they have to offer. The center cut of any log is the best for any precision woodwork. It has the least tendency toward warping, dishing

Above is an illustration of the natural tendencies in wood to warp if normally dried without being weighted down.

and checking. You must not, however, use the heart of the center plank. The next best planks are number 1 planks. Working from the center to the outside, the planks have progressively greater tendencies to warp outward toward the bark, even though they are thoroughly air and kiln dried down to a moisture content of 7% or less. The grain of wood has a natural pull toward the outside, because the wood, in growing, pulls down and outward to keep the tree upright and to keep it from bending.

The curve in the end grain of center cut planks will be more pronounced, and this is one good feature to watch in making your selection. Outside cuts and slabwood will have a more open curve to the growth rings.

The growth rings should be fairly far apart, indicating that the tree grew well and was not starved from poor soil and overcrowding. If the growth rings run exceptionally far apart, the tree on which it grew had too much food and moisture and the wood is too soft and not satisfactory for rod making. When the wood is too soft it is not strong enough to resist compression and tension properly. If the plank has growth rings too close together, it indicates that the tree was grown on poor soil, that it was too crowded or that it was grown in a climate which was too cold. Such wood is very hard, but is too brittle.

The species of hickory you use is important. Cut off a small sample of the wood from a plank of hickory you think suitable and send it to the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. This is the wood

SLAP PLUNK

THE AREA ENCLOSED BY THE OOTTED LINES IN THE CENTER PLANK THE “HEART” IT IS USELESS.

98 ROD CONSTRUCTION

testing laboratory of the United States government. They will identify its specie for you. They also will give you the moisture content of the wood. The Forest Products Laboratory is staffed by a fine group of men. I wish to take this space to thank them for the many services they have rendered me. If you want to know the truth about anything

The Botanical and Commercial Ranges of the four hickories suitable for rod building. Reprinted through the courtesy of

the United States Forest Service.

concerning wood, write to them. Many self-styled authorities on wood get all their information from this source.

Hickory for rod making, must be one of the following species. Chances are the hickory lumber you buy will be one of these, but it is better to have it checked to make certain.

Pignut Hickory (Hicoria Glabra), Shagbark Hickory, (Hicoria Ovata), Mockernut Hickory (Hicoria Alba), or Bigleaf Shagbark Hickory (Hicoria Laciniosa).

If everything turns out satisfactorily at the lumber yard, buy a piece of hickory about ¼ or ½ inch thicker than the largest diameter

MOCKCRNUT (iHoa •IM)5OTANlCAi. ANO COMMCROAI. RAN6C

ROD CONSTRUCTION 99

of the rod you contemplate and about 64 inches long. As we before mentioned, we are going under the assumption that we are making a heavy tackle rod. Such a rod will have the usual 60 inch tip. As the tip is measured from the top end to the cap of the male ferrule, you will need a piece of wood long enough to fit down into the center of the male ferrule. This will be a distance of from 2 to 3½ inches on such rods. The extra inch or ½ inch is just for something to go on in case of error.

If you cannot secure hickory lumber through a lumber dealer, you can go out and cut down a hickory tree that is, if you live in a hickory growing area. If you are not prepared for a great deal of additional work, try to avoid this. First write to your state forestry department, asking for illustrations and descriptions of the species of hickory you want to cut. Also ask them where such hickory trees are apt to be found in the state, if they are scarce. After you can identify a desirable species of hickory, select a tree growing on good soil so that the growth rings of the tree will not be too close together. The tree also should be growing uncrowded for the same reason. Fell the tree so that the trunk does not hit any rocks or similar high, hard objects that might bruise it.

Some people would try to impress you with the idea that, unless a tree is felled very carefully, it will strain the wood to a point where it is worthless. This is not at all true. The ordinary tree, in being felled, is not damaged in any way by strains. Green wood is meant to take strains and does so with ease. After the tree is down, cut out a seven foot log, if possible from the thickest and most level part of the trunk. It is best to cut the log up into lumber as soon as you fall it. This sometimes is not possible. If the log is to remain for any length of time at all without being cut into lumber do the following things. Cover (not just coat) the ends of the log with a heavy coat of the highest melting point tar or asphalt you can find.

Block the log up off the ground as high as possible, and give it a good spraying or brushing with D. D. T. in a solution not affected easily by water. The asphalt or tar keeps the ends of the log from checking and the D. D. T. keeps insects from entering the log. Do not use paint of any kind to seal the ends of the log, as ordinary paints (and even aluminum paint) will not prevent checking on hickory. When the log is to be made into lumber, have the sawer cut planks from it a full 21/2 inches thick. Have him cut the planks with the taper of the trunk so that the grain in the planks will follow the grain of the log as much as possible. This is not always the way lumber is sawed and you may have to argue a bit with your log cutter to get it done. In cutting a log, it is usually, just squared up and sawed into lumber. Consequently, the saw will cut diagonally across the grain in much of the lumber. Now saw the planks into 2½ inch squares. Mark their butt ends and cover the ends heavily with the highest melting point tar or asphalt you can get to prevent them from checking as they dry.

The hickory now must be dried or seasoned. You can either air dry the wood or both air dry and kiln dry it. Air drying hickory under moisture conditions prevalent in the United States (except on a desert) will not reduce the moisture content of the wood to less than 8%. In most states, it cannot be reduced to less than 12% by air drying. This next statement is really important. Hickory that has more than 7% moisture content when made up into a fishing rod will swell or shrink with weather changes. Chances are that it will warp or set

100 ROD CONSTRUCTION

very easily. For making handles on tools, which is really the most important use for hickory, the wood first is air dried to 25% to 30% moisture content. It then is scientifically kiln dried to 7% moisture content or less.

Your best bet is to store your hickory billets in your attic or garage. Do not leave them outside to air dry under any circumstances. Rain may blow in on them if they are covered with just a top shelter, or a dry wind may blow on them for a day or two and honeycomb the wood. Stack the billets with blocks between them. This will separate the billets from each other and there will be a free passage of air around them. Make the blocks three inches in diameter or more if possible. Now let the billets set for at least a year or longer. Then write to the Forest Products Laboratory of Madison, Wisconsin, and ask them for a drying schedule to reduce your hickory billets to 7% moisture content or less. I could give you a recent one, but would rather you write to them, yourself, as they are always developing short cuts and improvements. All authentic information on wood drying comes from the Forest Products Laboratory. After you have this information, contact a company that has a scientific wood kiln; that is, one in which both the heat and humidity are regulated accurately. Let them dry your billets. After they have been dried down to 7% moisture content or less, they will stay this way for a long period of time unless water is put on them. They will remain dry much longer than it will take to make them up into rods. Once the wood is made up into rods and properly finished, it will take on very little more moisture content.

There are a number of methods used to turn your billet into a round tapered rod. Factories do it on a small doweling machine rebuilt to round and taper the piece of wood at the same time.

The first thing to do to your billet is to square it down to the exact diameter the butt of rod you are planning. In squaring down the billet, try to take the same amount of wood off all sides. Use a saw, a plane or a planer to square it down.

ROD CONSTRUCTION 101

what longer than the billet you are to plane. Bolt two blocks of wood a little thicker than the billet between the side boards. Then put a loose board between the side boards. This is called the planing box taper adjusting board. Adjust it between the two side boards so that, at one end, it is set to the exact diameter of the rod you intend to make when measured from the top of the side boards. At the other end, the adjusting board should be set to a depth the equivalent of the radius (not diameter) of the billet plus the radius of the tip you desire. On a one inch billet which you wish to taper to a one-fourth inch tip this depth would be 5/8 inches. Clamp the planing box taper adjusting board in place with one or two C clamps and your bench vise.

Now mark the sides of your billet 1, 2, 3 and 4, putting side 1 on top and numbering the others clockwise. Place the billet on top of the planing box taper board with side 1 on top and with the butt end of the billet in the largest space between the planing box taper adjusting board and the top of the side boards. Plane the billet level with the side boards. Repeat this process with side 2 turned to the top. This will give you a taper on two sides.

Now raise the planing box taper adjusting board to a depth which is the exact diameter of tip you desire, making no change in the depth at the butt, which is already to exact diameter. Return the billet to the top of the box and plane sides 3 and 4 as you did sides one and two. This will result in a squared up, straight tapered billet. If you desire the rod to be other than a straight taper, make allowances for this as you plane the billet down. Use the top of the side boards as a guide to make the rod heavier or lighter in the places you desire.

Now hold the squared tapered billet in a grooved wood holder of any kind on your work bench and plane the corners off. You can leave the rod 8 sided, or you can finish it off so that it makes a round rod. The 8 sided rod can be made round by a number of methods. You can rub the rod lengthwise with sandpaper with one hand, at the same time rotating the rod with your other hand. Curved or flat plain scraper blades without handles are also good to use in rounding the rod. Single edged razor blades and a broken piece of glass can also be used. When the rod is round, sand it lengthwise with fine sandpaper to make it perfectly smooth.

Some rod builders just hold the wood billet on their work bench with a board nailed to the bench top to act as a stop. They then plane the billet roughly to taper. Sometimes they clamp the butt end down with a C clamp. When using such a method for most heavy salt water rods, begin to taper the rod starting about two thirds of the way up on the billet, and taper it toward the tip. When the third of the rod at the tip is about right, taper the other or lower two thirds of the rod as you desire.

The male ferrule can be mounted on the billet before you begin to plane it down or after you have the billet planed to the desired shape for the tip. The later method is the one most often used. A weak point, if a conventional type of ferrule is used, is the joint between the cap of the male ferrule and the rod. You can select a larger sized ferrule than you would ordinarily use on the rod and swell the rod sharply at this point so that it will take this larger sized male ferrule. Thus the rod will gain added strength at this weak point. As before mentioned, we have assumed that we are making a heavy tackle class of salt water rod. Such rods have the female ferrule built into the reel seat, and when you buy the reel seat, the male ferrule

ROD CONSTRUCTION 103

just a trace of lava stone on it. Now give the rod another coat of the warm varnish and let it dry for several days. Generally speaking, three coats of varnish are sufficient. More than three coats will have a tendency to slow down the action of the rod. However, more may be added, if desired. After the final coat has dried, a glossy finish will be the result. If this finish pleases you, your rod is now ready for use. If you desire to tone down the finish to a soft semi-gloss tone, rub it down with a light sprinkling of lava stone applied with a damp felt pad. Wipe off the surplus of lava stone with a clean damp rag upon completion of the rubbing.

CHAPTER XI

WOODS OTHER THAN BAMBOO USED FOR ROD MAKING

I am taking the time for discussing the use of other woods besides bamboos for rod making only as a matter of record, as none of them is equal to bamboo nor should be considered any more for light and medium rods. This applies to rods up to fifteen-sixteenth of an inch in diameter at the butt. For heavy rods fifteen-sixteenths of an inch in diameter and larger hickory works out well if properly dried, although bamboo rods well constructed are superior to hickory even for these heavy rods.

HICKORY: True Hickory is a wood found only in the United States. We have some over thirty-five different species. The finest quality of hickory for rod making, are the types listed under solid wood rods.

The United States Forest Service rates hickory as the most shock resistant wood in existence. Hickory has the quality which enables it to be compressed or stretched and it will return quickly to its original form. Hickory wood for rod making or for handle making on rods such as surf rods may be air dried down to 8% moisture content. This can be done only in states where the humidity is not over 50%. This will not produce the finest rod, but it can be used with a reasonable chance that it will not warp badly. It can also be scientifically kiln dried down to 7% moisture content and is more suitable for rod work when this is done. Unless hickory is dried down to at least 7 % moisture content it usually warps so easily and badly that it is not too satisfactory for rod work.

DEGAME: Scientific name Calycaphyllum candidiassimum (Vahl) D. C. Other trade names for this wood besides Degame are Degama in Cuba, Lemond wood in Mexico, Lancewood in the United States and England and Pau Mulato in Central America. This wood is found in Cuba, the West Indies, Mexico, and the upper part of South America and Central America. Air dried to 12% moisture content, a cubic foot weighs 50 to 53 pounds. It is a very fine textured straight grained, strong wood. Some of it compares favorably in quality with hard maple. Its heart wood color is variegated brown. The outer sapwood is comparatively colorless. It is a denser wood than such woods as hickory and dogwood. It makes fair trolling and casting rods but tends to set easily.

BLACK PALM: Scientific name Astrocaryum Standleyanum (Bailey). Other trade names for this wood are Arrow wood and Black Bamboo. This wood is found in northern South America and in Central America. It is a form of bamboo and has bamboo-like fibers. The wood is black to dark brown in color with a spotting of beige and light tan. It is a very strong, tough wood. The hard outer part of the logs is used to make casting and trolling rods. The inner part of the log is more pithy, like bamboo, and is also used for rod making, but it is not as strong as the outer part. The fibers of the wood are coarse and tend to splinter when strained excessively as many bamboos do. On occasion, rods made from black palm are wrapped with silk or nylon their entire length to prevent any chance that the wood might spinter under heavy strains. For fly rods, Black Palm is too heavy, but it does make fair trolling and heavy bait casting rods and salt water

OTHER WOODS USED FOR ROD BUILDING 105

rods combined with hickory in laminated rods, it has been very successful. Black Palm has long been the standard native Central American wood for bows and arrow shafts, and it is excellent for these purposes. A life-long friend of mine, Roland Lorenz with the United States Forestry Service, has spent all of his life in Africa, Central and South America studying woods. He has done a great deal of work with woods for both fishing rods and bows. He always keeps me well informed on any new developments.

CHENAR WOOD: The scientific name is Platanus Orientalis. Other trade names Lancewood, Plane Tree Wood. This tree is found in the far east. It was extensively imported and planted in England in the seventeenth century. It is known in England as the Plane tree. Our American Myrtle tree is a tree of this type. Chenar Wood is not very fine grained but the wood is fairly tough and hard. Chenar, air dried to 12% moisture content, weighs from 32 to 45 pounds per cubic foot. The color varies greatly. It runs from cream to pale yellows and from pale blue to purplish gray. It occasionally has a reddish tinge. Chenar wood is not an especially good wood for rod making, as it does not compress well and warps easily if not kiln dried. Its main use is for expensive gunstocks.

BETHABARA: The scientific name is Family Begnoniaceae. Species Leucoxylon Mart found in the Guianas of South America. Species Phentaphyila found in the Guianas of South America and Brazil. Species Serratifolia found in Central America.

Bethabara is a trade name copyrighted by M. A. Shipley, a manufacturer of fishing rods, in Philadelphia. His copyright has been un-sustained. This wood is also known by many other trade names such as Surinam in Dutch Surinam, Pao D'Arco, in Brazil, also Greenheart, Ironwood, Iron tree, Bow wood, Lapacho, Wasiba, and Washiba. In Mexico, the species found there is known as Noibwood, Yellow guya-can. Bastard lignum-vitae.

This wood, when air dried to 12% moisture content, weighs from 54 to 71 pounds per cubic foot. The wood is fine to medium-fine in texture and hard. The color of the wood is olive to reddish brown, and sometimes it is beautifully streaked. It is a difficult wood to cut and splinters badly. It is of no use for fly rods but does make fair trolling and bait casting rods. Its main commercial use is for harbor piles, booms and breakwaters.

GREENHEART: The scientific name is Nectandra Rodioei Schomb. Other trade names for this wood are Bibiru and Sipiri by natives. Demerara Greenhearl by British commercial buyers, Groenhartboom in Holland and Gruenholz, Gruenherzbaum and Bibirubaum in Germany. The wood, air dried to 12% moisture content, weighs about 65 to 68 pounds per cubic foot. The color of the heartwood varies from light to dark olive to nearly black with veins of light and dark. The sapwood, or outerwood, is pale yellow to greenish. Although the darker, or black heart wood, was once considered by rod makers to be superior to the heart wood in other colors, this is not at all true. The color of the heartwood does not affect its qualities in any way. The Nectandra Rodioei species of Greenheart is found mostly, but not ex-clusively, in British Guinea, most of it along the Pomeroon, Cuyuni, Mozaruni, Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice rivers. British Guinea exporters call their Greenheart Demerara Greenheart to distinguish it from other Greenheart. It does not all come from the Demerara river valleys, however, as might be supposed by the name.

106 OTHER WOODS USED FOR ROD BUILDING

Greenheart is very fine-textured, very heavy and strong. It has about twice the strength of white oak, according to The Forest Products Laboratory tests. It planes easily but turns very badly. Its main use is for underwater piling in harbors, as it resists salt water rot very well. Greenheart is also found in limited quantities in Surinam and, although at first thought to be a different species, is identical to that found in British Guinea.

A great many woods are known to the trade as Greenheart that are not the true Greenheart, although possessing, in most cases, very similar qualities. One is Dahoma, scientific name Piptodena Africana, found on the west coast of Africa. It is often called African Greenheart. The wood is golden brown in color. Another called Jamaican Greenheart, scientific name Ceanothus Chlorozylon, has heartwood yellowish-green in color and is heavy and hard.

Fifty years ago, Greenheart was used a great deal in England and was used somewhat in America and Canada for fly rods. Greenheart makes a heavy, slow fly rod that will throw a wet fly fairly well. The wood is so heavy and slow that false casting with it is nearly impossible. It is of no value at all for dry fly rods nor present day rods used for wet flies. It makes a fairly good light trolling rod. Hickory however, is superior for such purposes if properly dried.

TRUE LANCEWOOD: The scientific name is Anonaceae Lanceo-lata Baill. Also at times called Degame, Lemon Wood and Black Heart. Air dried at 12% moisture content, it weighs about 62 pounds per cubic foot. It is straight grained, very fine textured, strong and resilient. The sapwood is lemon to yellow in color. The heart of the wood is very small and black. This wood makes very good bows and fair trolling and bait casting rods. It is found in northern South America and the West Indies. It is marketed in small diameter poles. The sap-wood is all that is used for either rods or bows. In England, Chenar wood is often called Lance wood and is substituted for it.

BEEFWOOD: The scientific name is Sapotaceae Mimusops and Manilkara. Also known by the trade names, Bullet Wood, Horseflesh, Balata, Massaranduba, Cow Tree, Red Lancewood. Air dried to 12% moisture content, this wood weighs 55 to 75 pounds per cubic foot. It is found throughout Central America and the northern part of South America. This wood is a medium to dark reddish-brown in color. It has fine texture, the grain is usually straight and the wood is very strong and resilient. However, it is not as strong or resilient as hard maple or hickory. The dust of this wood irritates the skin of most people. Beefwood makes fair trolling rods but cannot be used for fly rods. Commercially, it is used to trim arrows and for general construction work in the tropics.

SNAKEWOOD: The scientific name is Moraceae Piratinera Guian-ensis and Brosimum. Also known by the trade name Letterwood, Air dried to 12% moisture content, it weighs 80 to 90 pounds per cubic foot. The sapwood is light and is not used. The heartwood is dark red-brown with dark markings. The wood is firm and strong, usually with straight grain. It splits easily. Occasionally, it is used to make the butts on trolling and casting rods. It is also used for bows. At times it is confused with Black Palm Wood.

ASH: The common ash found in the United States is a strong, resilient wood and was once widely used for butt sections on fly rods. If properly dried down to 10% moisture content or less, it makes butt

OTHER WOODS USED FOR ROD BUILDING 107

sections that are superior to such wood as Greenheart, both as to durability and action. It was a great favorite of early rod makers.

The myth that second growth ash is better than first growth is not at all true. Both are identical, if grown uncrowded. Second growth timber sometimes gets a better chance to grow uncrowded, and hence there are many who prefer second growth timber. Today ash is used mostly for baseball bats.

HARD MAPLE: At one time this wood was used somewhat for trolling rods but not in recent years. It is used for handles on surf rods and salt water rods and is fairly well suited to this purpose.

CHAPTER XII

GLASS FISHING RODS A BRIEF HISTORY OF GLASS RODS

The word Fiberglas has received a great deal of publicity. It is however simply a trade mark for glass fibers registered by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company. The word Fiberglas refers to nor does it mean any specific type of glass or glass fibers.

Fine glass fibers were commercially unknown twenty years ago and were developed only after a seven year research program started in 1931 by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company. In 1935, Corning Glass Works also began research and the staffs of the two companies exchanged technical data of their progress to accelerate the development of this new material. Five million dollars were expended by these two concerns in this seven year period. The glass fibers or rovings and cloths now used in glass rod manufacture were first developed in 1936 and 1937 but were not offered commercially until 1938. In this year these two companies also joined to form the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation as it is known today. The years 1939 and 1940 were spent mainly in developing mass production processes and in improving their products. The outbreak of World War II brought on huge demands for glass fiber products and soon 93% of all production was being supplied for war purposes. The Korean war brought out even more military uses of glass fibers. Helmets, bullet proof vests, flak jackets, landing boats, gasoline tanks, airplanes, and containers for parachuted items were made of glass fibers bonded together with plastic.

It was during World War II in 1944 that Dr. Arthur M. Howald, technical director for the Plaskon Division of Libbey-Owens Ford Glass Company, developed the idea of glass fiber fishing rods. During a fishing trip in northern Michigan he broke the tip of his bamboo fly rod. Bamboo replacement tips were nearly impossible to obtain so he fashioned one from Plaskon Resin reinforced with glass fibers. This tip proved so successful that he made a complete rod of glass fibers reinforced with resin. This was the crude beginning of the glass fiber rods as we know them today. These first glass fiber rods were actually very impractical. They absorbed moisture badly and in humid areas broke like matches. The resin used to bond the glass fibers would not stick to the glass and kept breaking away from the glass fibers. Dr. Howald's first experimental knowledge was given to the Shake-speare Company who made the first commercial glass fiber rods. The young Mr. Shakespeare sent me one of these first rods to try. I still have it as a souvenir. These first rods had a balsa wood core with a woven sheath of glass yarn or fibers, impregnated with resin. The final finish was a spiral wrap of cellophane. At this time glass fiber rods were doomed to complete failure just as glass fishing lines had failed before them and both for the same reason. The products absorbed moisture and became brittle in humid climates and the resin bonding them broke away from the glass. The famous Dupont company now came to the rescue and are really the father of the glass rod. They developed a chrome bath to give to the glass fibers that made them resist moisture and that made the resins stick to them. Without the Dupont in-vention there would be no glass rods today.

GLASS FISHING RODS 109

Soon after this period all commercial rod builders begin turning to glass fibers for rod construction and we now have over forty differ-ent concerns making glass fiber rods in the United States. These rods are being used all over the world and at least one concern in Great Britain has begun the manufacture of hollow glass fiber rods.

THE MAKING OF F I N E GLASS FIBERS

Glass filaments or fibers measuring .00036 inches in diameter have the maximum strength. They will resist temperatures up to 1,000 degrees F. They are perfectly round. Larger glass fibers become more brittle as the diameter increases and do not have as great a tensile strength. These larger diameter fibers of course are easier to manu-facture and handle and are much cheaper. Glass cloth or yarn made from these larger fibers are used on cheaper rods. Visually cloth or yarn made from coarser fibers looks exactly the same as cloth or yarn made from the more expensive finer fibers. As before mentioned however such yarn or cloth is much more brittle and has far less tensile strength.

Briefly this is how fine glass fibers are made.

Clear glass marbles about the same size we used to play marbles with are dropped into a stoker above a platinum floored oven. Platinum is used for the oven floor as it is the only metal that can withstand severe heat and not close up the fine holes drilled in it. As the marbles melt they are drawn through the fine holes in the platinum. The filaments formed by this drawing are like clear spider webs. An operator gathers up these fine fibers of glass and starts them on a motor driven bobbin beneath the oven as the illustration shows. The glass fibers on the way from the oven to the bobbin are sprayed with ordinary starch. The starch acts as a binder and also makes them visible. The fibers are then wound into yarn and the yarn is wound onto a spool.

The spools of glass yarn are now put in an oven and subjected to heat enough to ba-ke out the starch. The yarn is then given the Dupont chrome bath. This invention gives the glass fibers a permanent coat which tends to shed moisture and most important of all makes the resin when applied stick tightly to the glass. As before mentioned without t h i s Dupont chrome treatment glass fishing rods would not be in use today.

The early glass rods made without Dupont chrome treated glass fibers

110 GLASS FISHING RODS

How fine glass fibers are made.

few years back a test of glass rods was made by a well known rod maker at Cape Cod Massachusetts. The humid climate there caused the rods to break like matches. This was typical of tests made in many parts of North America during the period before the Dupont chrome bath invention.

GLASS RODS RESISTANT TO MOISTURE AND WEATHER

Todays glass rods absorb from 4% to 6% of water in normal use. The amount depends mostly on the type of binding resin used for the glass fibers. These small percents of water absorption hurt glass rods in no way. Glass rods submerged in water for 24 hours are not damaged in any way although it is definitely a good practice to keep glass rods as dry as possible. Glass rods made of inexpensive resins submerged in water for six months become saturated with water and very brittle. They dry out easily however in a week's time and again have about their normal action.

Glass rods made with best quality resins are little effected by six months or six years submergion in water.

Glass rods will stand 70 degrees below zero and as hot as 275 degrees Fahrenheit without damage of any kind. They cannot however stand a flame. Flame makes them very brittle.

COMPARISON AND PREFERENCES FOR HOLLOW GLASS AND SOLID GLASS RODS

Solid glass rods are stronger than hollow glass rods. Solid glass rods are much heavier than hollow glass rods. Solid glass rods have a much poorer action for casting of any kind than

hollow glass rods. For all practical fishing purposes hollow glass rods are strong enough although they are not as strong as solid glass rods.

The preference for solid glass rods against hollow glass rods runs as follows:

proved to be dismal failures. They absorbed huge quantities of moisture and became very brittle. The glass fibers separated from the binding resin and the rods lost their strength as they were used. Just a


BAIT CASTING RODS. 5 feet standard bait casting rods. Preference in middle west is for the

solid glass rod. In the west, east, and south for the hollow glass rod. Solid glass rod bait casting rods are of course much cheaper than the hollow glass. Solid glass bait casting rods are satisfactory for trolling but not for good casting.

FLY CASTING RODS. It is impossible to make a satisfactory solid glass fly casting rod as they

are much too heavy. The preference is all for hollow glass fly rods.

SPINNING RODS. It is impossible to make a saisfactory solid glass spinning rod as they

are much too heavy and lack action. The preference is all for hollow glass spinning rods.

SALT WATER BOAT AND BAY RODS. For boat and bay salt water rods under six feet solid glass rods are the

biggest seller. Six feet or over hollow glass rods are the biggest sellers.

SURF AND LIVE BAIT RODS. All glass rods of these types are hollow glass as solid glass is un-

satisfactory.

BIG GAME SALT WATER RODS. The preference is for solid glass rods as strength is preferred to action.

DURABILITY OF GLASS RODS

Both hollow and solid glass rods are made up of glass fibers bonded and sealed in a usable unit by plastic or resin of some kind. Whether the glass rod is hollow or solid it should be made up of from 66 to 72 percent of glass fibers and the balance plastic or resin. The smaller diameter of the rod the greater percentage of glass fibers is necessary to give the rod back bone. Some cheap glass rods have as little as 35% glass fibers in them.

The glass fibers in glass rods have great elasticity and great strength. Their fatigue life is almost endless. Talking about elasticity in glass I remember one day I was visiting the world famous glass works at Val St. Lambert in Belgium. In this glass works is made the finest quality glass in the world. A number of the plant workmen are ardent fishermen and friends of mine. One day, one of them showed me a set of table goblets that were 12 inches high. The bowl part of the goblets were supported by a fairly narrow stem. He took the goblet and gave the bowl part a sharp blow. The bowl part of the goblet swayed back and forth in a wide arc like it was mounted on a reed in the wind yet the stem that it was swaying on was solid glass. It proved to me beyond any doubt that flexible glass was a reality.

Now back to our glass rods. The plastic or resin that makes up the balance of a glass rod is strong but has a definite fatigue life. Glass rods either solid or hollow will take a permanent set if strained beyond the normal limits of landing a fish. At the Sportsmen show in


New York in 1950 one glass rod manufacturer placed a heavy lead weight on the tip of one of his glass rods and bent the rod nearly back to its hand grasp. The rod was left in this position for the entire show which lasted a week. After the show was over the manufacturer removed the lead weight. The rod however stayed in its bent position. It had been permanently set. I have seen a number of glass rods permanently set by fishermen horsing in a heavy fish. All glass rods are susceptable to damage by flame as before stated. A match flame held on a glass rod for any length of time will cause the rod to become brittle at that point and break. Be careful while lighting pipes, cigarettes, or cigars to keep the flame away from your glass rods.

VARIANCE IN GLASS RODS MADE OF THE SAME MATERIALS

Both solid glass and hollow glass rods vary in strength and action even when made of the same quality of materials and to the same measurements.

In hollow glass rods the human element is strongly present in their manufacture which makes it impossible to make hollow glass rods exactly alike. As you will see later on that the sanding of them is done by hand and it alone causes variance in each rod made. Atmospheric changes at the time the rods are made effect the resin the glass fibers are bonded with.

In solid glass rods the way the fibers are laid in the mold and the grinding or sanding of the rods causes variance between each rod. Atmospheric changes at the time the rods are made effect the resin the glass fibers are bonded with.

Glass rods may some day reach the point where they have very little variance. This is definitely possible but at this writing it takes a great deal of careful hand work to make even uniformly good glass rods. Unfortunately very few glass rods are made by careful hand work today. *

Edward R. Hewitt author of "A Trout and Salmon Fisherman for Seventy-Five Years," in one of his letters to me some years back, wrote that in his opinion glass rods would eventually be made under rigid hand and scientific controls and be excellent rods. He wrote this at a time when glass rods were entirely unsatisfactory and he well knew this as he had tried them. Mr. Hewitt's opinion is always worth while considering on any fishing subject.

THE HOLLOW GLASS ROD

Generally speaking all hollow glass rods are constructed in basically the same manner. They are made from uni-directional glass cloth. This cloth must have ten longitudinal strands for every horizontal glass strand.

The quality, strength, and action of hollow glass rods varies greatly for the following reasons:

1. Time involved to make them. Contrary to opinion a really good hollow glass rod takes time to make well. Cheaper hollow glass rods are made quickly, good hollow glass rods take four and five times the time to manufacture than cheap hollow glass rods.


Purchase the glass cloth in a bolt of the width you desire, depending of course on the length of the rod you desire to make. The glass cloth is then run directly from the bolt through a tank filled with a phenolic resin or in some cases a phenolic resin mixed with some nylon. This phenolic resin may be one of various types. Polyester resins are also used in the manufacture of hollow glass rods. However they are not as satisfactory for hollow glass rods as the phenolic resins. Polyester resins are however more satisfactory for making solid glass rods than phenolic resins. The phenolic resins used for glass rod work are the types requiring a heat cure. They also require a catalyst to be mixed with them. A catalyst is simply a chemical that causes the resin to harden.

In using a phenolic resin, the glass cloth after coming out of the tank as shown in the illustration is run through an electric oven to heat treat and temper the resin reducing its tackiness. This makes it possible to handle the cloth. This heat treating time is from 8 to 12 minutes at a temperature of 260 degrees F.

The impregnated cloth is then laid on tables and with the use of steel templates is cut into panels of a predetermined size for the making of specific rods.

Top view of template on the impregnated glass cloth showing three glass cloth panels already cut out.

The glass panels are then ready to be wrapped onto the steel mandrels. The steel mandrels are made by carefully grinding steel rods to the desired tapered on center less grinding machines. The steel mandrels in large sizes are usually made from stainless steel highly polished. The smaller mandrels for tips, etc., are made from high

Sealing the impregnated glass cloth to the steel mandrel with a

flat iron.

carbon steel for maximum strength so they will not become bent and damaged in handling from time to time. Each mandrel must have a notch in its heavy end. This notch is used to pull out the steel man-


drel from the rod as you will presently see. The mandrels must be highly polished for easy release of the wrapped glass cloth after curing.

Some manufacturers now take the steel mandrels and dip them into a tank of the same resin as used on the glass cloth and are given the same heat tempering treatment as the glass cloth. This actually practically cures the resin and turns it from a liquid to a pliable,

Resin impregnated glass cloth is unrolled and rod pattern cut to size.

slightly tacky film. One edge of the glass cloth is now sealed to the mandrel with a common flat iron. The mandrel with the glass cloth attached to it is then placed on the table of the wrapping or rolling machine and under heat and pressure the glass cloth is wrapped around the steel mandrel. The wrapping machine has heating units in the table and top plate. The heat partially melts the resin as the mandrel is rolled through it wrapping the glass cloth around it. The heat by partially melting the resin fuses the layers of glass cloth together.


Wrapping or rolling machine.

Some manufacturers do not dip the steel mandrels in the resin and partially cure the resin on them and then seal the cloth to the mandrel. They simply position the steel mandrel on the glass cloth pattern and wrap the glass cloth around the steel mandrel in the wrapping or rolling machine.

Tapered steel mandrel is positioned on glass cloth pattern before being wrapped on wrapping machine.

METAL.HEATIN& UNITS

GLASS CLOTH

ATTACHED TO

MANDREL


When glass rods were first made the resin impregnated glass cloth was wrapped around the steel mandrel by hand. It took from one to six persons to wrap the glass cloth on a mandrel depending upon the length of the rod. W. Brandt

RHEOSTAT FOOT AND BAR PEDAL

Spiral wrapping the rod with cellophane tape prior to curing

or baking, showing foot control.

Cellophane tape is wound on the mandrels wrapped with glass cloth to hold the cloth tightly on the mandrel during

the oven cure. Here an operator guides the tape while the machine turns rod at high speed.

MOTOR


Rods are hung on racks leading into the oven. Heat will combine resin and glass permanently.

Goldsworthy, President of Industrial Plastics Corporation, Gardena, California, several years back invented the wrapping machine for glass rods.

The mandrel covered with the glass cloth is then taken from the wrapping table and a strip of cellophane tape is spiral wrapped the full length of the mandrel to hold the glass cloth in place for the final


curing. This spiral wrap under slight pressure is achieved with the use of an electric motor, chuck, and collet as illustrated.

The rods are then hung on racks preparatory to being put in the baking ovens.


The rods are then put into the baking oven. The curing or baking times may be varied slightly with varied temperatures. Four hours at 270 degrees F is the average curing time. The rods are removed from the oven, and cooled at room temperature.

From here on the procedure in different plants varies slightly. Some plants remove the steel mandrel at this point others do not. It makes little difference which way you do it. We will describe the rest of the opi-ration as plants do it that do not remove the steel mandrel at this point.

The rods are now sanded. This sanding operation is done by chucking the butt end of the steel mandrel, in a collet attached to an electric motor.

The cellophane tape is removed with the sand paper and the rod itself perfectly smoothed. The rods are then hung on another rack and dipped into a tank of the same resin as before the final finish.

The rods are again baked in an oven and when completely cured are removed to cool.

The steel mandrels are removed by one of two methods.

Method No. One. By a hand operated machine as shown in the illustration. The steel mandrels must have a notch in the large end that is engaged with the teeth of the machine. The end of the rod is butted against a block of steel so that when the lever is pulled back the mandrel is forced free.

TABLE TOP

Method number one removing mandrel from a hollow glass rod

Using method number two the steel mandrel is removed by grasping the end of the steel mandrel in a chuck and mechanically pulling it out.

After the mandrels have been removed from the rod they still contain pieces of resin. They must be perfectly smooth before they can be used again so all resin on them must be carefully removed.


Method number two. Removing steel mandrel from a hollow glass rod.

The finished rod blanks must now be carefully inspected for flaws. On expensive hollow glass rods this is done by putting the rod on a deflection board. On inexpensive hollow glass rods it is simply done by hand.

Special ferrules are mounted onto the glass rod blanks that require little or no turning down of the rod to fit the ferrules. Ferrules are


Steel mandrels are cleaned for next batch of rods.

put on glass rod blanks with Silhower Ferrule cement or similar cements requiring no heat to set.

When Silhower Ferrule cement or some similar cement is used to fasten ferrule onto glass rod blanks you must use great care if you desire to remove the ferrules. Heating a ferrule that has been cemented on with Silhower Ferrule Cement will not soften the cement making it possible to remove the ferrule. Heating the ferrule actually only makes it harder to get off. The only way a ferrule can be removed after being cemented on with Silhower ferrule cement is to carefully grind and pry it off.


Finished hollow glass rod blanks are flexed to detect possible flaws and inspected for color.

FEATHER WEIGHT HOLLOW GLASS RODS

Extremely light weight bait casting and fly rods of hollow glass are now being made. These feather weight rods are as light or lighter than bamboo for their length. They are not durable. Stepping on them will crush them but they have good action and are not tiring to use. They can be secured from Herter's.


Through the hole the mold is filled with resin. The mold is then placed in an oven and baked or cured. Curing schedules may vary considerably with the

various types of polyester resins. The manufacturer of the resins supplies complete information on the handling and curing time of their particular resins. Secure them from them.

After the rod is cured it is removed from the mold. It is then ground to the desired taper on a center less grinding machine. Inasmuch as the blanks are solid they may be ground as much as necessary with no loss of strength per diameter. The rods are given a coat of flexible lacquer to make them smooth in appearance.

Method 2. This method is exactly like method number one in all respects except that the impression in the mold is not made in a cylinder but in a taper roughly similar to the taper

desired on the finished rod but somewhat larger. The glass fibers are then cut to length or tailored to fit the tapered mold. After curing the rod is center less ground as in method No. One.

ATMOSPHERIC CHANGES

Atmospheric changes as before mentioned are the bug-a-boo of the glass rod maker. The ideal way to make glass rods would be in an air conditioned factory where humidity and heat remained constant. A small temperature or humidity change seriously effects the setting action of the resin used. Good glass rod makers watch this carefully to avoid poor rod curing that can ruin rods that would otherwise be good. Atmospheric changes are not as bad as when glass cloth was used that was not Dupont chrome treated but they still are a serious problem.

Glass fibers or rovings.

CHAPTER XIII.

FRESH WATER TOURNAMENT CASTING SPECIFICATIONS

Fresh Water Tournament casting has become popular during the last few years and a good rod maker must be familiar with what is required of tournament rods so he can build them to suit these purposes exactly.

I herein list the various official tournament rules and events according to the National Association of Anglers and Casting Clubs.

RULES GOVERNING EVENTS

Accuracy Bait 3/8 oz.—5/8 oz.

ROD—Unrestricted. REEL—Unrestricted.

LINE—3/8 oz.—Line unrestricted. 5/8 oz.—Line shall be caster's choice of the Association's official plug

line of either 4½, 6 or 9 pound test.

TRACE—3/8 oz.—Unrestricted. 5/8 oz.—It shall be permissible to use a loop or trace of any casting line

not to exceed three inches in length attached to the plug.

BAIT—Official plug adopted by the Association. Three-eighths (3/8) ounce—five eighths (5/8) ounce.

TARGETS—There shall be five targets scattered at random on the water, anchored at distances unknown to the caster. The target nearest to the casting box shall be not nearer than forty (40) feet nor farther than forty-five (45) feet. The target farthest from casting box shall be not farther than eighty (80) feet nor nearer than seventy-five (75) feet. The remaining three targets shall be placed at irregular intervals in the intervening space. The targets shall not be bunched nor placed in line with each other.

CASTING—Single-handed. Ten casts, two at each target are to be made in the order and as directed by the Captain.

METHOD OF CASTING AND SCORING—The plug shall fall within or on the target, to be scored perfect. For each foot or fraction thereof the plug falls without the target a demerit of one (1) shall be scored. In case of a broken line, the cast will be scored where the plug falls, except that no cast shall be scored unless the plug falls in front of the casting box. One hundred, a score of ten perfect casts less the number of demerits shall constitute the score.

After a caster steps into the box to cast, he shall be responsible for the result, and shall take for his score whatever he makes. No fouls shall be allowed unless caused by outside interference. In no case shall a caster be given more than ten demerits, on any one cast.

DISTANCE BAIT

3/8 oz.—5/8 oz. ROD—Unrestricted. REEL—Free running without click, drag, brake spring or abnor-

TOURNAMENT CASTING SPECIFICATIONS 127

mal device or adjustment which would tend to retard the movement of the spool.

LINE—Unrestricted.

TRACE—Unrestricted.

BAIT—Official plug adopted by the Association. Three-eighths

(3/8) ounce—five eighths (5/8) ounce.

CASTING—Single-handed. Five casts in turn, one cast at a time. METHOD OF CASTING AND SCORING—The casting shall be done

on the lawn. The length of cast shall be computed from the casting box to point where the plug falls. Scores shall be the average of the three longest casts, the longest cast to be made a matter of record. Should the line or leader part after plug has left its starting position and before the cast is completed by the plug coming to rest upon the ground, the cast shall be scored zero. Each cast shall be verified by the Captain, Judges or assistants in the field for breaking or parting of the line. The caster may break his line after Captain has verified no breakage or parting of the line occurred after the caster stepped into the casting box. After a caster steps into the box to make his cast, he is responsible for the result and shall take for his score whatever distance he makes. No allowances shall be made for breaking or other accidents after he is ready to cast.

Casting shall be done from the casting box, and if contestant oversteps the casting box in making his cast and before the plug falls to the ground, there shall be deducted from the length of each such cast one foot for each foot or fraction of a foot so over-stepped.

WET FLY ACCURACY

ROD LENGTH—The rod complete shall not exceed 91/2 feet in length.

ROD WEIGHT—Unrestricted.

REEL—Unrestricted.

LINE—Unrestricted, but it shall not be knotted, weighted, or marked to indicate distances, nor fastened to the reel at the fifty-five foot mark.

LEADER—The leader shall be a single leader of natural or artificial gut or gut substitute not less than six (6) feet in length.

FLY—Official wet fly adopted by the Association. Only one fly shall be attached to the leader. In case fly is lost it may be replaced with another approved by the Captain.

TARGETS—There shall be five targets placed on the water in a straight line at distances of 35-40-45-50-55 feet from the casting box to the center of the target.

CASTING—Single-handed. Ten casts, two at each target.

TIME—Caster shall complete score within five (5) minutes. Time starts at first drop of fly on water. No time out shall be allowed for replacing a fly or for any accident, except in case of outside interference. A penalty of five (5) demerits shall be scored for each minute or fraction of minute over time.

METHOD OF CASTING AND SCORING—Caster shall start with the fly in either hand and with no length of line or leader extending

128 TOURNAMENT CASTING SPECIFICATIONS

beyond the length of the rod. The line shall be extended to the first target by stripping. Then, when ready, caster shall call "score" and cast at the first 25 ft.) target and follow with a second cast at the same target. Caster shall then strip line and cast at the second (40 ft.) target and again follow with a second cast at that target. A like procedure shall be followed in casting the three remaining targets in order, or until ten casts shall have been made. No false casts shall be permitted between targets. A penalty of two (2) demerits shall be scored for each false cast.

In order that caster shall properly strip line between targets caster shall not hold in either hand loose line of such length that stripping is unnecessary, nor shall caster measure the line by stripping along the rod. A penalty of two (2) demerits shall be scored for each improper strip.

In case of outside interference or less of fly when casting at a target, at any time after calling "score," caster shall work out to the point where the outside interference or loss of fly occurred, call "score," and proceed as heretofore provided.

In case of outside interference or loss of fly when changing from target to target, caster shall work out to the target preceding the one at which the outside interference or loss of fly occurred, call "score", cast at the target next in order and proceed as heretofore provided.

No cast shall be scored without a fly. Judges shall notify a caster whenever they notice a fly is off.

The fly shall fall within or on the target to be scored 'perfect" (0). For each foot or fraction thereof the fly falls without the target, a demerit of one (1) shall be scored. One hundred, a score of ten "perfect" casts, less the number of demerits, shall constitute the final score. In no case shall more than ten demerits be scored on one cast, except that demerits for penalties shall be additional.

Penalty Demerits Overtime.......................................................................... 5 False Cast ........................................................................ 2 Improper Strip ................................................................ 2

DRY FLY ACCURACY

ROD LENGTH—The rod complete shall not exceed 9 V2 feet in length.


REEL—Unrestricted.

LINE—Unrestricted, but shall not be marked to indicate distances nor fastened to the reel at the fifty foot mark.

LEADER—The leader shall be a single leader of natural or artificial gut or gut substitute not less than six (6) feet in length.

FLY—Official dry fly adopted by the Association. The fly shall not be oiled or treated. Only one fly shall be attached to leader. A fly may be changed or a lost fly replaced at any time by a fly approved by the Captain.

TARGETS—There shall be five targets scattered at random on the water, anchored at distances unknown to the caster. The target


nearest to the casting box shall be not nearer than twenty (20) feet nor farther than twenty-five (25) feet. The target farthest from the casting box shall be not farther than fifty (50) feet nor nearer than forty-five (45) feet. The remaining three targets shall be placed at irregular intervals in the intervening space. The targets shall not be bunched nor placed in line with each other.

CASTING—Single-handed. Ten (10) casts at targets are to be made in the order and as directed by the Captain.

TIME—Caster shall complete score within eight (8) minutes. Time starts when caster steps into the casting box. No time out shall be allowed for replacing a fly or for any accident, except in case of outside interference. A penalty of five (5) demerits shall be scored for each minute or fraction of minute over time.

METHOD OF CASTING AND SCORING—Caster shall start with the fly in either hand and with no length of line or leader extending beyond the length of the rod. The line shall be extended to the respective targets by stripping. In general, stripping shall be done while the fly is in the air. After starting, caster shall be permitted to hold any loose line in either hand. Caster shall lift line and leader from the water. No stripping or pulling of line or leader on the water shall be permitted unless rod is in motion retrieving fly. A penalty of two (2) demerits shall be scored for each such improper strip or pull.

Whenever the fly strikes the water in front of the caster on a forward cast, it shall be scored a cast. The fly shall float and be left floating a few seconds, then the judges shall call "score" and the line may be retrieved. A penalty of two (2) demerits shall be scored for each time the line is improperly retrieved before the judges call "score."

Should the fly fail to float, or sink and rise to the surface, before the judges call "score," it shall be scored a "sunken fly." A penalty of five (5) demerits shall be scored for each "sunken fly."

Should the line, leader or fly strike the water on a retrieve, it shall not be scored a cast but a "tick." A penalty of five (5) demerits shall be scored for each "tick."

Caster shall not allow the fly to dangle and be blown over a target before dropping a fly. A penalty of two (2) demerits shall be scored for each such improper cast.

No cast shall be scored without a fly. The judges shall notify caster whenever they notice a fly is off.

The fly shall fall within or on the target to be scored "perfect" (0). For each foot or fraction thereof the fly falls without the target, a demerit of one (1) shall be scored. One hundred, a score of ten "perfect" casts, less the number of demerits, shall constitute the final score. In no case shall more than ten demerits be scored on any one cast, except that demerits for penalties shall be additional.

Penalty Demerits Overtime ..........................................................................5 Improper Strip or Pull .....................................................2 Sunken Fly ....................................................................2 Improper Retrieve ............................................................2 Tick ..................................................................................5 Improper Cast................................... ...............................2


TROUT FLY DISTANCE

Single-Handed

ROD LENGTH—The rod complete shall not exceed ten feet in length.

ROD WEIGHT—If 9½ feet or less, the weight shall be unrestricted. If over 9 ½ feet, the maximum weight shall be 5¾ ounces.

REEL—Unrestricted or none at all.

LINE—Line shall be not less than 50 feet in length from point of taper to holding line, said portion of line shall not weigh more than 1½ ounces.

LEADER—The leader shall be a single leader of natural or artificial gut or gut substitute, and not less than six nor more than twelve feet in length.

FLY—Official distance fly as adopted by the Association. Only one fly shall be used. It shall be tied at the end of the leader with no portion of leader extending beyond the single fly.

CASTING—Single-handed, overhead.

TIME—Five (5) minutes after caster calls "score."

SALMON FLY DISTANCE Two-Handed

ROD LENGTH—The rod complete shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in length.


REEL—Unrestricted or none at all.

LINE—Unrestricted.

LEADER—The leader shall be of natural or artificial gut or gut substitute and not less than six (6) feet in length, nor more than two (2) feet longer than the rod. This leader may be single, double or treble, separately or in combination.

FLY—Official salmon fly as adopted by the Association. Only one fly shall be used. It shall be tied at the end of the leader with no portion of leader extending beyond the single fly.

CASTING—Two-handed, overhead.

TIME—Seven (7) minutes after caster calls "score."

TROUT FLY DISTANCE Single-Handed and SALMON FLY DISTANCE Two-Handed

METHOD OF CASTING AND SCORING—Caster shall stand upon the platform and make his casts on the water parallel with the measuring line. The length of cast shall be measured from the platform to the point reached by the fly. Should any caster lose the fly, he or his assistant may replace it with another one. No cast shall be scored without a fly. The judges shall notify caster whenever they notice fly is off. No time shall be allowed for replacing fly, or any other accident, except in case of outside interference. Scores shall be the average of


the three longest casts, the longest cast to be a matter of record. Rod butts shall not be placed in the sleeve nor fastened to the wrist, arm or clothing. The penalty for violation of this rule shall be disqualification.

TENDER—One assistant shall be allowed on platform with caster to tend line and generally assist caster.

MEASURING LINE—See Rules Governing Equipment.

SKISH BAIT

ROD—Unrestricted.

REEL—Shall be of standard manufacture as regularly supplied by their makers, and sold by them through their regular channels, and fitted with level-winding device. No additions of any description shall be allowed.

LINE—Shall be of strength test not less than nine pounds, and each contestant shall submit his line for official test before casting in any recognized event, which shall consist of lifting any official 9-pound weight with it from the ground or platform. (This makes eligible for use the NAACC official 9-pound test tournament line easily identified by its alternate red and white braid.)

PLUG—No plug shall weigh in excess of 5/8 ounces. The official NAACC plug is recommended.

CASTING—Single-handed only.

SCORING—Three casts at each of ten targets will be scored as follows: Five points for a perfect on the first cast. Three points for a perfect on the second cast. Two points for a perfect on the third cast. If plug falls on or within the target the cast shall be scored "perfect". If plug falls outside the target, it will be scored "zero." No fouls shall be allowed except for outside interference.

TARGETS—Ten targets consisting of ten not to exceed thirty-inch rings, scattered at random, shall be anchored at unknown distances to the caster. (Clubs having at their immediate disposal but five targets may rotate casters from targets one to five.) No target shall be at a distance greater than eighty feet, or at a distance less than forty feet from the casting point.

METHOD OF CASTING—Free style unless otherwise specified. Caster will rotate casting at targets from one to ten, and as caster moves to next casting position, next caster will take the position vacated. Each target has its own casting point thereby allowing ten players to be casting at ten different targets at the same time. (Clubs having at their immediate disposal but five targets may rotate contestants from targets one to five, and again from one to five, provided that target numbers one and five are set at different distances.) No caster shall vacate his position until caster occupying next position shall have completed his third cast.

SKISH FLY

ROD—LINE—REEL—LEADER—FLY—Of standard manufacture as regularly supplied by their makers, and sold by them through their


regular channels. Leader and fly unrestricted, but same outfit shall be used throughout all events unless broken.

(A) 1st ROUND—DRY FLY—Time Limit—2½ Minutes.

TO BEGIN—Caster must start with 'fly' in hand and no slack line. Judge calls order of 'rings' and Caster measures and casts to 'first' designate 'ring' only.

"Time" begins and 'First Try' scored when called by Judge as FLY 'drops' or 'ticks' on surface (water, floor, or ground).

THREE CASTS to be made at each of the 'five rings' in order as determined by the Judge.

NOTE—When Third (3rd) Cast has been made at the fifth (5th) and last ring, fly remains at ring as next cast is to ROLL CAST from that position to First Ring or Roll Cast Round.

One or more 'false casts' MUST be made between each score or 'lay' of the fly.

TO SCORE—Only 'PERFECT CASTS' landing IN or ON 'rings' score.

On each 'ring', score FIVE (5) POINTS for 'PERFECTS' on 'FIRST TRY'. Score THREE (3) POINTS for 'PERFECTS' on 'SECOND TRY'. Score TWO (2) POINTS for 'PERFECTS' on 'THIRD TRY'. Possible TEN (10) POINTS for each 'ring'.

'Fly' must rest on water until Judge calls the 'score'. 'Ticks', 'Sunken Fly', and 'Rules Violations', Judge may count as casts. 'Time' goes on in case of 'breaks', 'lost fly', etc. Any unnecessary delays in the opinion of the Judge warrants disqualification of the caster.

POSSIBLE SCORE—50 Points.

(B) 2nd ROUND—ROLL OR SWITCH CAST—Time Limit—1½ Minutes.

TO BEGIN—(Fly is resting at 'last ring' where Dry Fly was finished.) Caster 'roll casts' from 'last ring' of Dry Fly to 'first ring' at left until a 'PERFECT' is scored, then proceeds to 'second ring' and so on in order until 'PERFECTS' have been scored on each of the 'five rings'. Make as many of the five rings as possible. If all five rings are made in 1½ minutes or less your Total Score is 25 points.

"TIME" begins when 'fly' drops on surface (water, floor, or ground).

TO SCORE—Each "PERFECT" scores FIVE (5) POINTS. Fly need not float.

POSSIBLE SCORE—25 Points.

(C) 3rd ROUND—WET FLY—Time Limit—1½ Minutes.

TO BEGIN—Caster must start with 'fly' in hand and no slack line.

Extend line and measure to first 'ring' on left only.

"TIME" begins as 'fly' contacts the surface as a 'Measuring Cast'. Then take two more Casts to Score a 3 and 2 if made. 'Fly' Must remain where it drops until Judge calls score. 'Ticks' and 'false casts' count as a 'try'.

TWO (2) CASTS in succession without 'false casts' to be made


at each of the 'five rings' in order from left to right, stripping necessary line to reach each 'ring'.

TO SCORE—Only, 'PERFECT CASTS' landing IN or ON 'rings' score. On each 'ring' score THREE (3) POINTS for 'PERFECTS' on 'FIRST TRY'. Score TWO (2) POINTS for 'PERFECTS' on 'SECOND TRY'. Possible FIVE (5) POINTS for each 'ring'. Fly need not float.

Possible Score—25 points.

A PERFECT SCORE OF 100 POINTS is possible in the SKISH FLY GAME.

CASTING BOX—Casting shall be done from a marked four foot square.

RULES GOVERNING EQUIPMENT Standards of

Weights and Measurements

All measurements shall be in feet and inches and all weights determined by avoirdupois weight on standard beam scales. Spring balance scales shall not be permitted.

All tackle restricted under the NAACC rules as regards weights or measurements shall be weighed, measured, and sealed by the official Weighmaster. All tackle shall be weighed by the avoirdupois standard, 437 Vz grains to the ounce.

Official Casting Plugs

In all bait casting events the plugs used shall be the official casting plugs adopted by the Association. In National tournaments they shall not be given out or sold to casters until the caster is registered Each plug shall bear an easily discernible distinguishing mark or color known only to the National Tournament Committee up to the time of distribution.

ë oz. Distance—ë oz. metal capped wood plug ë oz. Accuracy—ë oz. tenite plug ê oz. Distance—ê oz. tenite plug ê oz. Accuracy—ê oz. tenite plug ½ oz. Distance—½ oz. aluminum plug ¼ oz Distance—¼ oz. aluminum plug

Targets

Targets may be constructed of wood, aluminum, rubber or other suitable material. They shall be perfect circle rings with an outside diameter of thirty inches and an inside diameter of not less than twenty-seven inches with an open center and shall float not more than seven-eighths of an inch above the surface of the water. The targets shall be colored one each red, white, blue, green and yellow. Wet fly targets may be all one color.

Flies

Flies shall conform to requirements and not exceed sizes specified. Those used in any event shall be uniform.

The official dry fly shall be size 10 with an orange body, yellow hackle and white wings, tied in approved dry fly style.


The official wet fly shall be size 6 with a white body and red hackle, tied in approved wingless wet fly style.

The official salmon fly shall be size 0 with a yellow body and hackle and white wings, tied in approved wet fly style.

The official distance fly shall be size 10 with a white body and hackle and red wings, tied in approved wet fly style.

Platform

The surface of any casting platforms or the level at any casting point, where the event is cast on the water, shall not be more than eighteen (18) inches above the water line. In all events cast on the lawn, casting shall be done from ground level.

Casting Box

In all accuracy events, the casting box shall be a marked four foot square within which the caster is required to remain during the time he is casting.

Distance Fly Measuring Line

This may be either a series of floats strung on a line or a floating board, but shall accurately indicate the points of distance in feet from the casting point on platform, beginning at eighty (80) feet and extending to at least one hundred and eighty (180) feet. Each five (5) feet shall have a distinguishing float or mark

CHAPTER XIV

SALT WATER TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS

SALT WATER GLASS ROD DEFLECTION TESTS

The official adaption of glass rods by all salt water clubs and the judging of them by the deflection system needs some explaining.

It was decided by the majority of the clubs that glass rods should be judged by the deflection system. The stiffest glass rods on the market were tested and they were used as a gauge for the minimum of deflection permitted. For fresh water casting a stiff rod is desired but for salt water trolling as done by the clubs a stiff rod is not at all desirable. Glass rods with the minimum deflections that the clubs specified are actually much too stiff for club fishing. They place too much strain on the fisherman and not enough strain on the fish. In buying a rod for club registration get one in the class you desire but with much more deflection than the minimum.

Illustration shows how to test a glass rod for deflection. Place the rod in a vise or holder. Tie the weight to the top of the rod so that there is just one inch of cord between the tip of the rod and the weight. The measurement X gives you the deflection of the rod.

The following chart lists the minimum deflection in inches permited and also lists the deflection a glass rod should have to permit the best fishing. Never under any circumstances buy glass rod with the minimum deflection as they are practically worthless for fishing.

SALT WATER ROD SPECIFICATIONS BY THE TUNA CLUB OF AVALON, SANTA CATALINA

ISLAND, CALIFORNIA

This world famous club was founded in 1898 and is one of the world's most noted and respected fishing clubs.

60

136 SALT WATER TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS

The following are their rod specifications and must be exactly followed by rod makers selling rods to their members.

Tackle Specifications

The following tackle specifications and rules are the result of fifty years experience. Strict adherence to both the spirit and letter of these rules is vitally necessary in order that the Tuna Club may maintain the high standards set by its founders and retain the enviable reputation it now enjoys. In fairness to all, involuntary infractions of these rules can be no more condoned than can willful violations. Members should be sure that they understand the rules and that their tackle complies with the specifications. The underlying spirit of angling should be that it is a sport in which the skill of the angler is pitted against the instinct and strength of the fish and that the latter is entitled to an even chance for his life.

1. The word Tackle shall be defined as consisting of rod, reel, line, leader, hooks and harness.

2. HEAVY TACKLE—The rod shall consist of butt, of any material, and tip, which shall be of wood, cane, glass or synthetic material and the rod shall not be shorter than 6 feet 9 inches over all. Tip shall not be less than 5 feet in length and wood or cane tips qual ifying by weight shall weigh not more than 16 ounces. Glass or syn thetic tips shall not be over 5 feet 6 inches in length. Wood or cane tips may qualify by weight and/or by deflection and glass or synthetic tips must qualify by deflection. Tips qualifying by deflection shall de flect not less than 11 inches with 10 pound weight. Deflection to be measured from a point on tip in horizontal position 60 inches from shoulder of ferrule (securely clamped) to a horizontal line from the same point on the tip after weight has been added. Line shall not exceed standard 24 thread linen line and shall have a maximum break ing strain when dry of not to exceed 66 pounds.

3. LIGHT TACKLE—The rod shall consist of butt, of any mater ial, and tip, which shall be of wood, cane, glass or synthetic material, and the rod shall not be shorter than 6 feet over all. Tip shall not be less than 5 feet in length and wood or cane tips qualifying by weight shall weigh not more than 6 ounces. Glass or synthetic tips shall not be over 5 feet 6 inches in length. Wood or cane tips may qualify by weight and/or by deflection and glass or synthetic tips must qualify by deflection. Tips qualifying by deflection shall deflect not less than 16 inches with 3 pound weight. Deflection to be measured as explained for HEAVY TACKLE. Line shall not exceed standard 9 thread linen line and shall have a maximum breaking strain when dry of not to exceed 26 pounds.

4. THREE-SIX TACKLE—The rod shall consist of butt, of any material, and tip, which shall be of wood, cane, glass or synthetic material, and the rod shall not be shorter than 6 feet over all. Tip shall not be less than 5 feet in length and wood or cane tips qualifying by weight shall weigh not more than 4 ounces. Glass or synthetic tips shall not be over 5 feet 6 inches in length. Wood or cane tips may qualify by weight and/or by deflection and glass or synthetic tips must qualify by deflection. Tips qualifying by deflection shall deflect not less than 17 inches with 2 pound weight. Deflection to be measured as explained for HEAVY TACKLE. Line shall not exceed standard 6 thread linen line and shall have a maximum breaking strain when dry of not to exceed 16 pounds.

SALT WATER TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS 137

5. THREE-THREAD TACKLE—The Rod shall consist of butt, of any material, and tip, which shall be of wood, cane, glass or syn thetic material, and the rod shall not be shorter than 6 feet over all. Tip shall not be less than 5 feet in length. Glass or synthetic tips shall not be over 5 feet 6 inches in length. Tips must qualify by deflection and shall deflect not less than 17 inches with 1 pound weight. Deflec tion to be measured as explained for HEAVY TACKLE. Line shall not exceed standard 3 thread linen line and shall have a maximum break ing strain when dry of not to exceed 8 pounds.

6. Leaders shall not exceed 15 feet in length. Double line, not to exceed 15 feet in length, may be attached to leader. When fishing in other waters, the length of leader and double line shall be governed by International Game Fish Association rules.

7. By length of rod over all is meant with tip fully seated in butt. By length of tip is meant from shoulder of ferrule to outer end of tip.

8. Hand Grips may be put on tips as denned and limited above in tackle specifications for Heavy Tackle—LIGHT TACKLE—THREE -SIX TACKLE—THREE THREAD TACKLE—provided they are wound on or otherwise put on for the purpose of providing a hand grip for the angler and not used to strengthen or reinforce the tip against breakage. Attention is called to the specifications regarding the weight of tips. This will be interpreted that even though the tip may have been qualified and marked before the catch the rod must still qualify at the time of the catch and check of tackle may be required upon request of any officer of the Club or member of the Tackle Committee or if protest is filed within time limit specified in Rule 3 of Tournament Rules. In event that angler has added a hand grip, as provided herein, he will be permitted to remove it and the weight of the hand grip shall be excluded when weighing the tip. All hand grips thus removed must be exhibited with the rod from which the same were removed in the event that a protest is filed in accordance with Rule 3 of Tournament Rules or if check is required by any officer of the Club or member of the Tackle Committee. On tips qualifying by weight care must be exercised that changes in the usual mountings after tip has been determined to qualify (such as substitution of a roller tip for a lighter tip formerly on the rod tip) do not change the weight sufficiently to disqualify it at the time of catch.

Each rod weighed in shall be qualified in the lightest class applicable thereto, and shall not be eligible for any other classification.

Game Fish, as defined by the Club, are: Tuna, Marlin and Broad-bill Swordfish, Black Sea Bass, Yellowtail, White Sea Bass, Albacore. and Dolphin.

Regulation Light and Three-Six tackles had their origin at Catalina in 1906 and 1908, respectively.

ROD SPECIFICATIONS OF THE TYEE CLUB OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, TYEE POINT

CAMPBELL RIVER

The famous Tyee Club was founded in 1924 and is now justly famous in all parts of the world. The Tyee Club was: organized for fishing the world famous Tyee Salmon of the Pacific Coast. "Tyee" is the Indian name for these salmon. These great game fish, the largest


of the genus "Oncorhynchus", or Pacific salmon, are caught in other waters in British Columbia other than those that the Tyee Club governs. In general, however, they are taken in such deep water that it requires heavy sinkers to get down to them; hence light tackle, as the Tyee Club demands, cannot be used. In the Tyee Club waters on Discovery Passage, just off the mouth of Campbell River, these wonderful fish can be caught trolling at depths of only 10 to 20 feet. These salmon usually run from 30 to 75 pounds in weight and are strong, clever fighters.

The Tyee Club has two different trolling rod specifications for two different classes of awards. They also make awards for Coho salmon caught on flies or a fly with a spinner not more than one and three sixteenths of an inch long, but they have no definite specifications on the rods to be used.

The first trolling rod specifications is the standard one used by the Tyee Club and it is called the Light Tackle Rod Specification by the Tyee Club. It is as follows:

"1. Rods may be of wood, wood with steel center or tubular steel or fiberglas; but solid steel rods must not be used.

"2. No rod may be less than six feet long over all, but there is no limit as to length, although very long rods are unwieldy and make gaffing of a fish difficult.

"3. Before use in Club competition all rods must be tested and conform to the following bending test. Colored transfers bearing the word "Approved Tyee Club of British Columbia" will be issued and must be affixed to all rods which meet club specifications.

"Facilities for testing rods are available at the club house, Campbell River and at Wilson and Lenfesty, Victoria, B. C.

Tyee Club Rod Bending Chart

"Rods supported at a point 12 inches from the butt and having a one-pound weight attached to the tip ring, must bend from the horizontal to conform to the following chart, according to the length of rod:

Rods 6 feet long must show a vertical deflection of 6 inches. Rods 6½ feet long must show a vertical deflection of 8 inches.

Rods 7 feet long must show a vertical deflection of 10 inches.

Rods 7½ feet long must show a vertical deflection of 13 inches.










"Rods of greater length than 12 feet must show an additional vertical deflection of 3 inches for each additional 6 inches of length."

"4. The length of line is unlimited, but no line having a breaking strain when dry of more than 25 pounds may be used. The use of metal lines will not be permitted.


"5. Wire leaders limited to six feet in length are allowed.

"6. No regulations regarding type of lure, but only one hook may be used.

TYEE CLUB SPECIFICATIONS FOR THREE SIX TACKLE CLASS

This three six tackle class is open only to Tyee Club members who hold at least three of the regular Light Tackle or Standard Class award buttons.

You will note that the Tyee Club specifications for Three Six Tackle are not the same as that, for example, of the Tuna Club.

"1. Rod to be of wood or cane, with the usual mountings and shall consist of butt and tip (butt may be of metal) and shall be not shorter than six feet over all. Butt to be minimum of 12 inches in length. Tip to be minimum of 60 inches in length when fully seated in butt. Weight of entire rod shall not exceed 6 ounces. Line shall not exceed standard 6 thread linen line and shall have a maximum breaking strain when dry of not to exceed 18 pounds. For purpose of weighing, it is permissable to remove the rubber butt cap or button, the forward removable hand grip, and the reel seat reel bands, if of the removable type.

"2. Reels of any type may be used."

ROD SPECIFICTIONS OF THE BRITISH TUNNY CLUB

Rod length shall not be less than 6 feet 6 inches over all, consisting of top and butt; the top shall not weigh more than 44 ounces and be not less than 4 feet 6 inches in length. Length of line shall be unlimited and the last 20 feet may be doubled. Trace shall not exceed 20 feet.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE BAY OF ISLANDS SWORDFISH AND MAKO SHARK CLUB OF

RUSSELL, NEW ZEALAND

No restrictions regards rod. The line used must not be more than a 39 thread, with breaking strain of 2 pounds, dry, per thread. The trace cannot be more than 30 feet long.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE ROD AND REEL CLUB, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA

TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS

FLY CASTING TACKLE—All one-handed rods and single actions and/or automatic fly reels, designed specifically for fly casting, will be eligible. Level leaders may not exceed 15 pounds breaking strength, and in the case of tapered leaders the tippet thereof may not exceed 15 pounds breaking strength. Lure must be artificial and made specifically for fly-casting (exception: pork rind permitted) and must be


cast and retrieved in orthodox manner. Leader and/or tippet shall be of non-metallic material. The butt on a fly rod may not extend more than two inches below the reel seat.

Trolling of lures will disqualify catch.

SPINNING TACKLE—All rods and reels designed specifically for spinning and for casting artificial spinning lures shall be eligible, with the following provisions:

Rods shall not be less than six feet in length, grip and reel seat included. The grip with reel seat may not be more than sixteen inches in length.

Reels must operate suspended under the rod handle and attached thereto. The axis of the spool shall point toward the rod tip at all times and be so fixed.

Lines may be of any material, not exceeding eight pounds manu-facturer's stated breaking strength. The leader, tippet, or doubled line (loop), used singly or combined, may not exceed eighteen inches.

Lures must be artificial (exception: pork rind permitted) and must be cast and retrieved in orthodox manner. Trolling of lure will disqualify catch.

PLUG CASTING TACKLE—All rods and reels designed specifically for casting artificial lures or baits will be eligible, with these provisions:

That no rod, tip or butt sections complete shall measure less than five feet in overall length, with a maximum butt length of twelve inches; that the line shall not exceed 6-thread lines of 50's lea weight, 15-pound nylon or 18-pound silk.

The trace and double line combined shall not exceed the length of the rop tip.

Lures must be artificial (exception: pork rind permitted) and must be cast and retrieved in orthodox manner.

The use of star-drag casting reels is prohibited; but use of "cub" drag handle is permitted.

Trolling of lure will disqualify catch.

4-6 TACKLE—There shall be no restrictions as to butt length. The tip shall weigh not more than four (4) ounces (in case of roller top refer to Rule 20), nor shall it be less than five feet in length when fully seated in butt. Line shall not exceed 6-Thread linen of 50's lea weight, or synthetic lines of comparable strength.

6-9 TACKLE—There shall be no restrictions as to butt length. The tip shall weigh not more than six (6) ounces (in case of roller top refer to Rule 20), nor shall it be less than five feet in length when fully seated in butt. Line shall not exceed 9-thread linen of 50's lea weight, or synthetic lines of comparable strength.

GENERAL MISCELLANEOUS—This Division shall be divided into 3-thread, 6-thread, 9-thread, 12-thread, 15-thread, 18-thread, 24-thread, 39-thread and 54-thread classes. There shall be no restrictions as to reel and harness, butt lengths or tip weights unless otherwise noted in these Rules. It is expressly provided, however, that no tip measuring less than 5 feet when fully seated in butt, shall be considered legal, and that, in no instance, shall line be of greater strength than 50's lea linen or synthetic lines of comparable strength.


ROLLER TOPS

Roller tops are permissable on all rods except fly, Spinning and Plug-Casting Rods, and members will not be penalized for the additional weight resulting from the use of such tops.

If roller top is attached to the rod, an exchange allowance of 68 grains is allowed for a 4-ounce tip, and 133 grains for a 6-ounce tip.

All rod tips, except those used in Fly, Spinning and Plug Casting, must measure at least five feet when fully seated in the butt.

DOUBLE CRANK REELS

The use of double crank reels for any type of fishing is strictly prohibited. This rule is considered to mean handles on opposing sides of the reel.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE SAILFISH CLUB OF FLORIDA, PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

Tip of the rod must not be less than 5 feet in length. The tip cannot weigh over 6 ounces. The butt cannot be over 20 inches in length. No weight limitations on the butt. The line cannot be over a 12 thread. The wire leader cannot be over 12 feet long.

VAN CAMPEN HEILNER SALT WATER TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS

Wherever salt water fish are caught in a sporting manner, Van Campen Heilner is known and liked. He fishes for the love of it, not to break records. His book "Salt Water Fishing", published by The Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia, is the most enjoyable book I have ever read on the subject, and I am not saying this because he is a friend of mine. In this famous book Van, has set up his own salt water tackle specifications and they are well worth noting.

Fish from Tackle not heavier than Tuna Club Standard, of Avalon, California

1 to 99 lbs. Three Six. 100 to 199 lbs. Light Tackle. 200 to 499 lbs. Heavy Tackle. 500 lbs. and up Super-Heavy Tackle, which means nothing barred except

crotch holds, biting, wire lines and harpoons.

Van says about these regulations in his book, "The author feels that the above classes would do away with all the controversy and bickering which does so much to spoil one of the grandest sports in the world. If the various anglers who are concentrating on big game fishing more and more every year would care to adopt this as standard he would be very happy and gratified. If not, they know what they can do with it."


BEACH HAVEN TUNA CLUB, TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS BEACH HAVEN,

NEW JERSEY

Light Tackle Class or 6/12 class: You will note that this club's light tackle class specifies a heavier line than the usual salt water light tackle class. Tip cannot be shorter than five feet and cannot weigh more than 6 ounces. Butt cannot be over 18 inches long. The over all length of the rod cannot be less than 6 feet long. Line cannot be heavier than standard 12 thread line.

Medium Tackle Class or 10/15 class: Tip cannot be shorter than five feet and cannot weigh more than 10 ounces. The overall length of the rod cannot be shorter than 6 feet 9 inches. Lines cannot be heavier than standard 15 thread line.

Heavy Tackle: Tip cannot be less than 5 feet in length and cannot weigh more than 16 ounces. The overall length of the rod cannot be less than 6 feet 9 inches. The line cannot be heavier than standard 24 thread line.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TUNA CLUB, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

3/6 Class: Tip cannot be less than 60 inches long and cannot weigh over 4 ounces. Butt can be any length or weight. Line cannot be heavier than six thread line with a maximum dry test of 16 pounds.

Light Tackle Class: Tip cannot be less than 60 inches long and cannot weigh over 6 ounces. Butt can be any length or weight. Line cannot be heavier than 9 thread line with a maximum dry breaking test of 26 pounds.

Medium Tackle Class: Tip cannot be less than 60 inches long and cannot weigh over 10 ounces. Butt can be any length or weight. Line cannot be heavier than 15 thread with a maximum dry test of 42 pounds.

Heavy Tackle Class: Tip cannot be less than 60 inches long and cannot weigh over 24 ounces. Butt can be any length or weight. Line cannot be heavier than 24 thread with a maximum dry breaking test of 66 pounds.

TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE MARLIN CLUB, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

3/6 Tackle Class: Note that these three six tackle specifications are considerably different from those of the Tuna Club of Avalon, California. Rod can be of wood or glass and is to have the usual mountings. Usual mountings actually mean nothing. Any kind of mountings can be used on rods for this club. The butt and tip cannot be less than 6 feet in length over-all. The butt must be 12 inches long, exactly. Butt can be made of metal. The weight of the entire rod cannot be over 6 ounces. The line cannot be heavier than the standard six thread linen line with a maximum dry breaking strain of not more than 16 pounds.


Light Tackle Class: Rod must be made of wood or glass and is to have the usual mountings. "Usual mountings" actually means nothing. Any kind of mountings can be used on rods for this club. The butt and tip cannot be less than 6 feet in length over all. The butt cannot be over 14 inches long. The tip cannot be less than 5 feet long and cannot weigh more than 6 ounces. The line cannot be heavier than standard 9 thread linen line with a dry breaking test of not over 26 pounds.

Heavy Tackle: Rod must be made of wood or glass and is to have the usual mountings. Usual mountings actually means nothing. Any kind of mountings can be used on rods for this club. The butt and tip cannot be less than 6 feet 9 inches in length over all. The tip cannot be less than 5 feet long and cannot weigh more than 16 ounces. The line cannot be heavier than the standard linen 24 thread line with a maximum dry breaking strain of 66 pounds.

ATLANTIC TUNA CLUB, TACKLE SPECIFICA-

TIONS BLOCK ISLAND, RHODE ISLAND

3/6 Class: Note that these three six tackle specifications are considerably different from those of the Tuna Club of Avalon, California. They also differ because of the line specifications from any other 3/6 specifications. Rod must be made of wood or glass and is to have the usual mountings. The butt and tip cannot be less than 6 feet in length over-all. The butt must be 12 inches long exactly. Butt can be made of metal. The weight of the entire rod cannot be over 6 ounces. The line cannot be heavier than 6 threads of 50 lea linen.

Light Tackle Class: Rod must be made of wood or glass. The butt and tip cannot be shorter than 6 feet in length over-all. The tip cannot be less than 5 feet in length and cannot weigh over 6 ounces. The butt cannot be over 18 inches long. The line cannot be heavier than standard 9 thread line.

Tuna and Swordfish Class: The rod must be made of wood or glass. The butt and tip cannot be shorter than 6 feet 9 inches in length overall. The tip cannot be less than 5 feet in length and cannot weigh more than 16 ounces. The line cannot be heavier than standard 24 thread line.

Heavy Class Tuna and Swordfish: Same specifications as above but the line can be as heavy as 36 thread.

PALM BEACH ANGLERS CLUB, TACKLE SPECIFICATIONS PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

Sailfish Class: Tip of rod cannot be less than 5 feet long and cannot weigh more than 6 ounces. No regulations regarding the butt. The line cannot be heavier than standard 12 thread line.

Heavy Tackle Class: The tip cannot be less than 5 feet long and cannot weigh more than 16 ounces. Butt cannot be over 22 inches long. Line cannot be over standard 21 thread.

3/6 Class: Same as the 3/6 specifications of the Tuna Club, Avalon, California.

6/9 Class: Same as the Light Tackle specifications of the Tuna Club, Avalon, California.


Extra Heavy Tackle Class: To be used on grouper, tuna and marlin. Tip cannot weigh more than 24 ounces. Butt cannot be longer than 21 inches. No heavier line than standard 36 thread line can be used.

TACKLE SPECFICATIONS OF THE ATLANTIC CITY TUNA CLUB, ATLANTIC CITY,

NEW JERSEY

3/6 Tackle Class: The length of the rod is to be 6 feet over all. The entire rod cannot weigh more than 6 ounces. The line cannot be heavier than standard 6 thread line.

Light Tackle Class: The over all length of the rod cannot be less than 64 inches. The tip cannot be less than 5 feet long and the tip cannot weigh more than 9 ounces. The butt cannot be more than 18 inches long. The line cannot be heavier than standard 9 thread line.

Medium Tackle Class: The over all length of the rod cannot be less than 68 inches. The tip cannot be less than 5 feet long and the tip cannot weigh more than 12 ounces. The butt cannot be longer than 20 inches. The line cannot be heavier than standard 15 thread line.

Heavy Tackle Class: The over all length of the rod cannot be less than 72 inches. The length of the tip cannot be less than 5 feet and the tip cannot weigh more than 16 ounces. The length of the butt cannot be more than 22 inches. The line cannot be heavier than standard 24 thread line.

THREE SIX TACKLE CLASS SALT WATER RODS

This is the lightest club specification rod with the exception, of course, of some salt water fly rods and fresh water bait casting rods used on occasion by some clubs for salt water fishing.

The "three" means three thread line or lighter must be used with this rod and the "six" means that the entire rod cannot weigh more than 6 ounces. This is a pretty light rod for the purposes for which it is used. These rods are used for fishing from private or rented boats in which one or, in some cases, two people are fishing simultaneously. The number of three six fishermen is small, since this type of fishing, in general, is expensive and cannot be afforded by the large majority of salt water fishermen.

Three-Six Tackle Class Bamboo Salt Water Rod

In 1907, Thomas Me. D. Potter set up some three-six tackle spec-ifications. Variations of these are still the most widely used today. Mr. Potter also started the Three-Six Club. This club now has become a part of the Tuna Club of Avalon, California. Mr. Potter caught a 31 pound Tuna on three-six equipment in 1926. All three-six tackle class specifications are not alike, although they all are similar. Before


you build a three-six rod for a customer, be sure to check his club rules. In order to keep a three-six rod from weighing not more than 6 ounces over all, it must be carefully made, particularly if it is to be of any use for the fish most often caught on these rods.

The grip should have a rubber button on the end so that the angler can rest the button against his stomach or hold it in a leather belt socket. The end of the grip or butt where the rubber button goes should have a "ridge" or welt so that the rubber button will firmly stick on. If you do not make such a welt on the end of the grip, glue the rubber button on with Silhower ferrule cement. Three six rods are never used in metal type chair sockets as Heavy and Extra Heavy Class tackle rods are.

The grip proper can be built up on a section of glued bamboo strips, a section of glass tubing, or an aluminum tubing. Use much the same method as described on such grips under bait casting rods. Cork rings or light weight wood can be used to make the grip proper. The

grip can also be made of n aluminum tube of a diameter over which your reel seat will fit tightly. Use the lightest

reel seat you can secure. Three-six rod grip made from an Glue the reel seat to the tube aluminum tube and wrapped with with Silhower ferrule cement heavy linen fishing line Wrap the grip surface of the aluminum tube with heavy linen cord, fishing line, split-rattan or light split willow. The female ferrule can be mounted in the end of the tube in many different ways. You can turn out an aluminum sleeve on a metal lathe and glue it into the front end of the aluminum tube with Silhower ferrule cement. Have this tube made so that the male ferrule will fit into it, thus eliminating the use of a conventional female ferrule altogether. You can also take a con-ventional female ferrule and glue a hard wood plug in the rear end with Silhower ferrule cement. Then make a wooden plug for the front end of the aluminum tube. Drill a hole in the wooden plug into which the female ferrule will just barely fit, and glue it in place with Silhower ferrule cement. Pin it in also, if you desire. Glue a rubber button onto the end of the grip with silhower ferrule cement. Three Six class rods do not have a front grip for the simple reason that it adds too much weight to them.

If you make the tip from bamboo use the same methods for making the split bamboo tip for three six rods as has been described for making sections for fly rods. The strips are planed, as far as possible, in one groove on the V block; then they are moved to the next groove for planing the remainder of the strip. Whether you use a bamboo or glass tip. Locate the guide positions by the same method as described for doing this in the section on Heavy Tackle Class rods.

Three-six rods are made by the conventional split-bamboo methods or by laminating or are made of glass. Three-Six rods as well as Nine-six and 24-16 and 36-24 Salt Water rods, must be capable of taking a 90 degree bend. That is, the tip must be capable of pointing with the line under strain. The guides of a three-six rod must be mounted opposite the stiffest side. Determine the stiff side by the same method as described for so doing on fly rods.


LIGHT TACKLE CLASS SALT WATER RODS OR NINE-SIX RODS

Light Tackle Class and Nine-Six rods are the same. The "nine" means that 9 thread line must be used with the rod and the "six" means that the tip of the rod must not weigh more than 6 ounces. This is a greatly different rod than a three-six rod and presents an entirely different problem to build. The entire three-six rod can only weigh 6 ounces but on a nine-six rod the tip can weigh up to six ounces. There are no weight limitations on the grip or butt, so it can be made as heavy and comfortable as possible.

Light Tackle Class or Nine-Six Class Bamboo Salt Water Rod

On Nine-Six rods make the grip or butt (both mean the same) as sturdy as possible. Use a reel seat which is as heavy and sturdy as you can buy. Salt water reels are heavy and ruin a light weight reel seat in short order. Put a double grip on the butt of the rod. A double grip is essential on salt water trolling rods and is only left off the three-six rod, as before mentioned, to save weight. The double grip on a Nine-Six rod, however, must be part of the grip or butt. It must not be put on the tip of the rod, as all the weight allowed must be used to add strength to the tip. A nine-six rod should have a rubber button on the end which can be held against the stomach or held in a leather belt socket. A metal butt cap can be put on the end of the grip which will allow the rod to be used with a metal socket on fishing chairs. On nine-six rods, this is more or less frowned upon by most fishermen in this class.

Do not buy a reel seat for nine-six rods that is a combination reel seat and female ferrule. On these rods, the female ferrule must be entirely separate from the reel seat. Make the lower large grip preferably from hickory. Turn it on a lathe. Turn the front end of it to fit up half way into the reel seat. Glue it into the reel seat as described under surf rods; that is, by the 'slit end and screw method". On the rear end of this grip where the rubber button is to go, either turn a little round ridge on the extreme end or mount a metal cap on which has a round welt. This is necessary in order to hold the rubber button securely to the grip. You can also glue the rubber button to the grip with Silhower ferrule cement, and it is on the rod for good. Turn another piece of hickory to form the front grip and to fit half way into the reel seat. Drill a hole in the front end of the front grip that will just fit your female ferrule. Glue a small wood plug in the extreme rear end of your female ferrule, then glue the female ferrule into the hole in the front grip. Put a grip check or metal band of some kind around the front of the front grip. Do not use aluminum, as salt water affects it adversely. Now glue the rear end of the front grip into the front end of the reel seat with Silhower ferrule cement. Now finish the grips. First give them a saturating coat of Herter's Silicone Dry Fly Oil. Let this dry for a week. Then give the grip a coat of warmed rod varnish. Warm it by placing the can of rod varnish in a can of hot water. Let it dry 48 hours, and then give the grips another


coat. Let it dry again for 48 hours. Rub the varnish down nearly to the wood with fine emery paper. Then give the grips another coat of warmed rod varnish and let them dry another 48 hours. Now rub the rod varnish down with a little lava stone on a wet piece of an old felt hat. Wipe the excess lava stone off with a clean rag and give the grip a final coat of rod varnish. Both grips on the rod may be "Checkered" just as your gun stock is checkered. You can borrow a set of checkering tools from a gunsmith and do this yourself, or you can have it done by a gunsmith. Give the grips another coat of rod varnish after they have been checkered. Do not attempt to checker grips unless they have been previously varnished. Both grips can also be wrapped with heavy linen fishing line or any heavy cord. Start wrapping the cord or line by carefully crossing it over on itself for a number of turns, or drill a small hole into the grip, and cement the end into the hole. Begin the windings at the front of the grips, and wind them toward the rear. In case you are putting windings on a grip that is bulged or swelled in design, it is best to wind up to the thickest part of the grip, and then to cut off the cord or line, poke the end under the windings or tie it down securely. Then start at the other end of the grip, wind up to this point and do the same thing. This is done to prevent the windings from coming loose when wound over a swelled part of the rod. After the windings are finished, give them a saturating coat of rod varnish. Let the rod varnish dry 48 hours. If you want the grips rough leave them with this one coat. If you want the grips smooth, keep adding coats of rod varnish until the cord or linen is completely filled with rod varnish. Make the tip for the rod of split bamboo, as described for Three-Six Tackle Class rods, and put the finish on as described for finishing split-bamboo fly rods. Find the guide position by the same method as described for so doing on heavy Tackle Class Rods.

Light Tackle Class rods are made by the conventional split bamboo methods or by laminating, or of glass.

Light Tackle Class rods must be capable of taking a 90 degree bend under heavy strain.

The guides on a nine-six rod must be mounted on the side opposite the stiffest side of the rod. Determine this side by the method described for fly rods.

HEAVY TACKLE CLASS, EXTRA HEAVY TACKLE CLASS OR 24-16 TACKLE CLASS AND 36-24 TACKLE CLASS OF SALT WATER RODS

Heavy Tackle Class is the same as 24-16 tackle class. The "24" means that 24 thread line or lighter must be used, and the "16" means that the rod tip cannot weigh over 16 ounces. There are no regulations on the weight of the butt or grip.


Extra Heavy Tackle Class or 36-24 Tackle Class mean the same thing. The "36" means that 36 thread line or lighter must be used with the rod. The "24" means that the tip must not weigh more than 24 ounces.

There are not many Heavy Tackle Class fishermen and still fewer of the Extra Heavy Tackle Class. The reason for this is that the expense involved in these classes of fishing is so high that a very limited number of men can afford it. To enjoy this kind of fishing you either must have a power boat of your own equipped with a fishing chair or rent one.

I will describe the making of a Heavy Tackle Class Salt Water Rod. An Extra Heavy Tackle Class Salt water rod is identical to this Heavy Tackle Class rod except, of course, that it is made with a heavier tip. There are no weight regulations on the grip or butt, so make it sturdy throughout. Use the sturdiest reel seat possible to buy, and buy one that is a combination reel seat and female ferrule. Make the grip proper, of hickory. Turn it on a lathe and turn the front end to fit into the reel seat. Mount the grip into the reel seat by the "slit and screw" method described under surf rods.

Heavy Tackle Class rods are used with metal-type sockets in fishing chairs. The metal sockets in these chairs are not all of the same type, which is unfortunate but true.

Illustration shows the butt caps or butt ends of Heavy Tackle and Extra Heavy Tackle Rods made to fit the various metal chair sockets. The "tapered" butt end is also made in a slotted version. The "tapered" butt end is also incorrectly called "gimbal" type at times. The word gimbal actually means a contrivance for allowing a suspended object to tip freely in all directions which, of course, applies to all of these types of butt caps or ends and not to just one.

Ask your customer if he has his own boat with of course, his own fishing chair equipped with special metal socket. If he does, make the end of the butt to fit the socket. The best way is to make a butt cap on a metal lathe of stainless steel or monel. Make it of brass or bronze if the other two are not available. Make them hollow so they can be fitted onto the end of the hockory butt or grip. Glue them on with Silhower ferrule cement and pin them with a good sturdy pin of the same metal from which they are made. If your customer does not have his own boat and intends to use his rod on many different boats with different types of sockets in the chairs, put the straight slotted type of butt cap on his rod as this will fit any type of metal socket. The grip proper can be finished in any manner previously described. It can be just varnished., it can be checkered or it can be wrapped with cord or linen fishing


line. I have described the various methods for doing this under the Light Tackle Class Rod.

The tip of the rod is built of split bamboo or glass. If made of bamboo it can be single built or double built. A great many of these rods are double built as it is hard to get bamboo with thick enough walls to single build them.

Putting the guides on these rods must be done carefully, as the position of the guides is very important to the action of the rod. The strain on the line is imparted to the rod through the guides. It is always better on these Heavy Tackle Class rods to have too many guides than too few. To locate the best guide positions and the correct number of guides to use on the rod, first mount a reel on the rod and attach at least 5 guides with heavy rubber bands in the positions you guess to be right. Thread the line through the guides and fasten the line to some stationary object near floor level. Now pull back on the rod just as if you were pulling against a heavy fish. Watch the line. It should follow the curve of the rod in a nice smooth arc. If it does not, shift the guides around until it does. Add guides to help the arc of the line if necessary. The more tip action or bend the rod has, the more guides you will need in such areas. When the guides are satisfactorily placed, mark their position on the rod with a pencil and remove them. Then put them back on again one at a time, winding them on in the proper positions. The front grip on Heavy Tackle Class rods and Extra Heavy Tackle Class rods is put on the tip as the illustration shows. It can be made by just winding this area with heavy linen fishing line or a heavy cord. Do not make it any larger or thicker than absolutely necessary, as it will add more weight to the tip. You want all the weight possible reserved for the bamboo in the tip. Double guides, or guides on each side of the rod, are not used, as they add too much weight to the tip. If the tip is made of bamboo, the strips for the tip are planed as described for planing the strips for a three-six rod.

Both Heavy and extra Heavy Tackle Class rods must be capable of taking a 90 degree bend under strain. The guides on these rods must be mounted opposite the stiff side of the rods. Instructions for finding the stiffest side of the rod are given under guides.

PIER AND OPEN BOAT OR BARGE SALT WATER RODS

"Pier" and "Open Boat" or "Barge Rod" is a rod for fishing from a pier or from a large open party boat or barge that carries numerous

fishermen. Salt water fishermen that fish in these manners make up by far the largest number of salt water fishermen. The rods used vary a good deal but in general the rod specifications given under Pier


and Open Boat or Barge rod in the rod specification section will be satisfactory. You can vary them if necessary to fit local conditions.

In pier, open boat, or barge fishing a great variety of fish are caught and a rod has to be made so it will handle to some extent at least all of these different fish. Croaker, yellowfin, weakfish, fluke, snappers, salt water sheephead, pollack, cod, halibut, eels, black fish, ling, kingfish, porgy, sea bass, whiting, sand dab, barracuda and many others are all caught on such rods.

Whether you fish from a pier, open party boat or barge it is fine sport and you are nearly sure of coming home with some fish that

will really be choice eating. The Montauk Fisherman's Special of the Long Island Railroad will carry a thousand fishermen a day and over to Montauk, Long Island to get on the open boats when it is rumored they are bitin'. 45,0d0 to 50,000 a season now is not unheard of. There are dozens and dozens of such places up and down both the east and west coast, the southern coast, and of course on the Texas coast.

Construct your pier and open boat rods with split bamboo tips or laminated tips or glass. Follow instructions given for this on other rods. Make your pier and open boat rods sturdy. Use a good sturdy reel seat and

comfortable double grips.

PROPER METHOD OF TAKING APART A ROD WITH TIGHT FERRULES

Grasp the rod as illustration shows. Be sure that your knees are tightly together as the illustration shows. Then put straight directional pressure on the rod by moving your knees outward pressing them against your arms.

ODDITY

A casting lure has been thrown farther than any man has ever hit a base ball! "Primo" Livenais cast the standard tournament surf casting lure 660 feet and three inches to establish a world's record. That is over 220 yards! It would be a long shot even for a deer hunter!

The rod was made by Lew Stoner, west coast rod maker. Stoner is one of the good bamboo rod makers in the world today.

FISH WEIGHING FORMULA

Many times, when fishing, you desire to check the weight of a fish and have no scales with you. The following formula is very accur-


ate on all types of fish, with the exception of really flat fish such as halibut.

Multiply the square of the girth A in inches by the length B in inches and divide by 800.

Take the measurements as follows: The girth at the

thickest point and the length from the point of the lower jaw to the crotch of the tail.

For example: A fish measures 38 inches in girth and 59 inches in length. 38x38 equals 1,444 and 59x1444 equals 85,196. 85,196 divided by 800 equals 106.49 or 106 V2 pounds. This formula, incidentally, is used to verify reports on record fish in most cases.

WORLD RECORD SALT WATER CATCHES 153

ALBACORE All-Tackle—69 lbs., St. Helena, Atlantic Ocean, April 7, 1956, P.

Allen. 12 pound Line Test—39 lbs., 8 oz., Balboa, Calif., July 23, 1958, Dr. R. S. Rubaum. 20 pound Line Test—55 lbs., 8 oz., Catalina, Calif., 1927, W. C. De Mille. 30 pound Line Test—66 lbs., 4 oz., Catalina, Calif., 1912, F. Kelly. 50 pound Line Test—32 lbs. 8 oz., San Diego, Calif., July 12, 1958, T. A. Horner. 80 pound Line Test—22 lbs., San Juan, P. R., Aug. 1, 1959, Cy Welch.

AMBERJACK All-Tackle—120 lbs., 8 oz., Kona, Hawaii, Oct. 25, 1955, C. W.

McAlpin. 12 pound Line Test—70 lbs., Pinas Bay, Panama, Dec. 29, 1956, Wilbert Horborn. 20 pound Line Test—78 lbs., N. Key Largo, Fla., William Marshall. 30 pound Line Test—93 lbs., Pinas Bay, Panama, March 4, 1957, Edward S. Corlett, III. 50 pound Line Test—112 lbs., Palm Beach, Fla., March 22, 1958, R. E. Morrison. 80 pound Line Test—119 lbs. 8 oz., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 13, 1952, C. Mello E. Cunha.

BARRACUDA All-Tackle—103 lbs., 4 oz., West End Bahamas, 1932, C. E. Benet. 12

pound Line Test—42 lbs. 10 oz., Key Largo, Fla., Oct. 19, 1959, Bill Moeser. 20 pound Line Test—58 lbs., 4 oz., Craig, Fla., May 11, 1946, B. L. Clark. 30 pound Line Test—44 lbs., 12 oz., Lagos, Nigeria, June 18, 1951, J. N. Zarpas. 50 pound Line Test—83 lbs., Lagos, Nigeria, Jan. 13, 1952, K. J. Hackett.

CALIFORNIA BLACK SEA BASS All-Tackle—514 lbs., San Clemente, Calif., Aug. 29, 1955, J. Patterson.

12 pound Line Test—112 lbs., 8 oz., San Francisco Island, Mexico, June 12, 1957, D. B. Rosenthal. 20 pound Line Test—247 lbs., Coronado Islands, Mexico, June 7, 1957, James Kawooka. 30 pound Line Test—306 lbs., Catalina, Calif., Sept. 4, 1933, S. Bagby. 50 pound Line Test—366 lbs., Anocopa Is., Calif., Sept. 1, 1956, H. J. Tolson. 80 pound Line Test—483 lbs., Coronado Is., Mexico, May 22, 1951, R. E. De Graff.

CALIFORNIA WHITE SEA BASS All-Tackle—83 lbs., 12 oz., San Felipe, Mexico, March 31, 1953, L. C.

Baumgardner. 12 pound Line Test—65 lbs., Ensenado, Mexico, July 8, 1955, C. J. Aronis. 20 pound Line Test—72 lbs. Catalina, Calif., Aug. 13, 1958, Dr. Charles Dorshkind. 50 pound Line Test— 77 lbs., 4 oz., San Diego, Calif., April 8, 1950, H. P. Bledsoe.

CHANNEL BASS All-Tackle—83 lbs., Cape Charles, Va., Aug. 5, 1949, Zack Waters, Jr.

12 pound Line Test—60 lbs., 8 oz., Kill Devil Hills, N. C, Oct. 24, 1954, A. Clark, Jr. 20 pound Line Test—62 lbs., Cape Hatteras, N. C, Nov. 3, 1958, John Twachtman. 30 pound Line Test—69 lbs., 8 oz., Cape Hatteras, N. C, Nov. 16, 1958, Jean Browning.

GIANT SEA BASS All-Tackle—551 lbs., Galveston Bay, Texas, June 29, 1937, G.

Pangarakis. 12 pound Line Test—105 lbs., Florida Bay, Fla., May 9, 1954, J. D. Pappas, Jr. 20 pound Line Test—186 lbs., 4 oz., Marathon, Fla., May 15, 1955, R. H. Martin. 30 pound Line Test—277 lbs., Perlos Is., Panama, Mar. 1, 1957, Edward W. Gorham. 50 pound Line Test— 369 lbs., Marathon, Fla., April 25, 1956, C. F. Mann. 130 pound Line Test—389 lbs., Marathon, Fla., May 8, 1955, R. H. Martin.

SEA BASS All-Tackle—8 lbs., Nantucket Sound, Mass., May 13, 1951, H. R.

Rider. 12 pound Line Test—2 lbs., 12 oz., Black Is., Rhode Island, July 12, 1957, E. C. Shanks. 20 pound Line Test—6 lbs., 1 oz., Sea-bright, New Jersey, July 13, 1958, William Young. 30 pound Line Test—3 lbs., 9 oz., Cape Canaveral, Fla., July 5, 1958, J. B. Johnson, Jr.

STRIPED BASS All-Tackle—73 lbs., Vineyard Sound, Mass., Aug. 17, 1913, C. B.

Church. 12 pound Line Test—61 lbs., 10 oz., Black Island, R. I., July

154 WORLD RECORD SALT WATER CATCHES

3, 1956, L. A. Garceau. 20 pound Line Test—59 lbs., Pt. Judith, R. I., Oct. 22, 1958, Antonio Bartolomucci. 30 pound Line Test—57 lbs., 8 oz., Narragansett Bay, R. I., July 1, 1959, Barbara Craig. 80 pound Line Test—56 lbs., Sandy Hook, N. J., June 7, 1955, Mrs. H. J. Sar-noski.

BLACKFISH OR TAUTOG All-Tackle—21 lbs., 6 oz., Cape May, N. J., June 12, 1954, R. N.

Sheafer. 12 pound Line Test—12 lbs., Block Island, R. I., Oct. 18, 1952, D. V. Marshall. 20 pound Line Test—21 lbs., Jamestown Island, R. I., Nov. 6, 1954, C. W. Sundquist. 50 pound Line Test—20 lbs. 14 oz., Newport, R. I., Oct. 20, 1955, W. R. Peckham.

BLUEFISH All-Tackle—24 lbs., 3 oz., San Miguel, Azores, Aug. 27, 1953, M. A.

da Silva Veloso. 20 pound Line Test—17 lbs., 8V2 oz., Long Island Beach, N. Y., June 6, 1959, Jack Ellis. 30 pound Line Test—21 lbs., Woods Hole, Mass., Oct. 22, 1957, Roland W. Scannel. 50 pound Line Test—19 lbs., Nantucket, Mass., Sept. 25, 1958, S. W. Smith. 80 pound Line Test—15 lbs., 8 oz., Cape Cod, Mass., Sept. 29, 1957, Mrs. Jean Drury.

BONEFISH All-Tackle—18 lbs., 2 oz., Mana, Kauai, Hawaii, Oct. 14, 1954, Wm.

Badua. 12 pound Line Test—15 lbs., Bimini, Bahamas, Feb. 7, 1953, Sam Snead. 20 pound Line Test—14 lbs., Bermuda, Dec. 29, 1950, Dr. H. R. Becker. 30 pound Line Test—15 lbs., Pot Cay, Ba hamas, Nov. 24, 1957, Charles E. Daniels. 50 pound Line Test—17 lbs. 8 oz., Oahu, T. H., Aug. 23, 1952, Jack Yoshida.

OCEANIC BONITO All-Tackle—39 lbs., 15 oz., Walker Cay, Bahamas, Jan. 21, 1952, F.

Drowley. 12 pound Line Test—23 lbs., 7 oz., Oahu, Hawaii, Aug. 10, 1958, R. Kagihara. 20 pound Line Test—32 lbs., 8 oz., San Juan, P. R., May 23, 1959, Juan Casellas, Jr. 30 pound Line Test—31 lbs., 3 oz., San Juan, P. R., July 16, 1955, A. Naveira. 80 pound Line Test —31 lbs. 8 oz., Miami Beach, Fla., Jan. 8, 1949, R. Lindquist.

COBIA All-Tackle—102 lbs., Cape Charles, Va., July 3, 1938, J. E. Stans-bury.

12 pound Line Test—70 lbs., Gulf of Mexico, Texas, May 13, 1955, H. A. Norris, Jr. 20 pound Line Test—81 lbs., Chesapeake Bay, Va., June 27, 1955, F. M. Tyler. 30 pound Line Test—78 lbs. 12 oz., Panama City Beach, Fla., April 10, 1959, Jim Sullivan. 50 pound Line Test—99 lbs. Chesapeake Bay, Va., July 24, 1948, R. B. Frost, Jr. 80 pound Line Test—97 lbs., Oregon Inlet, N. C, June 4, 1952, Mary W. Black.

COD All-Tackle—72 lbs., Rockport, Mass., Aug. 22, 1958, E. E. Belek. 12

pound Line Test—55 lbs., Plum Island, Mass., July 6, 1958, W. C. Dunn. 20 pound Line Test—30 lbs. 4 oz., Pt. Judith, R. I., Nov. 8, 1958, John B. Coffey. 30 pound Line Test—37 lbs., 8 oz., Balmar, N. J., Oct. 18, 1958, Oscar S. Pokorley.

DOLPHIN All-Tackle—76 lbs., Acapulco, Mexico, Sept. 24, 1957, R. B. Stots-

bery. 12 pound Line Test—52 lbs., 13 oz., La Paz, Mexico, May 31, 1956, Mrs. W. G. Krieger. 20 pound Line Test—52 lbs., Bimini, Ba hamas, June 2, 1951, G. A. Bass. 30 pound Line Test—59 lbs., 8 oz., Bimini, Bahamas, March 21, 1957, Irving Devine. 80 pound Line Test —75 lbs., 8 oz., Mafia Channel, East Africa, Dec. 10, 1950, A. Conan- Doyle.

SUMMER FLOUNDER All Tackle—20 lbs. 7 oz., Long Island, N. Y., July 8, 1957, Mrs. M.

Fredricksen. 12 pound Line Test—16 lbs., Beavertail, R. I., Aug. 14, 1958, C. Martorelli. 20 pound Line Test—20 lbs., Long Island, N. Y., Sept. 7, 1948, F. H. Kessel. 30 pound Line Test—20 lbs., 2 oz., Montauk, N. Y., Sept. 20, 1958, G. F. Schwinzer.


BLACK DRUM All-Tackle—94 lbs., 4 oz., Cape Charles, Virginia, April 28, 1957,

James Lee Johnson. 12 pound Line Test—68 lbs., Canova Beach, Fla., March 3, 1958, G. Miller. 20 pound Line Test—70 lbs., Great Egg Harbor, N. J., Aug. 23, 1952, P. Bessor. 30 pound Line Test—92 lbs., Cambridge, Maryland, Aug. 27, 1955, James Aaron.

KINGFISH All-Tackle—77 lbs., Bimini, Bahamas, May 12, 1957, Clinton Oiney

Potts. 12 pound Line Test—52 lbs., 4 oz., Miami, Fla., April 13, 1958,H. Marin. 30 pound Line Test—58 lbs., Palm Beach, Fla., April 25, 1955, G. E. Mole. 50 pound Line Test—71 lbs., Bimini, Bahamas, June 24, 1956, B. E. Stratton. 80 pound Line Test—70 lbs., 8 oz., Bimini, Bahamas, Mar. 5, 1947, R. C. B. Morton.

BLACK MARLIN All-Tackle — 1560 lbs., Cabo Blanco, Peru, Aug. 4, 1953, Alfred C.

Glassell, Jr. 12 pound Line Test—158 lbs., 7 oz., Mazatlan, Mexico, May 9, 1953, D. B. Rosenthal. 20 pound Line Test—235 lbs., Las Cruces, Mexico, May 8, 1956, J. F. Leopold. 30 pound Line Test— 552 lbs., La Plata Island, Ecuador, July 3, 1953, Mrs. W. G. Krieger. 50 pound Line Test—501 lbs., Acapulco, Mexico, June 25, 1952, Mrs. M. Wetherby. 80 pound Line Test—834 lbs., Cabo Blanco, Peru, Aug. 19, 1954, B. E. Devers.

BLUE MARLIN All-Tackle—780 lbs., San Juan, P. R., July 1, 1959, Eric Widdow-son.

12 pound Line Test—130 lbs., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., June 8, 1959, John Latrobe. 20 pound Line Test—401 lbs., Bimini, Bahamas, June 9, 1959,P. J. Serrales, Jr. 30 pound Line Test—480 lbs., Bimini, Ba hamas, July 23, 1949, G. A. Lyon, Sr. 50 pound Line Test—521 lbs., San Juan, P. R., Oct. 13, 1959, Juan Casellas, Jr.

PACIFIC BLUE MARLIN All-Tackle—1002 lbs., Honolulu, Hawaii. Nov. 13, 1954, George L.

Parker, Jr. 30 pound Line Test—150 lbs., Pinas Bay, Panama, Sept. 18, 1959, J. Lee Cuddy. 50 pound Line Test—217 lbs., 12 oz., Oahu, Hawaii, Sept. 16, 1959, Roger Martin. 80 pound Line Test— 444 lbs., Kona, Hawaii, Aug. 29, 1959, George Woller.

SILVER MARLIN All-Tackle—911 lbs., Kana, Hawaii, Nov. 16, 1957, Dale Scott. 20

pound Line Test—44 lbs., Acapulco, Mexico, Oct. 31, 1949, Dr. Phil Carboy. 50 pound Line Test—209 lbs., Pinas Bay, Panama, March 17, 1954, S. L. Tarian. 80 pound Line Test—466 lbs., Cocas Pt., Panama, Nov. 28, 1958, Paul M. Fletcher.

STRIPED MARLIN All-Tackle—692 lbs., Balboa, Calif., Aug. 18, 1931, A. Hamann. 12

pound Line Test—227 lbs., 8 oz., Las Cruces, Mexico, June 21, 1956, R. M. Anderson. 20 pound Line Test—331 lbs., Cape Brett, New Zealand, March 16, 1954, C. Harold Hopkins. 30 pound Line Test—425 lbs., Tocopilla, Chile, May 8, 1941, S. K. Farrington, Jr. 50 pound Line Test—402 lbs., Tocopilla, Chile, Oct. 13, 1940, W. E. S. Tuker.

WHITE MARLIN All-Tackle—161 lbs., Miami Beach, Fla., March 20, 1938, L. F.

Hooper. 12 pound Line Test—122 lbs., Bimini, Bahamas, March 30, 1953, Dorothy A. Curtice. 20 pound Line Test—120 lbs., 8 oz., Bimini, Bahamas, April 25, 1953, G. O. Wiggni- 30 pound Line Test—130 lbs., 4 oz., Bimini, Bahamas, April 18, 1959, Leonard Hendrix. 50 pound Line Test—159 lbs., 8 oz., Pampano Beach, Fla., April 25, 1953, W. E. Johnson.

PERMIT All-Tackle—42 lbs., 4 oz., Boca Grande, Fla., Sept. 11, 1953, R. H.

Martin. 20 pound Line Test—41 lbs., Islamorado, Fla., April 18,


1951, E. J. Arnold. 30 pound Line Test—39 lbs., 8 oz., Bimini, Bahamas, March 3, 1947, E. T. Ragsdale. 50 pound Line Test—40 lbs., 4 oz., Juno Beach, Fla., Sept. 22, 1951, O. Booker. 80 pound Line Test—34 lbs., 8 oz., Naples, Fla., Feb. 1, 1951, R. R. Channel.

POLLACK All-Tackle—40 lbs., Rockport, Mass., Aug. 18, 1958, W. Church, Jr. 12

pound Line Test—24 lbs., 7 oz., Race Point, R. I., April 24, 1954, A. Borino. 20 pound Line Test—27 lbs., Blanche, N. S., Aug. 25, 1954, Cecil Griffith. 30 pound Line Test—36 lbs., Montauk, N. Y., May 28, 1957, William E. Davis.

ROOSTER FISH All-Tackle—100 lbs., Cabo Blanco, Peru, Jan. 12, 1954, M. Bar-

renechea. 12 pound Line Test—50 lbs., Loreto, Mexico, Sept. 6, 1954, M. Levy, Jr. 20 pound Line Test—48 lbs., Las Cruees, Mexico, May 22, 1958, Mrs. D. R. Erickson. 30 pound Line Test—76 lbs. Acapulco, Mexico, Feb. 16, 1958, R. G. Wolff. 50 pound Line Test—85 lbs., 2 oz., La Paz, Mexico, Nov. 24, 1956, Mrs. Esther Carle. 80 pound Line Test—77 lbs., La Paz, Mexico, Nov. 21, 1957, G. W. Chambers.

ATLANTIC SAILFISH All-Tackle—123 lbs., Walker Cay, Bahamas, April 25, 1950, H. Teetor.

12 pound Line Test—83 lbs., 6 oz., Carayaco, Venezuela, July 17, 1958, C. Iturriza Guillen. 20 pound Line Test—78 lbs., Guanto, Venezuela, Oct. 23, 1948, Mrs. F. J. Woodsmall. 30 pound Line Test—92 lbs., 8 oz., Miami, Fla., May 14, 1958, B. T. Fitzpatrick. 80 pound Line Test—106 lbs., Miami Beach, Fla., 1929, W. Bonnell.

PACIFIC SAILFISH All-Tackle—221 lbs., Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Island Feb. 12,

1947, C. W. Stewart. 12 pound Line Test—159 lbs., Pinas Bay, Panama, July 23, 1957, J. Frank Baxter. 20 pound Line Test— 158 lbs., Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, March 4, 1955, A. Hall. 30 pound Line Test—198 lbs., La Paz, Mexico, Aug. 23, 1957, Charles Kelly. 80 pound Line Test—198 lbs., Mazatlan, Mexico, Nov. 10, 1954, G. H. Anglen.

SAWFISH All-Tackle—736 lbs., Galveston, Texas, Sept. 4, 1938, G. Pan-garakis.

12 pound Line Test—40 lbs., Islamorada, Fla., May 6, 1959, Ernest R. Braun, Jr., 50 pound Line Test—268 lbs., 4 oz., Fort Amador, Canal Zone, Oct. 22, 1959, Jack Wagner.

BLUE SHARK All-Tackle—334 lbs., Montauk, N. Y., Aug. 27, 1958, J. Ducie-wicz. 12

pound Line Test—169 lbs., Montauk, New York, June 24, 1959, James F. Baldwin. 20 pound Line Test—218 lbs., 2 oz., Montauk, N. Y., July 22, 1958, M. B. Mittleman. 30 pound Line Test—284 lbs., 8 oz., Montauk, N. Y., Aug. 11, 1959, Jacqueline Mittleman. 80 pound Line Test—144 lbs., 8 oz., Looe, England, July 30, 1959, Patricia Mc-Kim.

MAKO SHARK All-Tackle—1,000 lbs., Mayor Island, New Zealand, March 14, 1943,

B. D. H. Ross. 12 pound Line Test—261 lbs., 11 oz., Montauk, N. Y., Oct. 1, 1953, C. R. Mayer. 20 pound Line Test—242 lbs., 12 oz., Montauk, L. I., New York, July 12, 1958, M. G. Mittleman. 30 pound Line Test—322 lbs., Elbreon, N. J., Aug. 25, 1952, W. J. Mahan. 50 pound Line Test—683 lbs., 12 oz., Montauk, L. I., New York, Aug. 10, 1956, R. P. Alex. 80 pound Line Test—745 lbs., Shin-necock Inlet, N. Y., Oct. 8, 1946, H. Hinrichs.

MAN EATER OR WHITE SHARK All-Tackle—2536 lbs., Denial Bay, Australia, April 11, 1955, A. Dean.

12 pound Line Test—66 lbs., Acapulco, Mexico, Oct. 26, 1951, Dr. Phil Corboy. 20 pound Line Test—1068 lbs., Cape Moretin, Aus-


tralia, June 18, 1957, Robert Dyer. 30 pound Line Test—1053 Cape Moreton, Australia, June 13, 1957, Robert Dyer. 50 pound Line Test —1876 lbs., Cape Moreton, Australia, Aug. 6, 1955, R. Dyer. 80 pound Line Test—2071 lbs., Cape Donnington, Australia, Jan. 9, 1952, J. Veitch.

PORBEAGLE SHARK All-Tackle—271 lbs., Looe, Cornwall, England, Aug. 18, 1957, Mrs.

Hetty Eathorne. 12 pound Line Test—66 lbs., Montauk, N. Y., June 8, 1958, M. H. Merrill. 20 pound Line Test—81 lbs., 14 oz., Montauk, L. I., New York, June 8, 1956, H. Edelman. 80 pound Line Test—260 lbs., Durban, South Africa, Feb. 5, 1949, J. L. Daniel.

THRESHER SHARK All-Tackle—922 lbs., Bay of Islands, New Zealand, March 21, 1937, W.

W. Dowding. 12 pound Line Test—92 lbs., 8 oz., Long Beach, Calif., Dec. 12, 1959, D. F. Marsh. 20 pound Line Test—81 lbs., 8 oz., Santa Cruz, Calif., Aug. 2, 1958, E. G. Volpe. 30 pound Line Test— 145 lbs, Simonstown, S. Africa, April 6, 1953, R. W. Wack. 50 pound Line Test—338 lbs., Port Stephens, Australia, Mar. 2, 1957, G. Partridge. 80 pound Line Test—315 lbs., Manly, Australia, Aug. 24, 1958, C. L. Downie.

TIGER SHARK All-Tackle—1422 lbs., Cape Moreton, Australia, July 20, 1958, J. H.

Robinson. 20 pound Line Test—341 lbs., Cape Moreton, Australia, July 6, 1957, Robert Dyer. 30 pound Line Test—362 lbs., Cape Moreton, Australia, July 6, 1957, Robert Dyer. 50 pound Line Test —1018 lbs., Cape Moreton, Australia, June 12, 1957, Robert Dyer. 80 pound Line Test—1305 lbs., Coogee Wide, Sidney, Australia, May 17, 1959, Samuel Jamieson.

SNOOK OR ROBALO All-Tackle—50 lbs. 8 oz., Gatun Spillway, Panama, Jan. 2, 1944, J. W.

Anderson. 12 pound Line Test — 37 lbs., Boynton Black, Fla., June 18, 1959, Durling Drake. 20 pound Line Test—37 lbs., Palm Beach, Fla., April 28, 1958, J. J. McDonald. 30 pound Line Test—43 lbs., Lake Worth, Fla., May 18, 1952, L. K. Spencer. 50 pound Line Test—49 lbs., 8 oz., Marco, Fla., June 13, 1926, L. S. Caine. 80 pound Line Test—37 lbs., Lake Worth, Fla., July 28, 1959, James P. Nora.

SWORDFISH All-Tackle—1182 lbs., Iquique, Chile, May 7, 1953, L. Marron. 30

pound Line Test—365 lbs., Catalina, Calif., 1928, L. W. Jump. 50 pound Line Test—444 lbs., Pompano Beach, Fla., April 27, 1951, F. J. Fleming. 80 pound Line Test—722 lbs., Iquique, Chile, June 7, 1954, Mrs. L. Marron.

TARPON All-Tackle—283 lbs., Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, March 19, 1956, M.

Salazar. 12 pound Line Test—144 lbs., Marathon, Fla., May 19, 1955, A. L. Mackie. 20 pound Line Test—158 lbs., 8 oz., New Orleans, La., Aug. 23, 1958, J. J. Lincoln. 50 pound Line Test—242 lbs., 4 oz., Cienoga Ayapel, Colombia, Jan. 7, 1955, A. Salazar. 80 pound Line Test—214 lbs., 12 oz., Lagos, Nigeria, Jan. 26, 1953, J. N. Zarpas.

ALLISON OR YELLOWFIN TUNA All-Tackle—265 lbs., Makua, Hawaii, July 31, 1937, J. W. Harvey. 12

pound Line Test—51 lbs., 14 oz., Bermuda, Dec. 29, 1957, R. J. Gibbons. 20 pound Line Test—145 lbs., Sydney, Australia, April 4, 1959, Robert Dyer. 30 pound Line Test—185 lbs., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Nov. 29, 1957, Frank R. King. 50 pound Line Test—198 lbs., Arrecifes, Venezuela, July 29, 1956, F. Benarroch. 80 pound Line Test—265 lbs., Makua, Hawaii, July 31, 1937, J. W. Harvey.


ATLANTIC BIG EYED TUNA All-Tackle—209 lbs., 6 oz., Madeira, Spain, Sept. 24, 1954, A. A. Dos

Dantos Ribeiro. 20 pound. Line Test—46 lbs., N. Key Largo, Fla., Jan. 17, 1959, Dorothea Dean. 50 pound Line Test—167 lbs., Miami Beach, Fla., Jan. 18, 1957, Jerry Mills. 80 pound Line Test—155 lbs. 8 oz., St. Helena, Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 1, 1957, Trevor G. Derry.

PACIFIC BIG EYED TUNA All-Tackle—435 lbs., Cabo Blanco, Peru, April 17, 1957, Dr. Russel V.

A. Lee. 20 pound Line Test—27 lbs., Cabo Blanco, Peru, Aug. 13, 1955, Mrs. O. Owings. 30 pound Line Test—13 lbs., Cabo Blanca, Peru, tie Jan. 24, 1959, Mrs. Thomas Sherwood and Jan. 21, 1959, Beulah Laidlow. 50 pound Line Test—41 lbs., Cabo Blanco, Peru, Sept. 12, 1958, D. J. S. Marten. 80 pound Line Test—335 lbs., Cabo Blanco, Peru, Mar. 25, 1953, Mrs. Wendell Anderson, Jr.

BLACKFIN TUNA All-Tackle—44 lbs., 8 oz., Capetown, South Africa, Jan. 27, 1957, G. B.

Mercario. 12 pound Line Test—29 lbs., 12 oz., Hout Bay, South Africa, Jan. 6, 1957, H. S. Newman. 20 pound Line Test —25 lbs., 8 oz., Bermuda, Aug. 30, 1958, G. H. Becker, Jr. 30 pound Line Test—27 lbs., 8 oz., Bermuda, Aug. 13, 1958, E. R. Field. 50 pound Line Test—27 lbs., Bermuda, June 8, 1958, J. De Coute. 80 pound Line Test—37 lbs., Capetown, South Africa, Jan. 27, 1957, F. D. Derman.

BLUEFIN TUNA All-Tackle—977 lbs., St. Ann Bay, Nova Scotia, Sept. 4, 1950, D. Mel.

Hodgson. 12 pound Line Test—52 lbs., 8 oz., Mt. Greenly, Sydney, Australia, Feb. 24, 1953, G. R. Cowell. 20 pound Line Test —114 lbs., 8 oz., Montauk, N. Y., July 25, 1959, Mundy I. Peale. 30 pound Line Test—145 lbs., 8 oz., Catalina, Calif., Sept. 1, 1919, J. W. Jump. 50 pound Line Test—518 lbs., Bimini, Bahamas, May 13, 1950, Mrs. G. A. Bass. 80 pound Line Test—880 lbs., Wedgeport, Nova Scotia, Sept. 14, 1941, J. Carpenter.

WAHOO All-Tackle—136 lbs., East Boynton Inlet, Fla., April 8, 1955, R. J.

Geyer. 12 pound Line Test—64 lbs., 8 oz., Exuma, Bahamas, April 12,1958, Mrs. Anne Archbold. 20 pound Line Test—67 lbs., 8 oz., Miami Beach, Fla., Dec. 11, 1935, J. Dunham. 30 pound Line Test— 85 lbs., Exuma, Bahamas, Feb. 6, 1956, E. A. Wanklyn. 50 pound Line Test—100 lbs., Fowey Rock, Fla., June 20, 1956, G. Weiss.

WEAKFISH All-Tackle—17 lbs., 8 oz., Mullica River, N. J., Sept. 30, 1944, A.

Weisbecker, Jr. 12 pound Line Test—9 lbs., 3% oz., Ocean City, Md., May 26, 1954, R. Gilbert. 20 pound Line Test—8 lbs., 12 oz., Ocean City, Md., June 2, 1951, P. V. Mumford. 30 pound Line Test —10 lbs., 10 oz., Fire Island Light, N. Y., Sept. 20, 1951, J. E. Bailey.

SPOTTED WEAKFISH All-Tackle—15 lbs., 3 oz., Ft. Pierce, Fla., Jan. 13, 1949, C. W.

Hubbard. 12 pound Line Test—13 lbs., 4 oz., Cocoa, Fla., March 13,1957, R. L. Fink. 20 pound Line Tes1^-13 lbs., 12 oz., Vero Beach, Fla., March 11, 1957, W. Miller Shaw, Jr. 30 pound Line Test —14 lbs., Lake Worth, Fla., Feb. 9, 1946, R. N. Rose.

YELLOWTAIL All-Tackle—105 lbs., 12% oz., Topolobampo, Mexico, April 30, 1955,

M. A. Yant. 12 pound Line Test—40 lbs., Bayley*s Beach, New Zealand, Aug. 4, 1957, L. G. Skudder. 20 pound Line Test—57% lbs., Catalina, Calif, 1915, E. G. Hauser. 30 pound Line Test—62 lbs., 8 oz., La Jolla, Calif., June 6, 1953, G. L. Willett. 80 pound Line Test—90 lbs., La Paz, Mexico, June 25, 1948, F. Hickey.

CHAPTER XVI.

SELLING FISHING TACKLE

The average person erroneously believes that fishing tackle, including fishing rods, carry an enormous mark-up or profit for the maker. He buys a rod for $10.00 and thinks "My, but I'd like to sell this rod for $10.00 a crack. The guy making these rods certainly must be on easy street." This is usually far from true.

Here is the true discount set-up or profit break-down on fishing rods. First the manufacturer has to give the jobber at least a discount of 50% plus 10% from the list or retail price of the rod. This brings the price that the manufacturer gets for the rod down to $4.50. Out of this he has to pay office and plant overhead and advertising costs, which will run 50c a rod and over. If he has a factory representative or a salesman sell the jobber the rods, he must pay the representative 10% of the $4.50 he receives for each rod. This is 45c. $4.50 less 45c and 50c is $3.55. Labor and material must still be deducted from the $3.55. The jobber, in turn, sells the rod to a regular hardware or retail store for as little as 33� % off from the list or retail price, to exclusive sporting goods stores at 40 % off and to his largest accounts at 50% off. Large chain stores and large mail order houses, demand 50% and 10% off from the manufacturer, just as the jobber does.

There are three ways to sell fishing rods; first, to the jobber or large chain store or mail order house, giving them the big discount and the large profit; second, to the retail stores with less discount but, of course, with more selling expense, plus risk of poor credit; third, direct to the fisherman, himself, through the mails on a cash or C. O. D. basis.

By any of these methods, it is anything but an easy job, and a volume cannot be built up in less than several year's time, at best. There is no get rich quick method in the rod building business, as many have learned through sad experience.

Do not expect miracles from a few advertisements in outdoor magazines. Unless you have a really remarkable value to offer, such ads will rarely pay their cost. To make magazine ads pay, you must first have an illustrated catalog or circular ready to mail out when you receive inquiries from your ad. It should contain as many types of rods as possible so that, regardless of the various types of rods preferred in different localities, you have some rods to offer them. Do not try to concentrate on only one or two rods, as your chances of success are small. Always list both high and low priced items. The low priced rods give you volume and help reduce your overhead. The high priced rods eventually will bring you perhaps as much volume, but it is harder to build up volume in the high priced rod field. In starting out, try the classified ads in outdoor magazines, and have a good folder or catalog to send out upon inquiry. This is the most inexpensive way to get started, and it is the best way to pick up the tricks of the trade. It is not only pure foolishness, but also a waste, to spend money on advertising and then have only a cheap unimpressive folder to send out.

There are really only two big things necessary to build up a going rod making concern. The first is a willingness to put in long hours yourself for at least several years, with little compensation, in order to get the business started. The second is to use whatever money the

160 SELLING FISHING TACKLE

business makes to enlarge and build it up. Take just as little out of the business as you possibly can for as many years as possible. If you do not follow this latter rule your business will never grow rapidly. Someone else, who is willing to give up things in order to build up his business for the future, will get started and prove too strong in competition against you.

A further word relative to selling retail stores. This is an expensive and dangerous undertaking. What always surprises the beginner in business is that only a small percentage of merchants pay their bills promptly, a large per cent of them not at all or over a very long period of time.

Stores that are at all questionable must be dealt with on a cash on delivery basis. Unless you have a Dunn and Bradstreet credit book which shows the stores that pay their bills and those which must be shipped C. O. D., you are bound to be ruined by slow and poor credit.

Success in the rod business, or any other business for that matter, is, as our famous Thomas Edison once truly said, "One per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration."

Have rod work done on a piece work basis when ever possible so that your costs can be accurately figured.

CH AP TER X V I I .

T E S T E D S P E C F IC A T IO N S F O R

B A M B O O R O D S S P L I T

162 TESTED SPECIFICATIONS FOR BAMBOO RODS

TESTED SPECIFICATIONS FOR BAMBOO RODS 163

6 FOOT—2 PIECE—6 STRIP (counting detachable handle.)

Measurements taken from a Heddon Rod Model, courtesy of Don E. West.


Butt Section 12 inch detachable handle

Tip Section Tip section is to be 61 inches long including seated male ferrule. The extra

inch will be lost when rod is jointed.

STIFF ACTION CASTING ROD 6 FOOT—2

PIECE—5 STRIP

This is an excellent rod for all around plug casting and highly recommended.


HAROLD C. HOLLIS CASTING ROD FOR 3/8 OUNCE AND 1/4 OUNCE PLUGS FOR

BASS FISHING

6 FOOT 2 INCHES—2 PIECE—6 STRIP

Courtesy of H. C. Hollis, noted author. This rod was made by Mr. Hollis.

Rod can be made with or without detachable handle. On the rod of Mr. Hollis, the cork grip and reel seat are 9½ inches long, and the cork grip, alone, is 4½ inches long.

Measurements are given for the rod with undetachable handle; that is, the bamboo runs down through the grip and reel seat.

Butt Section Butt section is to be 37.50 inches long including the empty seat of the

female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 36.50 inches long. The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

end 6" 1' I½' 2' 2½' 36.50" .219 .219 .219 .139 .130^ .125 .117

(15/64 female ferrule)

Tip Section

Tip section is to be 37.50 inches long. «nd 3" 8" 1' 2" 1' 8" 2' 2" 2' 8" 37.50" .117 .103½ .090 .085½ .074½ .065 .053½ .047 (15/64 male ferrule) (6/64 top)

Line recommended: 4½ pound test. With this rod, such a line will take any fresh water bass if properly handled. A heavier line can be used with the rod if desired.

If detachable handles are desired on any of the above listed rods with undetachable handles, measure the detachable handle and cut that distance, minus one inch, off the butt of the rod. For example, if the detachable handle measures 10 inches cut off 9 inches off the butt of the rod. The extra inch is to allow for the seating of the male ferrule that must be attached to the butt of the bamboo.

FLY RODS

BASS BUG OR STREAMER FLY ROD

9 FOOT—3 PIECE—6 STRIP Can be made lighter by making Butt Section hollow.

Butt Section

Butt section is to be 36.583 inches long including the empty seat of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 35.583 inches long. The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

end 6" 1' 1½' 2' 2½' 35.583" .204 .204 .204 .180 .172 .1641/2

.156 (20/64 female ferrule)

Middle Section

Middle section is to be 36.583 inches long including the empty seat of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 35.833 inches


long. The extra 3/4 inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

end 6" 1' 1½' 2' 2½' 35.833" .156 .154 .149 .141 .126 .118 .110 (20/64 male ferrule) (14/64 female ferrule)

Tip Section Tip section is to be 36.583 inches long.

end .6" 1' l½' 2' 2½' 36.583" .110 .094 .086 .079 .071 .055 .047 (14/64 male ferrule) (-6/64 top)

BASS BUG STREAMER AND SALMON DRY FLY ROD CANADIAN MODEL

9 FOOT—3 PIECE—6 STRIP


female ferrule. The bamboo will only be 35.583 inches long. The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

Middle Section

Middle section is to be 36.583 inches long including the empty seat of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 35.833 inches long. The extra 3/4 inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

DOUBLE GRIP SALMON DRY FLY ROD


Butt Section Butt section is to be 44 inches long including the empty seat of

the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 43.50 inches long. The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule, end 7" 13" 19" 25" 31" 37" 43.50" .230 .230 .230 .230 .222 .212 .200 .188

(24/64 female ferrule) Middle Section

Middle section is to be 44 inches long including the empty seat of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 43.50 inches long.


The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

end 7" 13" 19" 25" 31" 37" 43.50" .188 .185 .180 .174 .164 .154 .144 .133 (24/64 male ferrule) (17/64 female ferrule)

Tip Section

Tip section is to be 44 inches long.

end 7" 13" 19" 25" 31" 37" 44" .133 .129 .123 .113 .102 .091 .080 .070 (17/64 male ferrule) (9/64 top)

The above rod is to be equipped with two seven inch cork grips with a 3/4 inch reel seat between the two grips.

CROSS BASS BUG R O D—S T I F F LIGHT A C T I O N

81/2 FOOT—3 PIECE—6 STRIP

These measurements are by the courtesy of Harold C. Hollis, famed fishing author and without question one of the greatest fisher-men America has ever had. This is his favorite bass rod and, coming from him, it means something. This rod is also excellent for dry fly fishing.

Butt Section

Butt section is to be 34.583 inches long including the empty seat of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 33.583 inches long. The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

end 5" 10" 16" 22" 28" 33.583" .183 .183 .168 .153 .150 .145 .141


Middle Section

Middle section is to be 34.583 inches long including the empty seat of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 33.833 inches long. The extra 3/4 inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.

end 5" 10" 16" 22" 28" 33.833" .141 .139 .129 .127 .121 .114 .110 (18/64 male ferrule) (14/64 female ferrule)


end 5" 10" 16" 22" 28" 34.583" .110 .086 .075 .069 .061 .048 .039 (14/64 male ferrule) (5/64 top)

Rod has a stripping guide on butt section 19 inches from the cork grip and four snake guides on the middle section spaced 11, 9, 71/2, 71/2 inches center to center starting from the stripping guide with rod assembled. Tip has 5 snake guides spaced from the last guide on middle section with rod assembled 7 1/2, 6 1/4, 6 1/4, 5 7/8, and 5 1/2 inches.

Cork grip on this rod is 8 inches long. Rod will handle an HDH line or heavier.

168 T E S T E D S P E C IF IC A T IO N S F O R B A M B O O R O D S

B A S S B U G O R S T R E A M E R F L Y R O D V E R Y S T I F F A C T I O N

9 F O O T — 3 P IE C E — 5 S T R IP

B u tt S e c tio n B u tt s e c tio n is to b e 3 6 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t

o f th e fe m a le fe r ru le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 5 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x tra in c h w il l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e fe m a le fe r ru le .

en d 6" 1' 1 1 / 2 ' 2 ' 2 1 / z ' 35 .58 3" .202 .202 .202 .178 .170 .162 .149

( 1 9 /6 4 f e m a le f e r r u le )

M id d le S e c t io n M i d d l e s e c t i o n i s t o b e 3 6 . 5 8 3 i n c h e s l o n g i n c l u d i n g t h e e m p t y

s e a t o f t h e f e m a l e f e r r u l e . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n l y 3 5 . 8 3 3 i n c h e s lo n g . T h e e x tr a 3 /4 in c h w il l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r r u le .

e n d 6" 1' 1 1 /2 ' 2 ' 21/2" 35 .83 3" .149 .147 .139 .139 .131 .116 .102 (1 9 /6 4 m a le f e r ru le ) (1 3 /6 4 f e m a le f e r r u le )

T ip S e c t io n T i p s e c t i o n i s t o b e 3 6 . 5 8 3 in c h e s l o n g .

e n d 6" 1' 1 1 /2 ' 2 ' 2 1 /2 ' 36 .58 3" .102 .092 .084 .069 .061 .053 .047 ( 1 3 / 6 4 m a l e f e r r u l e ) ( 6 / 6 4 t o p )

B A S S B U G R O D S T I F F A C T I O N

9 F O O T — 3 P I E C E — 5 S T R I P W e i g h s a p p r o x i m a te l y 6 o u n c e s w i t h H e r t e r 's a c c e s s o r i e s .

B u t t S e c t io n B u t t s e c t i o n i s to b e 3 6 . 5 8 3 i n c h e s l o n g i n c lu d in g th e e m p t y s e a t

o f t h e f e m a l e f e r r u l e . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n l y 3 5 . 5 8 3 i n c h e s l o n g . T h e e x t r a in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y t h e e m p t y s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r r u l e , e n d 6" 1' 11/2 2' 2 1 / 2 ' 35 .583" .190 .190 .190 .190 .185 .176 .164

( 2 1 / 6 4 f e m a l e f e r r u l e )

M id d le S e c t io n M i d d l e s e c t i o n i s t o b e 3 6 . 5 8 3 i n c h e s l o n g i n c l u d i n g t h e e m p t y

s e a t o f t h e f e m a l e f e r r u l e . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n l y 3 5 . 8 3 3 i n c h e s l o n g . T h e e x t r a 3 / 4 i n c h w i l l b e g a i n e d b y t h e e m p t y s e a t o f t h e f e m a l e f e r r u l e . e n d 6" 1' 1 1 /2 ' 2 ' 2 1 /2 ' 35 .83 3" .164 .152 .144 .135 .127 .119 .109 (2 1 /6 4 m a le f e r r u le ) ( 1 4 /6 4 f e m a le f e r r u le )

T ip S e c t io n T i p s e c t i o n i s t o b e 3 6 . 5 8 3 in c h e s l o n g .

e n d 6" 1' l1/2 2 ' 21/2' 36 .583" .109 .100 .088 .076 .065 .055 .047 ( 1 4 / 6 4 m a l e f e r r u l e ) ( 6 /6 4 t o p )

T E S T E D S P E C IF IC A T IO N S F O R B A M B O O R O D S 169

D R Y F L Y R O D S T I F F A C T I O N

9 FO O T — 3 P IE C E — 5 S T R IP

B u tt S e c t io n

B u tt s e c t io n is to b e 3 6 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r ru le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 5 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x tr a in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r ru le .

en d 6" 1' 1 1 /2 ' 2 ' 21/2 35.583" .201 .201 .193 .169 .161 .154 .149

(1 9 /6 4 f e m a le f e r ru le )

M id d le S e c t io n

M id d le s e c t io n i s to b e 3 6 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t o f t h e f e m a l e f e r r u l e . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n l y 3 5 . 8 3 3 in c h e s l o n g . T h e e x t r a 3 / 4 i n c h w i l l b e g a i n e d b y t h e e m p t y s e a t o f t h e f e m a le f e r ru le .

e n d 6" 1' 1 1 /2 ' 2 ' 2 1 /2 ' 35 .833" .149 .138 .130 .123 .115 .107 .094 (1 9 /6 4 m a le fe r ru le ) (1 2 /6 4 fe m a le fe r ru le )

T ip S e c tio n T ip

se c tio n is to b e 3 6 .5 8 3 in ch es lo n g .

en d 6" 1' 1 1 /2 ' 2 ' 2 1 /2 ' 36 .583" .094 .083 .076 .068 .052 .042 .039 (1 2 /6 4 m a le fe r ru le ) (5 /6 4 to p )

L I G H T S T I F F D R Y F L Y R O D

9 F O O T — 3 P IE C E — 6 S T R IP

B u tt S e c t io n

B u tt s e c t io n is to b e 3 6 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r r u le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n l y 3 5 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x tr a in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r ru le .

en d 5 1 /2 " 11 1 /2 " 1 7 1 /2 " 2 3 1 /2 " 2 9 1 /2 " 3 5 .5 8 3 " .173 .173 .173 .172 .166 .153 .142

( 1 8 /6 4 f e m a le f e r r u le )

M id d le S e c tio n

M id d le s e c t io n i s t o b e 3 6 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p t y s e a t o f t h e f e m a le f e r r u le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 5 .8 3 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x t r a 3 /4 in c h e s w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p t y s e a t o f th e fe m a le f e r ru le .

en d 53/4" 113 /4 " 1 7 1 /2 " 2 3 1 /2 " 2 9 3 /4 " 3 5 .8 3 3 " .142 .139 .136 .129 .116 .104 .094 ( 1 8 / 6 4 m a l e f e r r u l e ) ( 1 2 / 6 4 f e m a l e f e r r u l e )

T i p S e c t i o n T i p

s e c t i o n i s t o b e 3 6 .5 8 3 i n c h e s l o n g .

e n d 6 1 / 2 " 1 2 1 /2 " 1 8 1 /2 " 2 4 1 /2 " 3 0 1 /2 " 3 6 .5 8 3 " .094 .090 .085 .077 .067 .050 .039 ( 1 2 / 6 4 m a l e f e r r u l e ) ( 5 / 6 4 t o p )


L I G H T S T I F F D R Y F L Y R O D

8½ F O O T — 3 P IE C E — 6 S T R IP

B u tt S e c tio n B u tt s e c t io n is to b e 3 4 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t o f

th e f e m a le f e r ru le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 3 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x tr a in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r ru le .

en d 4 1 /2 " 9" 15" 21" 27" 33.583" .162 .162 .162 .161 .154 .140 .133

(1 7 /6 4 f e m a le f e r ru le )

M id d le S e c tio n M id d le s e c t io n is to b e 3 4 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t

o f t h e f e m a le f e r r u le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n l y 3 3 .8 3 3 in c h e s l o n g . T h e e x t r a 3 / 4 in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p t y s e a t o f t h e fe m a le fe r ru le .

en d 4 3 / 4 " 9 1 / 4 " 151 /4" 211/4" 271 /4" 33 .833" .133 .132 .128 .123 .114 .103 .086 (1 7 /6 4 m a le fe r ru le ) (1 1 /6 4 f e m a le fe r ru le )

T ip S e c tio n T ip s e c tio n is to b e 3 4 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g .

en d 5" 101 /2 " 161 /2" 2 2 1 /2 " 281 /2" 34.583" .086 .084 .080 .078 .064 .050 .039 (1 1 /6 4 m a le fe r ru le ) (5 /6 4 to p )

C R O S S D R Y F L Y R O D 8

F O O T — 3 P IE C E — 6 S T R IP

T h e s e m e a s u re m e n t s a r e b y th e c o u r te s y o f H a r o ld C . H o l l i s , f a m e d f i s h e r m a n a n d a u th o r . T h i s i s h i s f a v o r i te d r y f ly r o d .

B u tt S e c tio n B u tt s e c t io n is to b e 3 2 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t o f

th e f e m a le f e r ru le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 1 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x tr a in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r ru le .

end 5" 10" 15" 20" 26" 31.583" .191 .191 .164 .144 .124 .122 .117

(1 5 /6 4 f e m a le fe r ru le )

M id d le S e c tio n M id d le s e c t io n i s to b e 3 2 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t

o f t h e f e m a le f e r r u le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 1 .8 3 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x t r a 3 /4 in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p t y s e a t o f t h e fe m a le fe r ru le .

end 5" 10" 15" 20" 26" 31.833" .117 .115 .111 .106 .106 .095 .086 (1 5 /6 4 m a le f e r ru le ) (1 1 /6 4 f e m a le f e r ru le )

T ip S e c tio n T ip s e c tio n is to b e 3 2 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g .

end 5" 10" 15" 20" 26" 32.583" .086 .078 .065 .056 .048 .042 .039 (1 1 /6 4 m a le f e r ru le ) (5 /6 4 to p )


On the rod with a 6 inch grip, guides are spaced as follows. If rod is made with a 7 inch grip deduct 1 inch from measurements.

Butt guide 19ê inches from the end of grip. Middle section: 4 snake guides, guides 9, 7ì, 7ì and 7ì inches from

center to center from butt guide with rod assembled. Tip: 4 snake guides, guides 7ë, 7ë, 7¼ and 6¼ inches from center to

center from last guide on middle section with rod assembled.

LIGHT, STIFF, DRY FLY ROD


Butt Section Butt section is to be 32.583 inches long including the empty seat

of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 31.583 inches long. The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule, end 7" 13½" 19½" 25½" 31.583" .154 .154 .154 .150 .142 .125


Middle Section Middle section is to be 32.583 inches long including the empty seat of

the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 31.833 inches long. The extra 3/4 inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule. end 6¼" ll3/4" 16¾"' 21¾" 26¾" 31.833" .125 .124 .119 .117 .100 .086 .078 (16/64 male ferrule) (10/64 female ferrule)


end 4½" 9½" 14½" 20½" 26½" 34.583" .078 .078 .074 .066 .056 .045 .031 (10/64 male ferrule) (4/64 top)

MEDIUM ACTION DRY FLY ROD

8½ FOOT—3 PIECE—6 STRIP

These measurements were taken from a model of Heddon's Deluxe Peerless Dry Fly Rod. Line recommended is either a level E or double tapered HDH.

Butt Section Butt section is to be 34.583 inches long including the empty seat

of the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 33.583 inches long. The extra inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule, end 5" 10" 16" 22" 28" 33.583" .170 .170 .170 .163 .153 .146 .141


Middle Section Middle section is to be 34.583 inches long including the empty seat of

the female ferrule. The bamboo will be only 33.833 inches long. The extra 3/4 inch will be gained by the empty seat of the female ferrule.


end 5" 10" 16" 22" 28" 33.833" .141 .131 .125 .118 .106 .100 .094 (18/64 male ferrule) (12/64 female ferrule)


end 5" 10" 16" 22" 28" 34.583" .094 .082 .075 .063 .058 .048 .039 (12/64 male ferrule) (5/64 top)

CROSS SYLPH MODEL LIGHT DRY FLY ROD


These measurements are by the courtesy of Harold C. Hollis, famed fisherman and author. This is his favorite light fly rod.

Butt Section Butt section is to be 42.873 inches long, including the empty seat of the


end 7" 13" 19" 25" 31" 36" 41.873" .155 .155 .143 .135 .125 .117 .108 .102


Tip 'Section Tip section is to be 42.873 inches long.

end 7" 13" 19" 25" 31" 36" 42.873" .102 .089 .079 .068 .057 .047 .043 .039 (13/64 male ferrule) (5/64 top)

Total length of reel seat and cork grip is 8¾ inches. We recommend however, a seven inch cork grip on this rod. HDH line recommended for this rod even though you may think it too

heavy. Guides: Butt section, 1 stripping guide 29ê inches from the end of the

rod and one snake guide 10ê inches from the stripping guide. Tip Section, 5 snake guides 9¼, 77/8, 7ì, 7 and 6ê inches center to

center from the snake guide on butt section when rod is assembled.

LIGHT DRY FLY ROD 8

FOOT—2 PIECE—5 STRIP

Weighs 4½ ounces with Herter's accessories. Recommend either a level E line or double tapered HEH.



end 6" 1' 1½' 2' 2½' 3' 3½' 47.50" .159 .159 .159 .154 .154 .145 .137 .128 .117


T E S T E D S P E C IF IC A T IO N S FO R B A M B O O R O D S 173

T ip S e c t io n

T ip s e c tio n is to b e 4 8 .5 0 in c h e s lo n g . e n d 6" 1' 1½ ' 2 ' 2½ ' 3 ' 3 ½ ' 4 8 .5 0 " .117 .112 .100 .092 .080 .072 .060 .052 .040 (1 5 /6 4 m a le fe r ru le ) (5 /6 4 to p )

E N G L I S H A N D C A N A D I A N M O D E L D R Y F L Y R O D

1 0 F O O T — 3 P IE C E — 6 S T R IP (B u t t s h o u ld b e m a d e h o l lo w )

B u tt S e c t io n

B u tt s e c t io n i s to b e 4 0 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r ru le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 9 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x tr a in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le fe r ru le .

end 4" 8" 16" 22" 28" 34" 39 .583 " .204 .204 .204 .204 .204 .188 .180 .172

(2 2 /6 4 f e m a le f e r ru le )

M id d le S e c tio n

M id d le se c tio n is to b e 4 0 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le f e r ru le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 3 9 .8 3 3 in c h e s lo n g . T h e e x t r a 3 /4 in c h w i l l b e g a in e d b y th e e m p ty s e a t o f th e f e m a le fe r ru le .

en d 4" 8" 16" 22" 28" 34" 39.833" .172 .164 .157 .149 .141 .133 .126 .110 (2 2 /6 4 m a le fe r ru le ) (1 4 /6 4 fe m a le fe r ru le )

T ip S e c t io n T ip

s e c tio n is to b e 4 0 .5 8 3 in c h e s lo n g .

en d 4" 8" 16" 22" 28" 34" 40.583" .110 .102 .094 .086 .079 .063 .055 .047 (1 4 /6 4 m a le fe r ru le ) (6 /6 4 to p )

C R O M P T O N ' S T W O P I E C E D R Y F L Y R O D S

A l l s e c t i o n s o f a l l f o u r r o d s a r e in t e r c h a n g e a b l e a s t h e f e r r u l e i s t h e s a m e o n a l l r o d s . I f a l l f o u r r o d s a r e b u i l t , a c tu a l l y y o u w i l l h a v e s ix t e e n d i f f e r e n t r o d s . T h e s e a r e th e o r ig in a l R . W . C r o m p to n r o d s p e c i f i c a t io n s f o r t h e e i g h t f o o t f i v e s t r ip tw o p ie c e d r y f l y r o d a s g iv e n to G e o r g e L e o n a rd H e r t e r p e r s o n a l ly b y M r . C ro m p to n .

L is te d in fo u r d if fe re n t w e ig h ts to su it a n y sp e c ia l in d iv id u a l re -q u ire m e n ts .

8 FO O T — 5 ST R IP — T W O P IE C E D R Y F L Y R O D

R e g u la r W e ig h t

B u tt S e c t io n B u tt s e c t io n is to b e 4 8 .3 7 5 in c h e s lo n g in c lu d in g th e e m p ty s e a t

o f t h e f e m a le f e r r u le . T h e b a m b o o w i l l b e o n ly 4 7 .6 2 5 in c h e s lo n g .

T E S T E D S P E C IF IC A T IO N S F O R B A M B O O R O D S 179


FERRULE AND ROD MEASUREMENTS

Below are listed the equivalents of sixty fourths and thousandths for exact ferrule measurements and top inside diameter measurements. In buying ferrules the rod diameter should be the same measurement as the ferrule measurement. Remember the ferrule measurement is the outside diameter of the center of the male ferrule on conventional ferrules. Swiss type ferrules are measured on the inside diameter of the cap ends. In buying tops the rods should be the same diameter as the inside measurement of the top.

Equivalents

4th thousandths 64th thousandths 64th thousandths

1 .0156 22 .344 43 .6719 2 .0312 23 .359 44 .6875 3 .0469 24 .375 45 .7031 4 .0625 25 .391 46 .7187 5 .0781 26 .406 47 .7344 6 .0937 27 .422 48 .750 7 .1094 28 .438 49 .7656 8 .125 29 .453 50 .7812 9 .141 30 .469 51 .7969

10 .156 31 .484 52 .8125 11 .172 32 .500 53 .8281 12 .188 33 .516 54 .8437 13 .203 34 .531 55 .8594 14 .219 35 .547 56 .875 15 .234 36 .563 57 .8906 16 .250 37 .578 58 .9062 17 .266 38 .594 59 .9219 18 .281 39 .609 60 .9375 19 .297 40 .625 61 .9531 20 .312 41 .6406 62 .9687 21 .328 42 .6562 63 .9844

64 1.000

CHAPTER XVIII

PLASTIC TUBE FLIES AND STREAMERS FOR FLY FISHING AND SPINNING

The plastic tube flies and streamers are one of the great advances in fly fishing and spinning. These plastic tube flies and streamers are made by the following method.

Take a piece of rigid tubing about three thirty seconds of an inch in diameter and as long as you desire the fly or streamer body.

Grayling and Lake Trout taken on tube flies in Clarence Lake,

Alaska by J. P. Herter.

Take a small nail and heat it hot but not red hot. Stick the point of it into each end of the plastic tube and spin it around flaring out each end. Put one end of the tubing in your fly tying vise. Dress what-

ever fly or streamer pattern you desire on the plastic tubing starting at the head end first. After the fly or streamer is dressed remove the plastic tube from the vise and wrap a head onto the streamer or fly in the area that you used to hold the plastic tube in the vise while you dressed the fly or streamer. Now take a treble, double or single hook whatever you prefer of the size desired. Put it in your fly tying vise and wrap a tinsel body onto its shank and a few turns of soft

186 SECRETS OF PROFESSIONAL FISHERMEN

hackle at the head of the hook. Tie a suitable length of nylon leader material into the eye of the hook and slip the leader material through the hole in the plastic tube. Make a loop in the end of the nylon to attach your leader to.

Plastic tube flies and streamers are best for the following reasons. 1. The fly or streamer moves around slightly on the nylon leader

material giving them much more life than conventionally tied flies and streamers.

2. The hook is concealed much better than on conventional flies and streamers.

3. You .can tie larger flies or streamers without the weight of a long shanked hook.

For spinning or trolling in place of a plastic tube use a small diameter copper or brass tube to add a little weight for better spin casting or trolling.

JACQUES P. HERTER FLY FISHING SPINNING WOUNDED MINNOW STREAMERS

AND

These famous streamers are entirely different than any others. First you make a wire form as the illustration shows. Have an eye on each end. Put a treble, double or single hook in the rear eye and close the eye. For spinning use a steel or brass form as you can use

the added weight, for fly fishing use an aluminum form so that the streamers will not be too hard to handle. Take a piece of nylon leader material about six inches long so that it is easy to handle and tie it onto the treble or double hook right behind the eye. Run the nylon up through the eye of the hook and up through the eye in the wire form. Run the nylon down back through the eye in the hook and back up through the eye in the wire form three or four times or until the hook will stand out straight in back of the wire form without falling downward or sagging even a little bit. Now tie the nylon tightly down to the wire form shank, directly behind the wire form's rear eye.

We will tie for an example the famous Tusma wounded minnow streamer invented by Jacques P. Herter. This is one of the most effective streamers ever made.

Begin at the rear by wrapping narrow gold tinsel around the shank of the hook. Put two turns of blue hen neck hackle around the head of the hook. Tie off the head with black tying thread. Wrap the body of the streamer spirally with white, and blue and black medium sized chenille up three fourths of the length of the body and tie off. The last one fourth of the body make of medium size orange red fluor-

SECRETS OF PROFESSIONAL FISHERMEN 187

escent chenille. The wing make of black bear hair on top with medium blue deer tail hair on the sides and white deer tail hair on the bottom. All hairs tied on sparsely. Head black tying thread. Now take the streamer and put a slight bend in the shank of the wire form. Test the streamer in water. Keep bending the wire form shank until the streamer has a slow roll when retrieved. The slow roll imitates the slow roll of a wounded or dying minnow.

This Jacques P. Herter wounded minnow streamer will outfish any streamer made in the world by a wide margin. Fish will strike a rolling streamer when they will not touch a conventional one.

JACQUES FANCY BLUEGILL BREAM FLY OR

This fly has proven itself as the most consistently effective bluegill or bream fly ever made and is widely used from Texas to Minnesota for these fine fish. For their weight and size there are no fish that pull harder or fight longer than

a bluegill. They are a real fine sporting fish and a great fish for the fly fisherman. For eating there is no fish in the world that surpasses them not even the famed walleyed pike. Their flesh is very firm and has a delicate clean taste that simply can-not be bettered. Jacques P. Herter invented this famous bluegill fly. Here is the original pattern. Head: Black tying thread. Hackle: Red soft maribou taken from the

base of a large rooster neck hackle. It must be tied on in small sparse bunches. Body: Yellow fluorescent chenille.

Tail: A wisp of red soft maribou from the base of a large rooster neck hackle.

In fly fishing for bluegill? use as much care as possible. If you are fishing near weed beds or lily pads get in a position behind the beds or pads so that you do not disturb the bluegills and cast over the beds or pads into clear water pockets.

Remember in the afternoon the large male bluegills bite the best.

THE FABULOUS JOHN'S JOKE WET FLY

T. V. Sandys Wunsch is a retired officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and lives at present at Duncan, British Columbia, Canada. He is member in good standing of the Fly Fisher's Club of ^ ^-"~" London, England. I would say with- s<f}s:"£ 1gr~~ out question that he is Canada's most j&tS^'^^^ outstanding present day fly fisherman by a long, long, ways. *"%$*

In February 1946, he created a ^fc^'^H fly to imitate salmon eggs and called it John's Joke. In any area where trout of any kind or any other fish feed on salmon eggs this fly unques-


tionably is the best one to use. Fish it wet and leave it tumble down stream. If there is a trout or salmon egg eating fish in the area you will get him. Although this fly was made for trout fishing it is one of the most effective flies ever made for bluegills or bream in the afternoon and for crappies in the evening.

Head: Red tying thread. Hackle: White hen neck and sparse. Body: Made round like a salmon egg cloister and made of red

fluorescent chenille. For swift streams use, put a little lead wire under the body to sink it well.

Tail: Orange rooster neck hackle fibers.

WET TROUT AND PANFISH FLY TRICK

Sad but true ninety percent of our stream trout are hatchery raised. They are always fed some liver in the hatchery and never forget the smell and taste of liver. As a bait for stream trout liver is excellent. A piece of liver rubbed on wet flies will make stream trout take them when they would not touch the fly without the liver smell. A pound or two of ground up liver thrown into a pool as chum will get every trout in the pool in a feeding mood. They then will take most any wet fly or nymph with a liver odor dropped into the pool.

Although bluegills and crappies are not at all familiar with liver they too will strike wet flies that have been rubbed on a piece of liver and ground liver scattered over an area will concentrate them in the area quickly and hold them there.

HOW TO USE FLY ROD CORK AND FOAM PLASTIC BUGS FOR SPINNING

I learned this wonderful trick from Jacques P. Herter fishing "green trout" as the natives call black bass in parts of Alabama. We

were spinning for bass on a small Alabama backwater and not having


too much luck. Surface lures that we could cast were too large for the tastes of the bass that day. They would sometimes follow them or nose them but would not take them. Jacques put on a medium sized fly rod cork popper and pressed a carpet tack into its bottom to give it weight enough to cast. Almost at once he had a nice fat bass and limited out in a short time. I have since used this practical trick many times. A thumb tack or carpet tack or even a small nail works well. Just press it up into the cork or foam plastic fly rod bug and you can cast the bug with your spinning outfit. The bug with a tack in it does not of course ride quite as high as normally but this seems in most cases to add to its fish getting qualities rather than to detract from them.

FLUORESCENT RED ORANGE BAIT HOOKS

Red orange enameled fluorescent bait hooks will produce five fish to one over nickel, gold or bronze hooks. The red orange color can be seen for great distances and together with the bait on them fish tend to associate the red orange fluorescent color with blood and it makes them strike.

Orange red fluorescent enameled hooks work wonders on stream trout, salmon, crappies, walleyed pike, northern pike and muskies. In salt water fishing they produce unbelievably well on such fish as striped bass, snook, yellowtail, sea trout, sea bass, tarpon, tuna, etc.

HOW TO MAKE ALL FISHING PLUGS MANY TIMES MORE EFFECTIVE

Take a small piece of copper or brass wire and make an eye from it like the illustration shows. Take some Silhower ferrule cement or Dupont Household cement and cement the eye to the back of the

plug about in the "gill" region. Tie a piece of wool yarn as long as the distance from the eye to the end of the plug into the eye. For lake trout, steelhead, stream trout, and salmon and sea trout use


orange red fluorescent wool yarn. For walleyed pike, northern pike, crappies, black bass, use orange or purple wool yarn. For striped bass, yellowtail, snook tarpon, use red or purple wool yarn.

The wool yarn fluttering from the gill area gives the impression that the lure is bleeding badly and it will make fish strike when they definitely would not strike the lure without the blood like wool yarn fluttering from it.

Using a Lucky Martin plug Jacques P. Herter with red fluorescent yarn trailing from its back broke all catch records on salmon out of Seattle, Washington and all catch records on sea bass, snapper, and grouper out of Mazatlan, Mexico. George L. Herter has caught and released as many as 28 good black bass out of Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee in one morning with the wool yarn trick.

JACQUES P. HERTER TROLL

This is undoubtedly the most effective trolling system ever devised. Works perfectly on fresh water fish as well as on salt water fish. It

goes back to the proven principal that the thing that makes fish strike more than anything else is jealousy. George L. Herter spent nearly two years underwater studying fish. He found that jealousy would make fish strike whether they were hungry or not. He watched fish as they stared at a lure or bait. The fish had no intention of striking the lure or bait at all. Another fish would make an accidental move toward the lure or bait and without hesitation the fish that had had no intention of sriking it would strike at once.

With this in mind Jacques P. Herter invented the Jacques P. Herter troll. To make one proceed as follows. Take a length of suitable stainless steel leader wire anywhere from three to six feet long depending upon the size of fish that you are after. Put a ball bearing swivel and snap at each end. With a piece of chalk mark the leader in equal sections. Clamp a lead split shot onto each mark. Now take lengths of stainless steel leader wire from three to twelve inches long depending upon the size of the lures that you will use. Make an open loop eye in one end and put a swivel in it and close the loop eye. Make an open loop eye in the other end and put it around the leader shaft just ahead of a split shot and close the loop loosely around the leader wire. Put a similar piece of wire ahead of each split shot. Now attach a small length of nylon leader material to each swivel on the end of the wires and attach a plastic plug in a suitable size to the end of the nylon. Have the nylon the proper length so that the plugs will not tangle when trolled. Use plugs that are about one third smaller in length than the lure or bait that you use at the end of the main leader. For crappies, black bass, walleyed pike, northern pike, muskies, fly rod size plugs are excellent on the droppers. For salmon, use medium sized plugs on the droppers. For sailfish, marlin, sea bass, etc., use standard sized casting plugs on the droppers. Remove the


hooks from the plugs on the droppers if it is illegal in the area that you are fishing in to fish with more than one lure on a line with hooks, otherwise leave the hooks on the plugs. Thinfish, Lazy Ivers, and Pike Minnows all work very well on this troll. Best colors are red orange fluorescent, purple, silver or gold scale finish.

This famous troll makes the fish think that your main lure is chasing a school of minnows and fish will strike the large bait or lure at the rear of the leader to prevent it from getting at the minnows it is chasing.

The Jacques P. Herter troll works so well that it should be used with discretion.

PORK RIND TRICK FOR CASTING, SPINNING AND TROLLING

Undoubtedly one of the greatest fishing tricks of all time is the use of cloth or natural pork rind ahead of a fishing lure or bait. It gives the impression that the lure is chasing the bait and nothing

makes a fish strike like jealousy. I have spent as much as the most part of two years or better under water studying fish and have found definitely that fish will strike from jealousy more than from anything else. I have watched countless times as a school of fish stared at a lure going by or a bait dangling in front of them and never make a move for it. None of the fish would even seem excited about the lure or bait. Suddenly one fish would make a slight move in the direction of the bait or lure often just by accident. Immediately several fish would rush in and strike the lure or bait to make sure that the fish that moved did not get it. Whether the fish had full stomachs or not, made no difference at all. Jealousy of another fish getting the lure or bait would make them strike without hesitation.

In order to make fish jealous and to make them strike under all conditions you must have your lure chasing a bait or baits.

In spinning take a cloth preferably, or pig hide pork rind in spinning size and make a small hole in it with a pin or nail and thread your line through the hole, then tie on your leader and put your lure on the end of your leader. Do not put your line through the regular slot that comes in a cloth or pig skin pork rind as the slot is so large that it will allow the pork rind to slip over your leader and down to your lure. The pork rind must be at least six inches ahead of your lure and preferably 12 inches.

In bait casting put the pork rind on in the same way and use a spinning size pork rind also.

In trolling put at least one pork rind just ahead of your leader. If you take and put six or more pork rinds on your line about twelve inches apart ahead of your leader, you will have fabulous trolling with such a troller. The pork rinds give the impression that your lure is


madly chasing after a whole school of minnows. To attach pork rinds to your line put three small holes in the head of your pork rind with a needle or sharp nail in a lengthwise position and weave your line through the three holes. Do not tie the pork rind to your line with knots as knots greatly weaken your line.

This pork rind trick works on fresh water fish such as crappies, black bass, perch, walleyed pike, muskies, northern pike, white perch, stream trout, lake trout and on salt water fish such as salmon, striped bass, snook, sea trout, sea bass, yellowtail, tuna, sailfish and marlin.

Vary the size of the pork rind with the size of lure that you use but always keep the pork rind about half the size of your lure or smaller.

HOW TO MAKE JIGS FROM

REGULAR FISHING SPOONS

Jigging simply means putting a line with a jig on it over the side of your boat to the proper depth and moving it up and down leaving it settle back, or jiggling it up and down.

In salt water jigging, is an excellent way to take haddock, cod, red snapper, bass of all kinds and perch, etc. In fresh water jigging in open water from a boat or through the ice works very well for such fish as pickerel, northern pike, walleyed pike, and perch.

You can make excellent jigs from any metal spoon or wobbler. Simply remove the hook from the rear and mount it at the front. Put a piece of purple, orange, yellow or red cloth onto the wire or ring holding the hook or a piece of red fish gill, a piece of bird skin, a strip of red animal flesh, etc. all work well. The color purple usually attracts fish more than any other color by far.

BEST WALLEYED PIKE FALL LURE

In the fall of the year walleyed pike come into shallow water to feed. A small fly rod size thinfish or Lazy Iver cast and retrieved near the bottom will get these fish to strike everytime. Best colors are orange, red fluorescent or purple.

FROG SKIN MAKES EXCELLENT PORK RIND

The skin taken from the hind legs of a frog makes a very fine active pork rind and is much more effective than pork rind made from pig skin.


RUBBER LINE INSERT MOST EFFECTIVE FOR TROLLING

The West Coast commercial salmon trollers developed and proved that the rubber line insert was by far the best method for trolling and boating the most fish. The line inserts they use are 18 inches long and

about 6/16 of an inch in diameter. They take fish of over one hundred and fifty pounds with no trouble at all. The rubber line insert has a swivel on one end and a snap on the other. Put it about 25 to 100 feet ahead of your line. Simply fasten your line to each end of it.

A rubber trolling line insert has just enough stretch and pull back to set hooks perfectly and solidly and once a fish is hooked he just cannot get a solid direct pull. This makes the hook hold well. Until you have used a rubber insert for trolling you cannot imagine how really effective they are. A three sixteenths inch rubber leader is plenty strong for walleyed pike, lake trout and northern pike. Even walleyed pike with their horney mouth can't throw a hook with a rubber insert in your line. The 6/16 inch in diameter holds sailfish and mar-lin with no trouble at all and lets you land them on featherweight lines.

THE MAGIC COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN'S PLUG RING

Commercial salmon trollers have to make a living trolling for salmon. They spend their entire life studying how to troll. They have

developed trolling tricks that no one but them knows. My old friend Harry W. Hodge of Delfin Cove, Alaska has been a salmon troller all of his life and has developed the finest trolling techniques that I have ever seen.

Plugs as well as spoons are used by commercial salmon fishermen. The action of a plug or spoon is a very serious matter to them. The commercial trollers have proven that a plug or spoon must have just the right action to really boat fish. Years of testing have shown them just exactly what the right fish getting action of a plug or spoon has to be to produce at maximum.

On all plugs they take a split ring and put it in the front line eyelet of the plug. They then snap their leader to the split ring. The split ring allows the plug to have perfect free movement and hence perfect action. If you just snap your leader directly to the plug the plug does not have free movement and has poor action. This split ring on the front line eyelet makes all the difference from catching a lot of fish and not catching many fish. Be sure to try it on all plugs for troll-


ing, casting or spinning. Lets your plugs have even a freer action than fastening your line directly to them with no leader at all.

Incidentally the best producing plug for salmon is the clear red fluorescent large size Lazy Abner and the best producing spoon the Barbary Coast, according to Harry W. Hodge and he is certainly right.

KEEPING BRASS SPOONS FROM TARNISHING IN SALT WATER

Brass and copper spoons are by far the most effective for salt water use but are often not used because they quickly tarnish in salt

water. The electrolysis of salt water causes them to tarnish. To stop this tarnishing take a piece of plain iron stove pipe wire and make a ring of it around the ring that holds your hook to the spoon.

This iron ring will stop the tarnishing of the spoons entirely. This is an old Alaskan and west coast commercial salmon troller trick and you will find all commercial trollers doing this.

USE WOODEN PAIL TO KEEP SALT WATER SPOONS FROM TARNISHING

In using spoons for salt water trolling always use spoons that are half gold or brass colored and half nickel or silver colored or all gold or brass colored. Commercial fishing records of the past 50 years have proved the gold and nickel or all gold spoons the most effective for salt water use by far.

One good method to keep spoons from tarnishing when used in salt water is to keep them in a wooden or plastic bucket of sea water when not in use. If you put them in a galvanized pail they will tarnish immediately or if you put them in fresh water they will tarnish.

STRING OF BAT MINNOWS TRICK FOR

TROLLING

This trick originated in Newfoundland for taking tuna but works wonders on all fresh or salt water fish that you troll for. Take ten or more bait minnows. Take a large sewing needle and a length

of fishing line from three to twenty feet long depending upon the size of the minnows that you are using. Sew the minnows to the line by the lips. Sew them through the lips at least four times so that they will remain in position on the line. Space them so that there


is a gap between their bodies of at least three to twelve inches depending upon the size of the minnows. Put a metal wire lure spreader onto your line. Run one line off from your spreader with your plug, spoon or bait on it. Run the string of bait minnows off from the other end of the spreader so that it is about four feet ahead of your lure or bait. Be sure that the lure or bait is at least twice as large as your bait minnows. This gives the impression that the lure is chasing a whole school of minnows.

In salt water fishing for such fish as tuna, sailfish, marlin, etc. where your lure is fished relatively close to the boat run a separate line out behind the boat with the bait minnows sewed onto it and run your lure or bait on a separate line. You can see your lure or bait from the boat and adjust the line with the minnows on it so that they are off to the side a bit and the right distance ahead of your lure or bait.

TRICK ON HOW TO FISH STEELHEAD OR RAINBOW TROUT WITH SALMON EGGS

Tie a regular salmon egg hook onto your leader. Now tie a small loop in your leader right above the eye of the hook. Take a small tassel of orange red fluorescent yarn about a half inch long and put it in the loop and tighten the loop on it. Now put your salmon egg or eggs on the hook. The combination of the little orange red fluorescent wool yarn tassel and the salmon eggs works much better than just the salmon eggs alone.

LIVER AN EXCELLENT ALL AROUND FRESH AND SALT WATER BAIT

The liver of such domesticated animals as pigs, cows, and sheep and the liver of birds and wild animals makes exceptionally fine bait for both salt and fresh water fish.

Barracuda bite very well on about a two inch chunk of liver on a hook. Red snappers, striped bass, snook, all strike readily at strips of liver baited on a nook like a worm or bunch of worms.

Black bass, stream trout, bluegills, northern pike all hit strips of liver very well. Cut the liver into worm like strips or in pork rind like strips.

In winter fishing through the ice for bluegills and trout they hit liver many times when they will take nothing else.

USING GROUND LIVER TO CHUM BLACK BASS

Two or three pounds of ground liver will concentrate black bass in an area and will make them bite any fly or streamer that has been rubbed in liver and has a liver odor. Just scatter the liver over areas that bass are known to inhabit.

ATTRACTING FISH TO AN AREA WITH

GROUND LIVER

In winter fishing through the ice or spearing through the ice hang a cloth sack of finely ground liver down through the hole in the ice. It will attract every fish in the area to your spot.

In summer still fishing for such fish as crappies, bluegills, catfish, black bass, hang a cloth sack with several pounds of ground liver in it over the side of the boat. It will attract every fish in the area.


WINTER ICE FISHING FLIES RUBBED IN LIVER WORK WELL

In winter fishing through the ice flies rubbed in liver will take crappies and bluegills very well.

SPORTSMAN SHOW TROUT POND TRICK

In wet fly fishing and nymph fishing rub sliced liver on the flies and nymphs. Trout as well as panfish will strike them savagely when they will not go near them without the liver smell. Rubbing wet flies and nymphs in liver is in many cases the sole reason most guides and old time fishermen can so readily outfish novice fishermen.

At sportsmen's shows where they have artificial ponds of trout to catch with flies if you rub liver on the flies you can catch them as fast as you put the fly in the water. Without the liver smell these fish will rarely take a fly at all.

SOY BEAN MEAL WILL ATTRACT FISH TO AN AREA

To attract fish with soy bean meal proceed as follows. Take a sack of soy bean meal in any size from twenty five to one hundred pounds. Be sure that the sack is a gunny sack. If a tight woven sack, punch a few holes in it with a lead pencil. Tie a heavy rock onto the end of the sack and sink it in the area that you desire to fish in. Soy bean meal is very light and floats, it takes a real heavy rock to sink it. After twenty four hours start fishing the area. The soy bean meal will gradually seep out of the sack and attract small feed fish and insects which will in turn attract larger fish. Crappies, bluegills, blackbass, walleyed pike, northern pike, striped bass and stream trout will congregate in the area of the sack.

MAKING A FALSE HATCH

Jacques P. Herter and I were fishing brook trout in French Canada one summer. I was having very poor luck and Jacques was taking all the fish he wanted everyday. The streams were small and medium in size and the trout had been pretty well worked over. We were both fishing separate streams and did not see each other until we returned at night to our small motel. I was having such bad luck that I finally went over to the stream Jacques was fishing on to watch him fish. I sneaked up on him and learned how to really make a false hatch. Jacques would locate a pool that he knew held some fish. He would carefully walk up stream a hundred feet and scatter the entire surface of the water with mixed natural colors of wild duck breast feathers. Then he would quickly go down to the pool and wait for the feathers to arrive. When the feathers came to the pool he began tapping the water rapidly with a nymph. After about five or six taps he would let it sink and a trout would hit it everytime. I watched him for several hours then went back to our motel and waited for him to come in. When he came in I told him he better get me a supply of wild duck breast feathers for the next day too. It turned out he had gotten them from a pillow that belonged to one of the many very beautiful girls in the area. I am too old to go to such ends to catch trout.


USING UNDERWATER LIGHTS TO

ATTRACT FISH

Nearly all fresh water game fish as well as saltwater fish are attracted by underwater lights. Yellow, orange, and red lights work like magic. White lights not at all or very poorly. In order to get light under water you must use a gas and waterproof type of electric light fixture such as used in showers or in paint spray booths. The cord letting the light down into the water must be waterproof rubberized cord and all connections to the fixture must be carefully covered with waterproof rubber tape. You can use batteries or a small generator for the power source in your boat.

Japanese commercial fishermen now use underwater colored lights almost entirely to attract and congregate salt water fish of all kinds including salmon in areas for netting.

Colored lights quickly concentrate such fresh water fish as walleyed pike, black bass, northern pike, crappies, bluegills, perch, stream trout and lake trout and practically all salt water fish including tarpon, yellowtail, striped bass, grouper, snook, sailfish and marlin.

SURE TRICK FOR CATCHING WALLEYED PIKE AND NORTHERN PIKE FISHING THROUGH THE ICE IN THE WINTER

This young fellow has a twelve pound walleyed pike taken by the blood flag method through four feet of ice.

I learned this method of taking walleyed pike or so called yellow pike in Saskatchewan during the winter, fishing through four feet of ice. In winter fishing through the ice the water under the ice is of course very cold. This extremely cold water slows up the action of fish as well as their digestive system. A minnow eaten by a fish may lay in a fish's stomach for weeks without digesting in real cold water. Hence you have to have a lure that will really incite a fish to bite during very cold weather. The blood flag method just never misses in winter fishing for such fish as

walleyed pike and northern pike. Here is how it is done. Take a piece of light weight cotton percale cloth in orange color. Cut a small tapered piece off from it about two inches long and a fourth of an inch wide at its widest point. Take orange or red thread and with a needle put the thread through the widest end of the flag. Then sew the thread through the front of the large top fin or dorsal fin of a suitable minnow and tie the thread ends together. Leave about a half inch of thread between the fin and the orange flag. Hook the minnow as you desire and lower it to the right fishing depth. Weight the line so that your bobber barely floats. This way as soon as you get the


slightest bite on the minnow you will notice it. The orange flag trailing off the side of the minnow as it swims around gives the fish the impression that the minnow is wounded and they will strike it when they would not even pay any attention to a minnow without the orange flag.

WHEN THE ICE BEGINS TO LEAVE LAKES IN THE SPRING

When the ice begins to thaw out of the shallow bays of lakes in bluegill areas you will have wonderful fishing for them with wet flies or worms. Get your boat or canoe out into the bays just as soon as there is enough open water to float it.

In lakes with rainbow trout you will catch rainbows in the first open patch of water you can get your boat or canoe into. In Alaska I have had some wonderful rainbow fishing in small strips of open water between the ice in ice bound lakes.

FIRST DAY LAKES FREEZE OVER YOU CAN TAKE BASS AND BLUEGILLS

WITHOUT FISHING

In countries where lakes freeze over solidly, the first day the lake freezes over changes the water temperature quite suddenly. Some bass and bluegills caught in shallow water will float on their sides for a day right up against the ice. Take a hatchet or an ice chisel and chop a hole just ahead of them. Reach in the hole and grab them. We used to do this in Minnesota to lay in an early winter supply of fish for eating.

THE ONLY LAKE IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU CAN CATCH THEGOLD FIN TROUT

If you ever have an opportunity to go to Alaska be sure to take the time to catch some of their gold fin trout. They are the best eating trout to be found in the world. About half way between Anchorage

and Soldatna right on a good highway is a small little lake right alongside of the road. As you approach the lake there is a log cabin style of restaurant on one end of the little lake. Just back of the restaurant a small stream runs out of the lake and there is a small fairy story like cabin right on the edge of the stream. If you are a nice serious fisherman the proprietor of the restaurant will rent you the log cabin. If you are just out for a few days with some gal he

won't rent you the cabin. The lake and the stream are both full of gold fin trout and they are the only lake and stream in the world that has them. Gold fins do not


run too large but are great scrappers. Wet flies or tiny spoons are all you need to take them. They also take spent wing dry flies very well. You can take a fine mess of gold fins right out of the stream and into the cabin in less than ten minutes and have them frying on the stove before they stop wiggling. This is one of the world's most beautiful spots and I have seen a lot of them on all continents.

Jacques P. Herter and I went there for a day's fishing and stayed a week.

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY BEST FOR STEELHEAD IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

The months of January and February are by far the best for Steelhead in British Columbia, Canada. The weather is cold but the fishing fantastically good and well worth the inconvenience.

FRESH WATER CLAM EXCELLENT

BLUEGILL AND BREAM BAIT

If bluegills or bream will not take flies, which is rarely the case, use the following bait. Go along a sandy beach early in the morning and you will see lines in the sand under the water. These are fresh water clam trails. Follow a line until it disappears then dig down in the sand and you will have a fresh water clam. Open it up and cut out a small worm like piece from the yellow tough part of the clam. Use the piece for bluegill bait. Keep it vibrating slightly on your hook. Pieces of clam will catch more bluegills winter or summer than red worms, grubs worms or angle worms.

For winter fishing through the ice freeze clams in your deep freezer in the summer. Thaw them out in the winter when you want to use them.

CANNED SHRIMP AS BAIT

Canned shrimp are anything but cheap but do make excellent bait for both fresh and salt water fish. Buy the smallest kind and in broken pieces if possible as the broken ones are less expensive and work just as well. Winter fishing through ice use small pieces of canned shrimp for bluegills, perch, whitefish and walleyed pike, black bass and trout.

In salt water fishing canned shrimp are very good for almost all bottom and rock fish.

It is a good idea to keep a can of canned shrimp in your tackle box so that if fresh baits are not available you can always use the canned shrimp.

TAKING RAINBOWS AND DOLLY VARDENS ON

SALMON EGG CLUSTERS

If at all possible use fresh or frozen salmon eggs as they will catch ten fish to one over canned salmon eggs. Use a treble hook instead of a single hook if allowed in your state. A treble hook holds the egg cluster much better than a single hook. Take a piece of orange red fluorescent yarn and tie it onto your line just above the egg cluster. Trim off the ends of the yarn so that they are about an inch long.


STEELHEADERS SALMON EGG CLUSTER TIE GOOD FOR ALL SOFT BAITS

This method of tying on salmon egg clusters or soft baits requires the use of a hook with one or more slices on the shank to hold the main knot in place keeping it from sliding toward the eye of the hook.

1. Take a small piece of old scrap line or twine and lay it on top of the hook shank.

2. Wrap your leader material around the hook shank and scrap line and then pull the end of the leader material through the loops of leader material with the piece of scrap line.

3. Now thread your salmon egg cluster or soft bait onto the hook and put some of it in the loop and pull the loop up holding the bait in place.

USING SNAKES AND BIRDS TO CATCH TROUT

Take two or three dead snakes and wire their tails together. Hang them up from a branch or stick over a pool in a trout stream. If you can not find snakes to kill shoot some black birds and wire their feet together and hang them up over a pool, they work just as well. Blow flies will soon lay their eggs in the snakes or birds and the eggs will turn into maggots. The maggots will start dropping off into the water and the trout will collect to feed on them. Go up toward the pool after about three days and quietly drop an imitation maggot into the pool on a light leader and small hook. You will catch any trout in the area. Do not get close enough to the pool so that the trout can see you.

SECRET OF BULLHEAD AND CATFISH

COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN

Get a piece of old fashioned black stick type licorice candy. Cut off pieces of it a half to an inch long and put it on your hook like a worm. It will catch bullheads much better than other baits. Used with other baits such as worms, etc., it also greatly increases your bullhead catch. For catfish use a one inch piece of licorice on your hook plus your other bait. The licorice will increase your catfish catch about ten times. This is an old bullhead and catfish secret of commercial fishermen and the first time ever published.

NYLON STOCKING CHUMMER

For both fresh and salt water fishing an old nylon stocking filled with a can or two of cat food or ground up fish entrails works very well. Hang the stocking over the side of the boat down in the water at the proper depth. The water will dissolve the chum steadily giving


you a good chum slick. Works wonders on such salt water fish as blues, and weakfish and on fresh water fish such as crappies, bluegills and perch.

BEST LIVE CHUM FOR SALT WATER

FISH, SUCH AS TUNA

The best live chum for salt water fish when fishing from a boat for albacore and other tuna is anchovies. They tend to stay close to the hull of the boat and do not swim away thus bringing the fish in close to the boat and keeping them in close.

HOW TO CATCH ALBACORE AT NIGHT

West coast albacore are one of the few salt water fish that like to feed in the beams of an artificial flood light at night. You can easily locate feeding schools of Albacore at night with a flood light on your boat. Go right up to the school and hold the flood light on the school and chum them with live anchovies. You can catch them all night long if you want to.

LOCATING FISHING SPOTS BY NIGHT

Black bass fishing is often better at night than during the day. Crappies and walleyed pike are also good biters after dark. Bullheads and catfish bite very well at night. Finding just the right spot to fish at night can be difficult. Stick a mirror or piece of Scotch fluorescent tape to a tree or rock in line with a good spot that you have located in the daytime. Anchor out corked bottles with fluorescent tape on them in the areas you desire to fish in at night. You can spot the mirrors and fluorescent tape easily at night with your flashlight. In weed bed casting for black bass you can mark the outline of the weed beds with anchored corked bottles with fluorscent tape on them and work them just as accurately at night as in the daytime.

SECRET COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN WAY TO HOOK MINNOWS

In fishing all over the world I have seen minnows hooked in about all parts of their anatomy from the lips to the tail fin. In most areas minnows are usually

hooked through some part of the back. Hooking a minnow through any part of the back gives the minnow a tremendous shock as all of these back muscles are right near the sensitive back bone. How would you like to move with a hook in the muscle near your back bone? A minnow hooked through the back stays in a live minnow position but is not

active for too long a time. Every move it makes is a jolt to its nervous system. I learned how to hook a minnow to really make fish strike on commercial fishing boats fishing Albacore tuna off from the West coast. Here is how it is done. A school of tuna is located. Then live anchovies are thrown overboard to chum the school in close to the boat. When the albacore first come in they take feathered jigs readily but as time goes on the school will not take feathered jigs well and live anchovies have to be used to make them strike. The fishermen have experimented for generations on the best ways to


hook minnows to make the tuna bite the most. Every possible hooking position has been thoroughly tried. The one minnow hooking position that they have proven that catches fish much better than any other is as follows. Hook the minnow lightly under the hard plate just behind the minnow's gill. This does not hurt any of the fish's swimming muscles nor affect its nervous system. The hook being on one side of the minnow's body throws the minnow off balance and he swims like a crippled minnow but swims with great activity as its strength and nervous system are unaffected. Fish will always strike a crippled minnow first. Fish will pass up a hundred live active minnows in order to hit a crippled one. I have tried this proven method of hooking minnows on bass, trout, perch, crappies, walleyed pike, northern pike, muskies, lake trout, sailfish, and marlin and it always works by far the best.

I remember one winter day in Minnesota, Jacques and I were fishing walleyed pike on Mille Lac lake through the ice. We both caught the limit as fast as we could get our minnows down toward the bottom. There were actually dozens of fishermen all around us and not one of them caught more than one or two fish. All we were doing different was to hook the minnow under the hard area just behind their gills.

In Florida on sailfish Jacques set a world's record of 16 sailfish in one day simply hooking a bait fish as described and leaving it swim around the boat as the boat drifted. This method of hooking minnows is one of the greatest fishing tricks.

ALL COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN USE ELECTRICAL FATHOM METERS OR DEPTH FINDERS. THEY ARE A MUST FOR THE

SERIOUS AMATEUR FISHERMAN TOO.

Fishing is no longer an inexpensive sport. It pays to have an electronic depth finder as it will easily double your catch in either fresh or salt water.

Use the depth finder to tell you what kind of bottom you are over and whether it is flat, dished out or sloped. Do not particularly try to use the depth finder to locate fish. If you locate areas that fish like to inhabit the fish will be there. The only part of a fish that will return the signal of a depth finder is the fish's bladder.

Fish tend to be on sharp slopes, in holes, or gullies, around sunken boats or obstacles and in shallow areas surrounded by deep areas. Pompano, flounder and whiting for example move into flats at high tide and go back to the edges of channels at low tide. Halibut and sole like a flat surrounded by some deep water. Black bass love to hang in a hole or gully near a weed bed. Walleyed pike are found on the slope of a flat surrounded by deep water. With a depth finder you can easily find just where to fish.

I remember one spring Jacques P. Herter and I were hunting brown bear up on the Alaskan peninsula. Jacques killed two nice ones on my license and one on his as I was taking pictures and did not care to hunt. We went back to Anchorage and rested up a few days and visited friends. We decided to do a little bottom fishing so we drove down to Seward to fish for halibut and sole. In the fiord at Seward is one shallow flat about two hundred feet square four or five miles out. You never could find this flat except with a depth finder. We quickly located the flat with a depth finder. We fished with clams and caught halibut and sole as fast as we could get our


lines down. We had some nice halibut up to seventy five pounds. When we went back to Seward we found we were the only ones that had brought in a decent catch and we were the only ones with a depth finder. The halibut turned out to be very prime but the sole were all wormy and we had to throw them away.

HOW TO TIE LEAD SHOT OR EARED SINKERS ON A LEADER SO THEY CANNOT

SNAG

In fishing salmon eggs, worms, doughbaits, clams, etc., on the bottom, sinker snagging can be quite a problem. To eliminate this tie your hook to your nylon leader material then tie a loop in the other end with a simple double overhand knot but leave a five or six inch strand. On this strand put on your split shot or eared sinkers. If the sinkers catch on a snag as you pull on the line they simply

will slip off from the nylon leader material.

EMERGENCY CLEANING OF FISHING REELS

Many times a fishing reel will get sand in it or need a quick re-oiling or greasing. You often do not have the time or place to take the reel apart and wash it in a bowl of gasoline which should be done. You can just remove the side plates and squirt the gears and bearings and inside as much as possible with lighter fluid. The lighter fluid will dissolve out the grease and oil and float out the dirt. Then take Kleenix and wipe out the reel as much as possible and reoil and grease it.

HOW TO KEEP FISH OR MINNOWS ALIVE WHILE TRANSPORTING THEM OR IN BAIT

TANKS

You often want to transport minnows in your car or keep bait minnows alive in boat bait tanks or catch fish and transport them to your own private pond for stocking or for stocking other lakes or streams. Here is a very easy way to keep them alive during the transportation process.

Take an old automotive tire tube and fill it with air. Open the valve slightly and put a piece of rubber syphon hose over the valve and into the bucket or tank that you have your fish in. The air going into the water will give the fish oxygen. When the inner tube is empty simply pump it up again with a tire pump. Actually one filling of the inner tube will last for hours. For short trips a bicycle inner tube will serve the purpose.


PRECAUTIONS IN KEEPING MINNOWS

Always use a plastic foam minnow bucket and a foam cover on it. The plastic foam minnow bucket keeps the temperature of the water even. Minnows cannot stand sudden changes in temperatures.

Never use chemically treated water on minnows such as chlorinated water. Chlorinated water will kill minnows.

The cooler the water the less oxygen minnows need. Keep the water in your foam minnow bucket as cool as possible at all times.

A thermos jug with cold water in it makes an excellent minnow bucket.

CARRYING A WALKING STICK FOR FAST WATER STREAMS

When fishing streams with a very fast current be sure to make a stout walking stick from the limb of a good tree. Use it to brace yourself against the current as you fish and to feel your way along on the rocky bottom carefully so that you do not run into any holes or pockets. A swift stream can knock you over and drown you in a matter of seconds.

For example in British Columbia fishing steelhead in the winter you can run into some very bad swift water that requires all of your skill to stay in it and keep right side up.

WEAR POLAROID GLASSES FOR SHALLOW WATER FISHING

Guides and professional fishermen have long used Polaroid glasses to spot fish in shallow rivers and lakes. If you can locate a fish it is much easier of course to get him to strike than when you do not know his exact position. With Polaroid glasses you can see right down into the water and see the fish. With just your eyes or ordinary glasses the reflections on the surface of the water prevent you from seeing down into the water very well.

Using polaroid glasses to locate fish has been kept a jealously guarded secret by guides and professional fishermen. Polaroid glasses worn over your regular glasses or of course just alone work equally well.

I will never forget one trip with Jacques P. Herter fishing Atlantic Salmon in New England. Atlantic salmon in New England are not at all plentiful. Jacques was catching and releasing them one right after the other. The other fishermen on the stream just could not figure out how he was doing it. They tried to copy the fly he was using but to no avail, they still could take no fish. Jacques of course had on a pair of polaroid glasses and would go along the stream until he saw a fish and then put his fly practically in the fish's mouth enough times so that it would bite it to get rid of it.

NEVER USE LEADED GASOLINE IN OUTBOARD MOTORS

Lead compounds are used to control the rate of combustion in modern high compression automobile engines. This same leaded gasoline causes quick fouling of the spark plugs and piston wear when


used in outboard motors which are only two cycle not four cycle motors like automobile motors.

Always use unleaded gasoline in outboard motors. Always use oil to mix with the gasoline that contains no detergents or

inhibitors of any kind. These too will ruin your outboard motor.

EMERGENCY ANCHOR IN HEAVY WIND

If you get caught out in a heavy blow and your one anchor still allows your boat to swing dangerously downwind do as follows. Take your minnow bucket and tie it onto a rope or doubled fishing line and leave it out about twenty feet at the other end of the boat. The bucket will stop the dangerous swinging of your boat to a great degree.

MOVING YOUR BOAT INTO POSITION TO HOOK ONTO YOUR CAR'S HITCH

It is quite a job to pull your boat into position to hook onto your car's hitch if you have a large boat. If you have a well built child's wagon however it is no problem at all. Mount a hitch ball on a three

fourths inch plywood platform with two by fours on edge for the platform supports. Put the platform in the wagon and attach the trailer hitch to the ball on the platform. You can then pull the boat and trailer around very easily and hook it onto your car hitch with no trouble at all.

GET PASSENGERS IN THE BOTTOM

OF SMALL BOATS IN ROUGH WEATHER

If you get caught out in a small boat with passengers in rough weather have them sit in the bottom of the boat. The more of the


load weight in the bottom of the boat the more stable the boat rides and the harder it is to tip the boat over or to have it take on some water.

WEIGHTED BARBED WIRE KEEPS

POACHERS OFF FROM SPAWNING BEDS

Every sportsman's club should make a project of putting coils of heavily weighted barbed wire over part of the spawning beds of such fish as bass, bluegills and crappies. If you can keep fishermen off from fishing on part of the spawning beds you will aways have a lake full of fish. Nothing is as effective as weighted barbed wire. After poachers know that the weighted wire is on the spawning beds they will stop taking the fish off from their nests. Stops illegal netters also.

FISH TIRE OF SEEING THE

SAME ARTIFICIAL LURES

Both fresh and salt water fish in heavily fished areas see the same lures many times. Many of the larger older fish get so that they will not even bother to look at these frequently seen lures. Try lures that are not used in the area at all and you stand a far better chance of getting some really large old fish.

MAKE UNDERWATER BRUSH PILES FOR

SURE FISHING SPOTS

Sunken brush piles in both lakes and rivers not only make good spots to fish but actually increase the fish population of lakes and rivers. Small fish go into the brush piles to protect themselves from large fish. Underwater, nymphs and larvae and algae thrive in the brush piles feeding the small fish. Large fish congregate in the areas of brush piles hoping that the small fish will come out. The large fish are easily caught in such concentrations. When the small fish in the brush piles get large they come out and wait for small fish to come out and can easily be caught. Works in a continuous cycle.

To sink brush piles twist wire to the branches of the brush and put old pieces of iron or cement or rocks onto the end of the wire. Brush does not rot out quickly underwater and a good underwater brush pile will last for over twenty years.

Christmas trees make very good underwater brush piles and should be saved for this worthy purpose.

secret fishing tricks by g&j.herters

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