Fishing rods are made of various lengths, according to the sort of fisli they are intended for ; those for salmon are about 18 feet long, those for trout 14 or 15 feet, those for pike the same as for salmon ; and for other fish, either the trout or the salmon, rods may be used ac eonling to their size and strength. All rods should be made to taper evenly from the buts ; and when not formed of pieces of the natural growth, which should al ways consist of ground shoots, they should be made of cleft timber, as sawed pieces can never he depended on. Ash, or hickory. are best for the lower joints, yew for the next, and the extremity of the top should always consist of whalebone ; the fewer joints used in the rod the more equal will be its elasticity in etery part ; some have the joints formed with screw ferules, and some with sliding connections retained by plain ferules ; but none are better for the elasticity of the rod, and for security, than simple spliced joints, secured by well waxed twine , some re commend those latter joints to be previ ously glued together, bethre the waxed twine Is applied, with feue prepared with strong lime water : bot It is obvious that the wet to which rods are exposed must render gltic of little nse : thick white pa:nt, or some of the varnish hereafter mentioned, would probably cement the pieces together more durably. Whatever may. be the number of permanent joints, the li,:ig rods need not be made to sepa rate into more than three long pieces, and a short top ; and the short rods into two pieces, and a short top ; the lower joint of trout rods should be bored hollow, to contain a second top; for every trout rod should have two tops made for it ; one very pliable for fly fishing, and the other stiffer for bait ; the top not in use will be conveniently and safely kept in the hol low but. The rod should he furnished with rings for the line to pass through, front the top to within two feet of the reel ; and when it is completed, it should be well varnished over with a varnish foim ed by boiling a little scraped Indian rub. ber, or coutchouc, in halls pint of drying linseed oil till it dissolves ; the varnish should be skimmed, and be used warm. The rod, after being varnished, should be laid aside till quite dry ; the varnish will then appear on it like a fine thin bark, will be very dtu-able, and will preserve it from being worm eaten, and from other injuries. The hollow part of the rod should be rubbed inside with linseed oil, three or four times each year, which may be done by a rag dipped in the oil, and tied to the end of a stick.
Hair lines should be long, round, clear, and free from knots, frets, or scales. For fly fishing, a line should be prepared from nine to twelve yards long, gradually ta pering to the extremity. It is formed of a number of links of ihair, twisted first, and then knotted to each other. The four lowest links consist of three hairs each, with the weak tops cut off all of a length; the next four links have four hairs each ; the third four links five hairs; and so on till the line is completed. The links are to be knotted together with the fisherman's or water-knot ; the short ends of the hairs are to be cut off pretty close to the knots, and the knots to be whipped over with well-waxed silk. A loop should be made at each end of this line : the upper loop to fasten it to the end of thc running line at the top of the rod, and the lower loop to fasten the lower links to, which should never con sist of more than two or three, of either gut or hair, for fly or bottom fishing.
The best colours for lines are pale bluish, green, or watery grey, and light bay.
Running hair lines, or those all of one thickness, are made on engines prepared and sold atthe fishing-tackleshops. They may likewise be made by passing hairs through three short tubes maxl‘i of quills or reeds, secured by pegs at the lower ends. The hairs are to be knottedto_ge ther at the top, and the quills being then turned round all together between the fingers, will form an equal twist above them ; which being drawn out, according as the quills are turned round, make the line, fresh hairs being still put into the quills at the lower ends as the upperhairs are worked into the line.
The most excellent hooks are those made of the b est ternp ered fine steel wire, longish in the shanks, and strong and ra ther deepish in the bend ; the barbs well formed, and the point fine and straight, and as true as it can be set to be level with the shank, which lastfor fly fishing should be tapered off to the end of it, thatthe fly may be finished the neater. Hooks made in this manner, so as to lie all in one plane, are much better thantwisted so as to pro ject at one side : they do not make so large an orifice when the fish is hooked, nor are they so liable to break the hold as the others. The two kinds being fairly tried against each other for several sea sons, considerably more fish were missed in the rising, and in biting at the bottom, and much more lost after being hooked with the crooked hooks, than with those above recommended. The best hooks of the kind are made in Limerick.
Floats for angling are made of many kinds, as of swan quills, goose quills, Mus covy duck quills, and porcupine quills. The first is the best, when light baits are used in rivers or deep waters, and the others for slow water, or ponds not very deep. For heavy fishing, with worms or minnows, a cork float is best, made of a pyramidical form, with a quill placed in it lengthways for the line to pass through. Quill floats must carry shot enough to sink them, so as that the top may appear above water, that the slightest nibble may be better perceived. The cork floats should have sufficient shot placed beneath them on the line, to make them stand upright when the shot is off the bottom, by which it may be known when the shot is on the ground ; for then the float will fall on one side, and no longer stand upright.
Angling has been divided, by those who have written on the subject, into many other kinds besides those mentioned. Of these, float angling and ground angling may be easily understood from what has been mentioned already. Night angling is performed nearly in the same way as 'day angling; but in it the larger and more conspicuous bait, such as garden worms, snails, and minnows, are best Some lay long lines in rivers at night, with short lines, furnished with hooks attached to them at certain intervals ; and some use lines fastened to floats of various sorts ; but these modes of fishing can scarcely be called angling, properly speaking. The largest and finest fish are often caught by these methods.