In view of this it is scarcely possible for one to recommend any particular length or weight of rod as being the most satisfactory and efficient. For small trout in small streams only the lightest tackle should be used for fly-fishing, either wet or dry. But, particularly with reference to casting the dry fly, it may be said that a fly-rod of from nine and a half to ten feet is the most desirable for streams of average size. While it is seldom necessary for the dry fly caster to cast any great distance, it is only in the longer rods that really good casting power can be obtained; and casting power, in view of the preferable use of a somewhat heavy tapered line and the constantly repeated process of drying the fly, Is very necessary.
The ten-foot fly-rod, other things being equal, is probably the most efficient tool for the dry fly fisherman. However, a nine-and-a-half-foot rod is a sweeter rod to handle, is suited to a greater diversity of trout waters, and, granting good material and action, is sufficiently powerful for average work--the foregoing, by the way, with the understanding that increased length spells increased capacity for handling the line, which certainly does not follow unless the rods are built on the same proportional dimensions and in proportionate weights. The five-ounce rod of the tournament fly-caster is a very different matter from the five-ounce rod of the average practical stream fisherman.
The rod for dry fly casting must not be too light in the butt; otherwise the rod will lack line-driving power; the tip, also, must not be too light and pliant, or it will result in the practical impossibility of lifting the heavy tapered line quickly and neatly from the water when a fair length of line is out. However, while a strong, speedy, and resilient rod is manifestly indicated, its action must not be too harsh--if possible the golden mean should be the final choice. The fly-caster should never lose sight of the fact that fly-casting, pure and simple, is by no means all of fly-fishing--that in the selection of the fly-rod its suitability to striking, playing, and landing a trout must receive careful consideration.
Fly-rods which answer all too strongly to the quick impulse of the angler's wrist when striking a rising fish are by no means rare. Bearing in mind the small flies and delicate leaders necessarily used in dry fly fishing, the result of striking too strenuously can easily be imagined, but the fault cannot be corrected if the use of a rod too stiff and harsh in action is persisted in. Moreover, during the process of playing a trout, it is essential that the rod give and take with the movements of the fish, exerting an even but not too decided strain. A stiff rod is a very risky one with which to play a fish; there is great danger of the unconscious employment of too much force; a trout even poorly hooked may usually be safely landed if delicately handled, but a fish quite firmly fastened can easily be lost if forced by the angler. A rod possessing just the correct degree of elasticity and resiliency may often offset errors of judgment on the part of the angler while playing a fish, but a rod of incorrect action can never be other than a handicap no matter how skilfully It may be handled.