ANGLING ON THE BORDERS. 29 



whole of your flies must pass over the trout — as well 

 as the line — probably to the excitement of suspicion or 

 alarm. On approaching a pool, therefore, at the foot, 

 the first cast may be made straight up the side of the 

 bank on which you stand (or crouch, or kneel, which 

 are preferable attitudes), but the succeeding ones 

 should be more and more diagonal, until you throw 

 across to the opposite bank, or in the direction of it, if 

 the river is too broad for that. It is at the opposite 

 bank that you are to expect most fish, and if you are 

 fishing a stream which you cannot command from one 

 bank to the other, the best plan is to wade into the 

 middle, and cast across and upwards to the side. In 

 places where the water does not run into the bank, and 

 where it is shallow at the edges, deepening towards the 

 middle, trout do not lie at the side ; and to the middle, 

 therefore, especially to the eddy behind every large 

 stone, the angler should address his efforts : but these 

 are hardly the most favourable places for fly-fishing. 



A bad angler, however, usually chooses some such 

 smooth and equable stream, and keeps casting away 

 over and over the same spot, for hours together. He 

 has been told to fish his water inch by inch, and he 

 thinks it necessary to give every parr half-a-dozen 

 chances before he passes it. It is indeed the besetting 

 sin of anglers to linger too much over the water, and 

 to make long casts, which are as vain and profitless 

 as long prayers. Mr. Stewart (whose valuable in- 

 structions we are very imperfectly summarizing) re- 

 commends quick, almost constant casting, and rapid 

 movement from stream to pool, and from pool to stream. 

 In fishing up-stream, frequent casting is necessary, or 



