102 THROWING THE FLY. 



the act of running and his legs were caught 

 unawares by a noose thrown round them. Do 

 not forget that the check is but momentary ; for 

 the instant after, the rod must gently continue 

 its course in the same direction, else the top of 

 the rod will also rebound, and for that and the 

 other reasons I have already mentioned, the 

 line and fly will be improperly checked. As 

 to the positions of the rod when the springs 

 are given, they will vary according to the length 

 of line engaged. Look again at the diagram I gave 

 you of the fly's course (Fig. 17.), r a is the perpen- 

 dicular to the level x c m, on which the thrower 

 stands. I have told you that the springs should 

 be made when the rod is at right angles with the 

 fishing-line, as in a b c in the cast backwards, and 

 J I A in that forwards, and that is because the 

 spring, given in that position, has greater influence 

 over the line. If the backward spring were given 

 with the rod, as a o, and the line were stretched 

 from o to M, independent of the attraction of the 

 water on the m end, the direction of the spring 

 would be at right angles with a o, namely towards 

 R, and if the fly ever got there (which it never 

 could because the line o m is so diametrically 

 opposite to o r), the next difficulty would be how 

 to get the line stretched so as to give the fly a 

 sudden impulse necessary for the throw forwards 

 ■ — a difficulty not to be surmounted. The same 



