18 THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
that they are unrecognizable. In these pages, when the 
name is given of any fly described in Ronald's " Fly- 
Fisher's Entomology," it is intended that it shall be 
dressed after the directions therein contained. A more 
full description of the various flies, both in use and to be 
found in our waters, will be given hereafter with some 
directions for tying them ; but a great deal must be left 
to the practical experience of each fisherman, according 
to the range of waters he is in the habit of fishing. 
Good luck, that synonym for all the virtues, does not 
depend so much upon the kind of flies as the skill in 
casting, and a poor fly lightly cast into the right spot 
will do better execution than the best fly roughly cast 
into the wrong place. The lure must be put where the 
fish habit, often before their very noses, or they will not 
take it ; and when they lie, as they generally do in run- 
ning streams, in the deep holes under the banks, where 
the bushes are closest and cause the densest shade, it 
requires some skill to cast properly into the exact spot. 
Sacrifice everything to lightness in casting ; let the line 
go straight without a kink if you can, drop the fly into 
the right ripple if possible, but it must drop gently on 
the surface of the water. An ugly splash of a clear day 
in pure water, and the prey will dart in every direction, 
and the angler's hopes scatter with them. 
A beginner may practise a certain formula, such as 
lifting the line with a waive and a smart spring, swinging 
it backward in a half circle, and when it is directly 
behind him, casting straight forward ; but as soon as he 
has overcome the rudimentary principles, he should cast 
in every manner, making the tip of his rod cut full cir- 
