30 THE BORDER ANGLER. 



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 

 the line floats down past the angler. But the trout 

 often rises to the fly the moment it falls, and it is 

 undesirable to let the line float for more than three or 

 four yards, each cast being made a yard or two above 

 the preceding one. The eye of the experienced angler 

 at once detects the points of each stream and pool, and 

 he does not waste time by casting in water where 

 trout do not ordinarily feed, but having brought his 

 fly in behind every stone, below every bush, and past 

 every tuft of grass, he passes on to other favourable 

 places. Fly-fishing, indeed, or any kind of fishing 

 if the angler makes up his mind to fill his pannier is 

 hard work. What his hand findeth to do, he must 

 do with his might, confident that skill and diligence 

 will meet their reward. Unless a stream is remark- 

 ably well stocked with trouts, and singularly adapted 

 for the catching of them, the angler in a full day's 

 fishing ought to pass over from four to seven miles of 

 water. It is waste of time to fish all the water it 

 is folly to repeat casts, except where there is some 

 special temptation and, when the take is not on, 

 there are but a few trouts here and there, stationed 

 where the angler's eye ought readily to direct him, 

 that are feeding. When the take is on that is, when 



