24 HUMOURING THE FLIES. 



Eepeat your cast, moving one step higher up, still 

 keeping as far as you can from the water-side. 

 When you have fished that nearer side sufficiently, 

 approach the bank, coming down again to the 

 tail-end of the stream, throwing as far as you 

 can across it, humouring your flies as in the first 

 instance, not drawing them directly across to you, 

 but floating them lightly down the stream, until 

 your line begins to grow taut, and the stream has 

 a drag upon it, when you must repeat your cast, 

 a little higher up the stream than before. Pursue 

 this plan until you have fished the stream as 

 widely from you as you can, and up to its head 

 formation. I well know this method will be 

 deemed by many too stringent. Never mind : 

 when you are out of your apprenticeship, you can 

 act more freely. 



The objections to fishing a stream in the above 

 way are, that by so doing you expose your back 

 and side too much to the fish above you, and you 

 lose too much time and ground by this backward 

 process. In my opinion, these objections are not 

 fatal. If you keep a proper distance from the 

 side of the stream, you will obviate the first ob- 

 jection. The second I think of little moment; 

 for sometimes you cannot fish too carefully or too 

 slowly, inch by inch, especially if the stream be 

 a choice spot, and fish upon the rise ; whilst, un- 

 der contrary circumstances, your progress may be 



