THE BACK-HANDED CAST DESCRIBED. 245 



to that side over his right shoulder, rod and line, 

 without causing them to come into collision with 

 the impediments behind him on his right ? He 

 can do so in two ways the first in greater part 

 wrong, the other perfectly right. The first and 

 imperfect way, I call the back-handed cast. It is 

 performed thus : the point of the rod held nearly 

 perpendicularly up before you the forward and 

 upward slanting direction being very slight indeed 

 the point of the rod is swept to the left, and 

 with it the line, to its entire development ; then 

 the hands, no, not both, but the right one, 

 wrist, and fore-arm, are turned over, backwards, 

 to the right, and the rod brought round in the 

 same direction ; the line is turned over circularly, 

 and propelled down or obliquely across the current. 

 I frequently throw in this way, for the purpose 

 merely of easing the arms, fatigued from the mo- 

 notonous action of throwing over-hand from the 

 right or left shoulder. It will be seen that the 

 effect of this throw will be to carry the line clear 

 from the bank behind, up and over the river, and 

 then to bring it back over the current's course, 

 and cause it to alight down stream to the right. 

 Notwithstanding, the action of the arms must be 

 cramped, for it is reversed in the over-handed 

 throw, and the cast must be very limited in ex- 

 tent. Besides, when fishing from the right bank 

 of a river, the fly can never be so neatly worked 



