246 THE LEFT-SHOULDEK CAST EXPLAINED. 



against the water with the right hand holding the 

 rod above the winch, as when the left hand holds 

 it there. The second method of casting from the 

 right bank, and which is the proper one, I will 

 now explain. 



You hold your rod, the left hand being above 

 the winch, and the right one beneath it ; left leg 

 foremost, and left side towards the river. You 

 bring your rod round, by, over, and beyond the 

 point of your left shoulder, which motion will 

 carry the line to its full extent upwards over the 

 bed of the river, and feeling that the line is so 

 extended, you bring back a little, in the direction 

 you are going to cast, the point of the rod, and 

 making use chiefly of the action of the left arm, 

 you propel the line forward by a motion you give 

 the rod, as if you were going to strike at some- 

 thing hovering in the air before you. The for- 

 ward motion of the rod will be checked at a short 

 distance, unless you bend forward with it, and 

 the line will be sent straight out, the fly and gut- 

 line, to which it is attached, coming first in con- 

 tact with the water. Giving the arms and bend- 

 ing the body too much with the rod, in making 

 the cast, is a very bad habit, as it brings the point 

 of the rod too close to the surface of the water, 

 deadens its elastic and propelling action, and 

 causes the line to fall in a loose and slovenly 

 manner on the water. This left shoulder-cast is 



