TROUT FLY-FISHING IN AMERICA 



Success in fly-fishing means just one thing, and only- 

 one thing, and that is the angler's ability to catch, not 

 needlessly kill, game fish with light tackle and the arti- 

 ficial fly; and it really matters not at all to which class 

 such an angler is said to belong by any writer on the sub- 

 ject, including myself. 



The all-important point to consider is how the begin- 

 ner can become a successful angler instead of an unsuc- 

 cessful one. 



To every beginner in the art of fly-fishing, I say, that 

 he can become a successful angler with patience and per- 

 severance, provided he has or can develop what is termed 

 "fish sense," and to a certain degree "mechanical sense," 

 but in no other way. 



At the outset the beginner should be very careful to 

 differentiate between the art of fly-fishing and the art of 

 fly-casting, otherwise much will have to be unlearned be- 

 fore the goal of the successful angler is attained. 



By this I do not wish to imply for a moment that good 

 fly-casting is not a very important requirement in the art 

 of fly-fishing, because it is of great importance, but I am 

 desirous of impressing upon the beginner that the casting 

 of the wet-fly is not all there is to this method of fly-fishing. 



Strange as it may seem to many beginners, the fact still 

 remains that good tournament casters are seldom success- 

 ful fly fishermen, and the very few who are only go to 

 prove the rule. 



Samuel G. Camp, in his book entitled "The Fine Art 

 of Fishing," says on pages 65 and 66 as follows : 



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