58o OCEAN, .LAKE, AND RIVER. 



water gently alike. Two flies, four feet apart, are enough at any 

 time, and where there are weeds, bushes or snags, or the trout 

 heavy, it is wise to use only a single %. The chance of hooking 

 your fish is increased when two flies are on, but the chances of 

 landing them are much diminished. It is unpleasant to catch a 

 weed with one hook and a fish with the other, or to have two heavy 

 fish run contrariwise and carry off your line. Three flies are ad- 

 missible only when the camp is out of provisions, or the trout 

 weigh no more than ninety to the quart. The landing net 

 should be deep and baggy. The most convenient are made upon 

 a brass frame with hinges, so as to fold into a very small compass. 



In fishing a stream, it is sometimes necessary to pass through 

 thick brush. This can be done with dexterity, if the angler hold 

 his rod horizontally, pushing it through, but or tip foremost, accord- 

 ing to circumstances, the former being preferable. Having ap- 

 proached the bank, select your casting place with judgment ; we 

 mean the spot which you propose to test for a rise. A previous 

 knowledge of a stream gives one a great advantage everyway, by 

 enabling him to approach so as not to disturb the fish, and also to 

 waste no time in testing inauspicious or improbable places. 

 Choose also where you will land your fish, and determine how to 

 provide for any emergency that may arise. Having calculated the 

 length of the line you propose to cast, see that you have room 

 enough for your back line, so that you may avoid being hung up 

 in trees or caught in a rock or stump. Note the sun, and observe 

 that your shadow does not fall on the water. If it be a bright 

 calm, don't be in a hurry to cast, but wait for a ripple on the water, 

 or for the sun to go under a cloud, as your chances for a rise are 

 thus increased ten-fold ; always remembering that in trout-fishing 

 nothing is gained by being in a hurry. If the wmd blows briskly 

 in your face, don't attempt to cast against it, as your flies will only 

 get into the trees, but select a bend in the river, or wait for a more 

 favorable opportunity. If you wish to cross a stream to change 

 position, walk to the nearest shoal and wade to the opposite side. 



When everything is auspicious and you are ready to cast, 

 grasp your rod in the right hand above the reel, and hold the 

 stretcher fly lightly between the thumb and fore-finger of the left. 

 Then throw up the tip of the rod gently, at the same time letting 



