Some Fishing Pretenses 



quire. To cast a fly well certainly 

 demands dexterity and careful prac- 

 tice. It is a matter of nice manipula- 

 tion, and a slight variation in execu- 

 tion is often apt to settle the question 

 of success or failure in results. It is, 

 besides, the most showy of all fishing 

 accomplishments, and taken all to- 

 gether it is worth the best efforts and 

 ambition of any fisherman. Inas- 

 much, however, as the tremendously 

 long casts we hear of are merely ex- 

 hibition performances and of but lit- 

 tle if any practical use in the actual 

 taking of fish, their exploitation may 

 be classed among the rather harmless 

 fishing affectations. There is a very 

 different degree of rankness in the 

 claim sometimes made that an expert 

 caster can effectively send his fly on 

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