68 TROUT-FISHING FOR THE BEGINNER 



ously mentioned, a dry fly is dressed on an 

 eyed hook, and so constructed that it will fall 

 upright on the water and float. It is gener- 

 ally used on pools, or glassy glides, where 

 the surface of the water is smooth, but, 

 contrary to general opinion, it can also be 

 employed in rough water, for wherever the 

 natural insect can float, there can the arti- 

 ficial do likewise. It is, in fact, possible to 

 fish successfully with a cast composed of two 

 wet flies and one dry, or two dry and one 

 wet, but as a rule a single dry fly is considered 

 sufficient, especially on the chalk-streams 

 of the south, which are the dry fly " purist's " 

 hunting grounds par excellence. 



The average wet fly outfit is not exactly 

 fitted for dry fly fishing ; still if the novice 

 possesses a stiff, resilient rod, he can try his 

 hand with it. A dry fly rod proper is a 

 powerful weapon, the power being required 

 to resist the strain of constantly drying the 

 fly after a cast, by whisking it through the 

 air. A 9-foot or 10-foot rod is amply long 

 enough. As a good deal of force is required 

 to drive the fly to the desired spot, a fairly 

 heavy line heavier than the average wet 

 fly line should be attached to the reel. 

 The tail end of the line, however, must be 

 quite fine, and is accordingly tapered. The 



