79 



are not fishing with your other flies too deeply 

 immersed in the water, and as you will be 

 enabled to judge of the exact position of your 

 casting-line. Besides, by keeping your nearest 

 dropper in the position recommended, you will 

 the more readily perceive a fish rise, and have 

 a fairer chance of striking him promptly and 

 successfully. In fishing, particularly for gray- 

 ling, miss no part of the stream, however shal- 

 low, but fish it carefully inch by inch. Never 

 neglect those little partial streams, caused by 

 small obstructions in the bed of the river, and 

 which are often to be found a little above the 

 formation of the head of a rapid current. It is 

 scarcely necessary to add, that in the curls and 

 eddies so common at the tails of sharp streams, 

 the best fish frequently lie. It is complete 

 loss of time to fish with artificial flies in pools, 

 and where the water runs deep and smooth, 

 unless the day be dark and windy, and a nice 

 curl on the surface. On such days, if the fish 

 be in rising humour, stick to the deeps, and 

 you may be sure that you will catch few fish 

 that are not large ones. If you see a fish rising 

 at a natural bait, or if he rises at your fly with- 

 out taking it, try him two or three times by 

 casting your flies as lightly as may be a couple 

 of feet higher up than the spot where he rose. 

 He will not be tempted ; press him no longer, 



