The Fishing of Rivers with the Wet Fly 79 



Once the general principle of a thing 

 is made thoroughly clear, details fall into 

 their places of themselves. Let me 

 follow up my illustration and show its 

 application. Suppose the angler has dis- 

 covered a pool or stream which he can fish 

 from the middle, casting on either side of 

 him, as well as in front. It is, of course, 

 only a kind of " general idea," which 

 must he continually subject to altera- 

 tions, since no large Scottish river runs 

 with a uniformly even flow, and the wind, 

 if it "lift up its voice," compels atten- 

 tion. May I now suggest to those who 

 believe in the "fine and far-off" theory a 

 few reflections which may prove interesting, 

 perchance also, instructive. It cannot be 

 too well impressed on the angler's mind 

 that, as trout lie with their heads up stream, 

 the aim of the angler should be to get below 

 them, and to cast his line upwards. If, 

 moreover, trout are lying close to the surface, 

 as they do during "the time of the take," 

 surely the first moments of each cast are 

 the most valuable. Grant this ; then 

 frequent casting is advisable when " a 

 birth" of the natural fly is strongly in 

 evidence. Kindly attend to my argument, 

 as I point out the well-known fact, that the 



