22 THE BACK-ITANDED CAST DESCRIBED. 



way, I call the back-handed cast. It is performed 

 thus : — the point of the rod held nearly perpen- 

 dicularly up before you — the forward and up- 

 ward slanting direction being very slight indeed — 

 the point of the rod is SAvept to the left, and with it 

 the line, to its entire development ; then the hands, 

 — no, not both, but the right one, — wrist, and 

 fore-arm, are turned over, backw^ards, to the right, 

 and the rod brought round in the same direction ; 

 the line is turned over circularly, and propelled 

 down or obliquely across the current. I fre- 

 quently throw in this way, for the purpose merely 

 of easing the arms, fatigued from the monotonous 

 action of throwing over-hand from the right or 

 left shoulder. It will be seen that the effect of 

 this throw vv'ill be to carry the line clear from the 

 bank behind, up and over the river, and then to 

 bring it back over the current's course, and cause 

 it to alight down stream to the right. Notwith- 

 standing, the action of the arms must be cramped, 

 for it is reversed in the over-handed throw, and 

 the cast must be very limited in extent. Be- 

 sides, when fishing from the right bank of a 

 river, the fly can never be so neatly worked 

 against the water with the right hand holding 

 the rod above the winch, as when the left hand 

 holds it there. The second method of casting 



