THE LEFT-SHOULDER CAST EXPLAINED. 23 



from the right bank, and which is the proper one, 

 I will now explain. 



You hold your rod, the left hand being above 

 the w^nch, and the right one beneath it ; left leg 

 foremost, and left side towards the river. You 

 bring your rod round, by, over, and beyond the 

 point of your left shoulder, which motion will 

 carry the line to its full extent upwards over the 

 bed of the river, and feeling that the line is so 

 extended, you bring back a little, in the direction 

 you are going to cast, the point of the rod, and 

 making use chiefly of the action of the left arm, 

 you propel the line forward by a motion you give 

 the rod, as if you were going to strike at some- 

 thing hovering in the air before you. The for- 

 ward motion of the rod will be checked at a short 

 distance, unless you bend forward with it, and 

 the line will be sent straight out, the fly and gut- 

 line, to which it is attached, coming first in con- 

 tact with the water. Giving the arms and bending 

 the body too much with the rod, in making the 

 cast, is a very bad habit, as it brings the point of 

 the rod too close to the surface of the water, 

 deadens its elastic and propelling action, and causes 

 the line to fall in a loose and slovenly manner 

 on the water. This left-shoulder cast is only 

 absolutely necessary when you are fishing from 



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