24 THE STRAIGHT RIGHT-SHOULDER CAST. 



beneath the right bank of a river, and have behind 

 you impediments to a right-hand sweep of your rod 

 and line. If the right bank be flat or shelving — if 

 it be clear of obstructions — I can see no material 

 objection to right-shoulder casting from off it. 



The stniight right-shoulder cast is done thus : 

 the right hand holds the rod above the winch, 

 the left below it ; the right side is next the river, 

 and, of course, the right foot is foremost. You 

 bring your rod and line boldly and freely in a 

 fine, easy, wide, semicircular sweep over your 

 right shoulder, and then you send them forwards 

 by communicating to the right fore-arm sharp 

 action, as if you were going to hit something ele- 

 vated before you with the soft part of your closed 

 hand, on the little finger side. If all this com- 

 pound action — bringing back the rod and line 

 over the right shoulder, and then sharply sending 

 them forward — be performed dashingly and 

 energetically, without nervousness, stint of sweep, 

 and strength, your fly will be sent straight away 

 to its destination, similarly to, but not so swiftly 

 as, an arrow shot from above at an object sitting 

 beneath you on the water, at a distance of ^ve- 

 and-twenty or thirty yards. The straight casts, 

 whether from the left or right shoulder, are, gene- 

 rally speaking, the best. At any rate, executed 



