THROWING THE FLY. 93 



stand close by a tree on your right hand then, 

 as the course of the line forward (T E s) is 

 almost straight : by making the curvilinear cast 

 backwards, (N L T) over the left shoulder, (as in 

 fig. 14), you incur no risk (if you have confidence, 

 which is an important quality in this game) of 

 hanging fast in the tree when the fly passes for- 

 ward over your right side. So if the tree be on 

 your left you must adopt the change of throwing 

 shown in fig. 16. Attention to this rule will 

 enable you to throw between two bushes, where 

 there would not be sufficient space to do so, if 

 you stood midway between them. 



Whatever you do (in the words of Capt. Wil- 

 liamson, who has written with greater perspicuity 

 upon this subject than any author I have met 

 with) "Avoid, above all things, imitating the 

 motion of a whip ; for though the art is called 

 'whipping,' it differs widely from it, in regard to 

 the manner in which it is done. He who throws 

 his line back as a coachman does his whip, will, 

 like him, make it crack when it reaches its full 

 extent behind his back, losing many a good fly, 

 and coming forward again with such violence, as, 

 instead of alluring, will scare the fishes." 



To elucidate further the art of throwing the 

 fly, here is a diagram of the course it takes 

 through the air when properly thrown. 



