118 THROWING THE FLY, 



this other diagram (Fig. 20), and you perceive 

 you have precisely the same plan to pursue, still 

 commencing at z, and taking the smallest seg- 

 ment 1, first throwing to A, and ending at o,. 

 with segment 3. Pursuing this plan, which 

 speaks for its own correctness, let me ask, what 

 danger is there that the reel-line shall scare the 

 fish, so as to deprive you of sport ? None ; be- 

 cause your fly has always given it the lead and 

 been before it, the space within the first segment 

 being the only inch of water that will not have 

 been traversed by it in the first instance, and 

 before other parts of the line have shown them- 

 selves to the fish. Almost all authors on angling 

 content themselves with telling you, " to let 

 your line fall lightly as possible on the water;" 

 but they evade describing how you are to manage 

 it. Captain Williamson certainly, in this parti- 

 cular, bears out the character for honest endea- 

 vours, which I have already ascribed to him. He 

 says, " as you feel the line getting into its proper 

 direction, carry forward your arm with an easy 

 movement, until your hand is on a level with your 

 shoulder. By this means, the little inclination 

 the fly might have to tug, and consequently to 

 be checked short (remember Mr. Shipley's "sud- 

 den check !") when the line acquires the full 

 extent will be totally prevented ; especially if 

 you yield a trifle more by lowering your hand 



