Casting the Fly. 271 



who can lay out a fair, straight, and light line to that 

 distance, not once, but time and time again in succession. 

 And let me assure you that very few proficient anglers 

 can do this. Not that they could not readily attain this 

 and more with practice, but simply because all the cast- 

 ing they do is done in actual fishing ; and those who 

 really understand themselves then proportion their means 

 to their ends. Nevertheless, though to be able to cast a 

 long line will, perhaps, make very little difference in the 

 number and size of the fish taken at the end of a season, 

 it certainly adds a very elegant finish to the angler's ac- 

 quirements, just as a fine steeple adds to the beauty of 

 a church. Having mastered thoroughly forty feet, so 

 that the rod and line work with the precision of a ma- 

 chine, then comes the strike. 



In swift water the fish generally hook themselves, but 

 not so in still water. Here the strike must follow the 

 rise, as its shadow follows a cloud. This too may be ac- 

 quired without approaching the water, and must be prac- 

 tised until purely automatic. To acquire this the caster 

 must cast, draw his line towards him, trailing it on the 

 ground, and at the word " Strike !" from the coach, re- 

 trieve the line at once. The coach should use care to 

 give the word at irregular times, so that the caster may 

 not anticipate him. When considerable skill and prompt- 

 ness in response has been acquired, the coach should 

 abandon giving the word, and signal the proper moment 

 by dropping a pebble on the paper, standing close to it 

 for this purpose. The instant the pebble falls, the strike 

 should follow. Strike lightly if you can, but at all events 

 strike quickly. 



In actual fishing, strike with the line, free to render 

 from the reel, and thus compensate for undue violence. 



