280 Fly-rods and Fly-tackle. 



him into barren water as soon as possible, following him 

 still, if you can, under cover of your blind. A very 

 slight cover and the avoidance of quick motion are suf- 

 ficient to insure success, if the fish are disposed to feed. 



Perhaps it may not be out of place to narrate exactly 

 under what circumstances this addition to the present 

 chapter was decided upon. 



John and I were fishing for large trout at the outlet of 

 a lake in North-western Maine. The wind drew up the 

 outlet with sufficient force to make it advisable to anchor 

 our boat pretty well down, and cast up into the lake. 

 The strait was shallow, but the water rapidly deepened 

 within the lake, forming a horseshoe-shaped bar, the con- 

 vexity towards us, over the edge of which I cast into the 

 deep water and drew my flies towards the shallow. The 

 fishing was not very fruitful, but still it was a recognized 

 haunt of large trout, and one might be expected at any 

 moment. Soon a new-comer approached with his guide, 

 skirmished around the shore of the lake so as not to dis- 

 turb the water, anchored near us, for there was plenty of 

 room for two to fish, and began to cast. He was a su- 

 perb caster. As he sat in the boat, his flies soon touched 

 the water at a distance I then estimated at not less than 

 seventy feet from him. 



There was no bungling about it; his flies went out be- 

 fore and behind as fair and straight as it is possible to 

 cast that length of line under like conditions. He was 

 clearly a master of the art. For about half an hour he 

 ranged his flies over that water, at distances varying from 

 fifty-five up to, I believe, over seventy feet. He got no 

 rise, became discouraged, pulled up his anchor, and moved 

 to seek better fortune elsewhere. 



" That was elegant casting, John." 



