Trottt Wet-Fly Fishing. 



65 



as it will be, despite all efforts, a 

 gentle forward cast is not so likely 

 to crack off the fly. 



The direction of the wind has 

 also to be studied. If it is bear- 

 ing to the left of the body, the 

 line is recovered from the water 

 by raising the rod over the right 

 shoulder ; if it blows to the right, 

 the rod is brought over the left 

 shoulder. Attention to this will 

 prevent fouling, and the fixing of 

 the flies in sundry parts of the 

 angler's person, possibly his ear. 

 To cast the flies lightly, care 

 must be taken not to let the top 

 of the rod drop too low. The 

 secret lies in arresting the move- 

 ment of the rod. Between B and 

 B 1 , for example, let the forearm 

 be abruptly stopped at B 1 in the 

 backward cast, and at B in the 

 forward. This movement shoots 

 the line forward, and allows the 

 flies to drop gently on the water. 

 Do not shoot the flies into the 

 water, but over it. To prove 

 tempting they should fall light as 

 thistledown ; any splashing is 

 likely to create suspicion and 

 scare the quarry. 



To effect the longest cast, the 

 rod must be held perpendicularly, 

 and travel in the same plane back- 

 ward and forward ; any deviation 

 from the perpendicular means 

 loss of force. In manipulating a 

 trout rod the loss is not so per- 

 ceptible, but with a salmon rod 

 the difference is soon felt. 



In casting against a head 

 wind, or aslant of it, a good deal 

 of inconvenience is caused by 

 the flies catching in the grass 

 behind one's back. The extra 

 force needed to get the flies out 

 under such circumstances en- 

 dangers the safety of the rod, the 

 sudden stoppage frequently break- 

 ing the top or middle joint. The 

 head wind blows the flies down. 

 By adopting the steeple cast the 

 rod is arrested in the backward 



movement, so that the flies go 

 well up and out of reach of 

 danger. This is one way of 

 meeting the difficulty, another is 

 to fish with a shorter line, hold- 

 ing a good length of slack in the 

 left hand, and shooting it through 

 the rings as required. Practice 

 enables one to get out a long line 

 this way. It is important to 

 master the method. 



These are the principles of 

 handling a rod which may now 

 be applied to wet-fly fishing. 

 The gut casting line or " collar," 

 as it is called, should be 3 yards 

 long. It will be all the better if 

 it is tapered, heavier where it is 

 attached to the reel line, and 

 growing gradually finer towards 

 the point. Wet flies are best 

 tied on gut links instead of being 

 attached by eyed hooks. They 

 are neater mounted that way. 

 The gut is stouter than that 

 used for dry-flies, and knots are 

 consequently more conspicuous. 

 Three flies are generally used, 

 called the " leader," or " tail," fly 

 at the end, the " middle," a couple 

 of feet higher up, and the " drop- 

 per," or " bob," as it is irrele- 

 vantly called in Ireland, equi- 

 distant from the middle. The 

 links of the two latter should be 

 attached to the casting line by a 

 loop above a knot, so that they 

 cannot slip down (vide diagram). 

 They should not be more than a 

 couple of inches, if longer they 

 soon get twisted round the gut, 

 and do not swim properly in the 

 water. The dropper link can 

 scarcely be too short to bob the 

 fly properly on the surface for any 

 length of time without getting 

 entangled. 



Soak- the gut well in water 

 before mounting, and stretch it 

 out between the finger and thumb, 

 so as to remove all creases. This 

 is a necessary method of detect- 

 ing flaws if there are any. It is 



