Casting and Working the Fly 93 



as it leaves the water, where there is some resist- 

 ance to add to the impetus necessary to put it 

 where it is wanted. To use sufficient power in 

 the right place, to get the fly straight out behind, 

 and to know just when to begin the forward 

 motion, the principal force in which is to be 

 exercised at the first part of it, with just suffi- 

 cient in the remainder of the cast to guide the 

 fly and make it alight properly, can only be 

 learned by practice ; which, after a long enough 

 time, enables one to cast far and fine without any 

 consciousness of the methods he employs. In 

 casting for salmon from the bank or from a boat, 

 the line should be thrown across and down- 

 stream at an angle of say fifty to sixty degrees. 

 If thrown straight across, the fly does not work 

 so well, and the line remains longer slack than if 

 the cast is made more down-stream. Still, I have 

 seen fish take the fly an instant after it touched 

 the water on the straight-across cast, though such 

 an occurrence is very unusual. 



When the fly touches the water, the point of 

 the rod should be held stationary until the fly has 

 swung around one-third or a half of its course ; 

 then the rod should be made to follow the fly 

 until the end of the cast, the object being to 



