146 A RIVER OF NORWAY 



Given your tackle and your flies, the proper 

 use of them can only be acquired by practice 

 at the water-side. When you have attained 

 to a certain proficiency, the instructions of 

 the books may give a finish to your style. 

 The main principle of fishing the fly is to 

 cast well down and across the stream, and to 

 keep your line as straight as possible from 

 the fly to the point of the rod. Then as it 

 takes its zigzag course across the pool, every 

 fibre of the fly will spread out and close again 

 over the body it will be a creature endowed 

 with life. But even more important than this, 

 is to get over your fish. Your attendant will 

 generally indicate their position ; but with an 

 untrained Norwegian you will sometimes have 

 the additional pleasure of finding it out for 

 yourself. If they are lying too far out to 

 reach in the orthodox diagonal way, cast 

 straight across the river to them. The stream 

 will snatch your line, and make a big curve 

 of it ; your fly will follow head-down stream, 

 a shapeless, inert mass ; but perchance a fish 

 will follow it out of curiosity until the moment 

 when, the line straightening, it has taken the 

 semblance of a living thing, and then will 



