LESSONS IN CASTING 59 



Throwing the rod too far back is a temptation 

 all beginners suffer from. After making the back 

 cast, the learner should turn his head and watch 

 the course of the line as it flies backwards, and 

 so note the time of the return cast, which should 

 be made just before the line is quite extended. 

 It should be his aim in the first place, to get 

 off by heart how to lift and throw the line well 

 up and behind ; and he should practise this until 

 he can do it in a satisfactory manner, which 

 may be determined by watching the course of the 

 fly. The presence of a friend is a great help, 

 as he can watch the curl of the line and fly, 

 and assist by saying "Now" just at the moment 

 it is best to make the return cast. This will 

 give the time which the caster can afterwards 

 calculate himself, bearing in mind that the longer 

 the line the more time is required. The friend 

 should only correct for a few times, and then 

 leave the performer to time himself. If he 

 blunders he can be corrected again, and so on, 

 until he has thoroughly mastered this part of 

 the work. 



Having accomplished this, he may now make 

 the return cast, and time it as before men- 

 tioned by watching the line (see Plate 7), and 

 just before it is fully extended, complete the 

 cast by bringing the rod down smartly to posi- 

 tion shown in Plate 8. Remember that in 



