SOME DRY FLY MAXIMS. 15 



forward in a series of coils to the desired spot. It is always worth 

 trying and may secure you a good fish, one perhaps that others have 

 passed by as unapproachable, and which may thereby have acquired 

 a confidence that may be misplaced. This form of casting is much 

 easier in salmon fishing, as you are then fishing down stream, and the 

 water extends and straightens your line for you. It is, however, quite 

 easy of accomplishment, with a moderately short line, in up stream 

 fishing. 



Mr. Halford, in " Dry Fly Angling," p. 62, describes a cast which 

 he terms the " Switch Cast," and it is one which, though difficult of 

 acquisition, will accomplish the same object. He says, " It is accom- 

 plished by drawing the line towards you on the water, and throwing 

 the fly with a kind of roll outwards on the water — in fact, a sort of 

 downward cast ; the possibility of making the cast depending upon the 

 fly being in the water at the moment the rod point is brought down," 

 &c. Personally, I should prefer the Spey cast, and inasmuch as most 

 salmon fishermen know something of that peculiar cast, I would urge its 

 occasional use in dry fly work, more especially having regard to the 

 fact that fish in such positions have acquired a confidence through never 

 having been angled for, and therefore there is greater chance of a 

 somewhat bungling presentment of the dry fly being overlooked. To 

 describe the Spey cast accurately so as to convey the desired instruction 

 in such a way that all who run may read, is not by any means easy ; 

 but, as I have before said, it is probably familiar to many anglers 

 from salmon fishing experiences. 



One more thing deserves to be borne in mind : always imagine that 

 the plane of the water is some foot or so higher than it really is — that 

 is to say, cast as if the fish, and the water in which it lies, were a foot 

 higher than in reality. The result will be that your collar will fall as 

 lightly as gossamer. One of the most proficient manipulators of the rod 

 and line I have ever seen can pitch a fly, cocked and floating, almost 

 anywhere within reasonable limits, but his line invariably cuts the water 

 from point to fly, straight and accurate enough may be, but like whip-cord. 

 Consequently, he is not the successful angler that his qualifications 

 entitle him to be. An ordinary fisherman casting a less straight, but 

 lighter, line will frequently beat him in catching fish. Our friend would 



