130 STRIKING 



wet fly fishing is not only highly successful, but far 

 more interesting than fishing down-stream. Wading 

 is almost a sine qua non, as the bank is too conspicuous 

 a place for the angler ; and this is the drawback, for 

 the line must be fished short, and he must of necessity, 

 from having to use a short line, be closer to his fish than 

 in dry fly fishing. The greater the stream lore of the 

 fisherman, other things being equal, the greater will be 

 his success. Rising fish should induce special attention. 

 Wet fly fishing up-stream possesses many of the 

 charms of dry fly fishing, and as a sport it comes next 

 to it in scientific interest and pleasure. The object of 

 jigging the wet fly when in the water is to imitate the 

 action of the nymph or pupae when swimming. The 

 object of letting it float steadily down with the current 

 is to imitate the drowned sub-imago. Hence, when 

 drowned sub-imago are not present, and the pupae 

 are being taken by the trout (any captured trout will 

 readily solve this point), a series of little checks should 

 be given to the drifting flies by tiny jerks of the point 

 of your rod. After a thunderstorm, when numbers of 

 drowned sub-imago are coming down and the pupae 

 probably not moving, it is better to adopt drifting. 



STRIKING 



If the fly at which the fish rises is near the surface, 

 the motion of the fish, or perhaps the fish itself, can 

 be seen, and the strike may therefore be made at the 

 time the touch is or should be felt. When, however, 



