AXIOMS, NOTES AND THEORIES 141 



The weather may be unpleasant, the fish shy, your luck 

 villainous, but never be discouraged ; your luck must turn, 

 the fish must feed, the sun must shine, and you must catch 

 fish. 



Bad luck at the card tables may be ended by a no-trump 

 hand and a big slam. The poorest day's fishing may be 

 concluded with the capture of a record fish. 



A perfect trout rod should be one which can project a 

 fly to any reasonable distance, of a taper which will cause 

 an even and gradually increasing curvature in the rod from 

 the hand to the top ring, as it is brought into play, of an 

 action which will make its elasticity merge into that of the 

 forearm, and of a material and construction which will 

 resist the stress of hard work. 



Do not use your favourite fly fishing rod or line either for 

 trolling, spinning, or competitive casting, or with a desire 

 to show off your distance casting ability, for your rod will 

 suffer, even though you flatter your amour-propre by 

 making a record cast. 



One of the many charms of dry fly fishing is the correct 

 solution of problems affecting the first cast of the fly at 

 a rising fish. 



LOCH FISHING 



In calm weather and during certain hours of the day, the 

 fisherman will be unable to obtain fish by the ordinary 

 manner of casting and fishing his flies, and the following is 

 an excellent means of obtaining fish under such circum- 

 stances. The fly or flies should be allowed to sink slowly 

 to the bottom of the loch and when they have rested there 

 for a short time should be raised to the surface by a series 

 of little jerks, and this method repeated will frequently 



