188 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



In making the right hand side cast the body should turn 

 on the ankles toward the right, and the rod should be brought 

 back as in the overhead cast, but sideways and with the 

 palm of the hand up, the rod being stopped in its backward 

 action by the thumb. The elbow acts as a pivot to the rod, 

 which is switched backwards through a more or less hori- 

 zontal arc of 115 degrees. The turn of the body has to 

 precede the backward action of the rod, so that the eye 

 can judge the exact moment at which the thumb has to 

 check the rod as the latter reaches the limit of the 

 above angle. 



It is only by a continued and ever increasing backward 

 force applied to the rod through the hand and wrist from 

 the forearm that the best and most perfect impetus can be 

 communicated to the line in order to extend it in the back- 

 ward direction. The best result of this force cannot be 

 communicated from the forearm to the rod unless a rigid 

 control over the wrist be maintained during the time the 

 fly is in the air. 



The position of the arm and rod at the conclusion of the 

 back cast is as follows : The upper arm points downward, 

 but is free from the body the forearm and hand with a 

 rigid wrist is extended palm up, in a line with the rod, which 

 is held rigidly at an angle of 115 degrees to the right or left 

 of the direction in which the fly has to alight. 



As the rod is checked at this angle by the thumb, the body 

 should again turn forward, the eyes being directed towards 

 the spot to which the fly has to be cast the forearm and 

 rod must remain pointing backward until this turn is 

 completed by which time the line will have extended 

 itself backward. 



The forward stroke should then be made through the thumb 

 from the elbow with a similar muscular effort to that used in 

 the backward cast, but in a forward horizontal direction. 



