374 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



resistance to the free rotation of the drum of the reel, the 

 shorter the rod, etc., the further back must the rod be 

 brought before starting the forward cast with any ordinary 

 form of Nottingham reel. 



Assuming that the weight of the lure is between one and 

 two ounces, and the rod about eleven feet in length, the 

 position from which the rod point should start will be an 

 angle of about thirty degrees to the right hand side of the 

 fisherman as he stands with his back to D. The position 

 of the body should be as shown in Plate LII., Fig. 1, the 

 weight should be on the right foot, the arms bent, the body 

 upright, and facing away from the direction D. The vertical 

 angle at which the rod should be held is about twenty-two 

 degrees above the horizon. 



THE ACTION OF THE ROD 



In order to make the cast, the rod should be swept round 

 sideways, with sufficient radial force to project the lure to D 

 (Diagram 23). The hand which dominates this movement 

 should be the left hand as in the forward, side or overhead 

 cast with the fly rod, the right hand acting as a moving 

 fulcrum and at the same time guiding the direction of the 

 rod. The arms should not be straightened. 



The actual motion of the arm should be as nearly as 

 possible that made by a man when he is mowing. The 

 swing of the rod should start from inertia, as in the golf 

 drive, and its motion should be an accelerating one until 

 it reaches a point in its radial swing T at right angles 

 to D (Diagram 23). Its speed should have been such that 

 the lure will have extended itself in the same line as the rod 

 before the drum of the reel is released. The point of the 

 rod in this accelerando swing should rise gradually in order 

 to give an upward as well as a radial movement to the 

 lure. 



