26 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



Whether or not the novice would take more 

 fish than the veteran is another question. Lack- 

 ing experience, the novice would probably hook 

 few fish and land fewer. But he would be 

 starting right, and the necessity of overcoming 

 later on that bad form likely to be acquired by 

 all who begin without competent instruction 

 would be eliminated, and the stream knowledge 

 of the veteran would come to him in time. 



The beginner should watch the expert at 

 work and should study particularly the action 

 of the rod. He should note that the power 

 which impels the line forward starts from the 

 butt, travels the entire length of the rod, is 

 applied by a slight forward push rather than by 

 a long sweep, and ends in a distinct snap. He 

 will soon learn that the wrist must do the real 

 work, and no better scheme for teaching this 

 has ever been devised than the time-honoured 

 one of holding a fly book or a stone between 

 the casting arm and the body. The proper 

 action of the rod will be best learned if he fasten 

 that part of the butt below the reel to the fore- 

 arm with a piece of string, a strap of leather, or 

 a stout rubber band, the effect of which device 

 will be to stop the rod in an almost perpen- 

 dicular position when the line is retrieved. The 



