28 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



realise the truth of it. In the beginning I was 

 ever on the alert for rising fish, and, instead of 

 boldly assailing promising water, wasted much 

 time, on many occasions, scrutinising the water 

 for some indication that a fish was feeding. In 

 this way I frequently discovered non-feeding 

 fish lying in places where I had not expected to 

 find them. Such fish were then the more easily 

 approached because I was able to assume a 

 position myself that would not disclose my 

 presence. Just as frequently, too, I have seen 

 fine fish cruising about, and have taken many 

 that might have been driven away by the slight- 

 est movement on my part. In many cases 

 I have been compelled to remain absolutely 

 motionless for ten or fifteen minutes before a 

 fish would come to rest long enough to make 

 worth while an attempt to get a fly to it. Nearly 

 every time, too, that a fish has been hooked I 

 have seen it actually take the fly an action 

 always instructive, because fish vary greatly in 

 their manner of taking, and interesting, be- 

 cause in it lies one of the real charms of fly 

 fishing. 



The continued use of a floating fly upon 

 water where the angler sees no indication of 

 feeding fish, but where experience tells him that 



