THE DRY FLY AND FAST 

 WATER 



CHAPTER I 



EARLY EXPERIENCES 



FROM my earliest boyhood I have been de- 

 voted to the fly fisher's art, having been in- 

 ducted into it by my father, who was an ardent 

 angler before me. For more than twenty years 

 I have fished the near-by streams of New York 

 and Pennsylvania; not a season has passed 

 without having brought to me the pleasure of 

 casting a fly over their waters. Each recurring 

 year I find myself, as the season approaches, 

 eagerly looking forward to the bright days when 

 I can again go upon the streams. In the early 

 days of the season, however, I am content to 

 overhaul my gear, to dream alone, or talk with 

 others about the active days to come; for I 

 have never enjoyed going upon the waters so 

 long as the air still holds chill winter's bite. 



During the early years of my angling I fished 



