94 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



and quietly into the water at the tail of the 

 stretch and as closely as possible to the bank the 

 fish are under. Having attained the desired 

 position, he should remain there long enough to 

 allow all commotion made by his entry to cease, 

 during which time no motion of the rod should 

 be made, because the sight of any moving object 

 will send the now alert^trout scurrying, while the 

 ripples will make him uneasy for a short time 

 only. The horizontal cast should be used if pos- 

 sible. The fly should be floated down about a 

 foot from the bank, and it should not be retrieved 

 until it has travelled more than half the distance 

 between the angler and the spot where it alighted. 

 Casting should be continued until a mistake 

 has marred the attempt, when the angler should 

 desist, to resume after a short time has elapsed 

 if the error has not been a glaring one. 



When satisfied that no trout are within the sec- 

 tion covered by the fly, the angler should lengthen 

 his line and fish the fly a few feet above always 

 permitting the fly to travel over the water al- 

 ready fished. He should continue this until the 

 maximum line that can be handled neatly with- 

 out moving from the original position is being 

 cast. When the line becomes unwieldy (in this 

 method and position it is courting failure to 



