io6 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



place the fly as close to the root or snag as they 

 can, where there is but slight chance of its being 

 seen by the fish at least while it is upon the 

 surface. Naturally, if the fly be sunk to a 

 depth which will bring it within the horizontal 

 plane of the fish's vision, it will be seen by him 

 more readily. But, in fishing the floating fly, 

 due allowance must be made for that portion 

 of an imaginary circle enclosing the base of an 

 inverted cone which will not come within view 

 of the fish at the apex. This part will be 

 directly over him, extending at an angle mea- 

 sured by the diameter of the root or snag under 

 which he is hiding, this snag and the bank nat- 

 urally being included in the calculation. To 

 reach a fish in this position, or rather to place 

 the fly so that it will be seen by him, an imagi- 

 nary semicircle should be drawn about the spot, 

 with a diameter equal to at least twice the known 

 diameter of the obstacle, and the fly fished on 

 this curved line until the circumference has been 

 covered. Unless the angler can determine ac- 

 curately the depth of the water or the submerged 

 portion of the log, root, or whatever the ob- 

 stacle may be, any allowance made over and 

 above what appears necessary from the calcu- 

 lation will be to his advantage. 



