WHERE AND WHEN TO FISH 123 



those places, in the hope of securing a really 

 good fish. No small fish rose to the fly, although 

 they are a-plenty in the stream. They had 

 evidently been driven to other water by fear of 

 their older brothers. 



The greatest essential to success in fly fishing, 

 wet or dry, is stream knowledge; by which I 

 mean, not necessarily familiarity with the stream 

 actually being fished, but that general knowl- 

 edge, based on careful study of the habits of 

 the fish, that enables the angler to select the 

 proper part of the current in which to place 

 the fly. Such selection is of the greatest im- 

 portance when pools are being fished it is next 

 in importance to keeping out of sight of the 

 trout. Under no circumstances should a pool 

 be approached with the idea of placing the first 

 cast in what appears to be the likeliest spot, as 

 there is always danger of frightening the fish 

 off if he should happen to be somewhere else in 

 the pool. Before a fly is placed on the water, a 

 careful study should be made of its depths and 

 currents. If the large fish are surface feeding, 

 they may be looked for in two places par- 

 ticularly: at the very lip of the pool or in the 

 eddies at the head. 



The indication that a fish is feeding at the lip 



