130 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



the gentle wrinkling of the surface, or the small 

 bubble left upon it, as the fish sucks in some 

 tiny insect, and by the careless angler who sees 

 the slight disturbance, and attributes it to a 

 small fish. Some of the largest fish I have ever 

 killed gave no indication of their size as the fly 

 was taken, and not until they had fastened did I 

 realise how heavy they were. The slightest in- 

 dication of action in the eddy should be inves- 

 tigated thoroughly with the fly; for, while only 

 a small fish may be taken in one, the next may 

 produce "the big fish." 



Throwing to a fish in the eddy of a pool re- 

 quires some care, but a close study of the cur- 

 rents will make it comparatively easy. Trout 

 always lie with heads to the current, and those 

 in an eddy are no exception; consequently, they 

 will be headed down-stream, or against the cur- 

 rent, which is flowing up. This position of the 

 fish must be taken into consideration when the 

 fly is to be presented from below, and the 

 angler will find that his greatest difficulty will 

 be in keeping out of sight. How he may do 

 this he must decide for himself, but, even at 

 the risk of being seen, he should cast up-stream 

 from directly below the fish; i. e., from a position 

 on the same side of the swift current as the eddy 



