200 THE DRY FLY AND FAST WATER 



not so fatal to the angler's chances as the one I 

 have described, is oftentimes more exasperating. 

 This form of drag takes place when the fly, 

 although accurately and lightly placed in the 

 desired spot, is snatched away almost at once 

 by the current pulling on the line or leader; the 

 fish may thus be deprived of an opportunity of 

 securing the fly, or he may refuse it because of 

 its unnatural action. The natural insect, un- 

 hampered by any "string to it," drifts naturally 

 with the current, and the feeding fish which 

 makes for it, having accurately judged its po- 

 sition and pace, rarely misses. The artificial, 

 when drag is exerted upon it, dashes down-stream 

 at a speed always greater than that of the 

 current in which it is; besides the unnatural 

 action it acquires, it sometimes ceases to be a 

 floating fly, being dragged under the surface by 

 the pull of the line or leader in the swifter water. 

 Drag of this sort usually occurs when the line 

 or the leader must fall on the swift water be- 

 tween the angler and the spot he desires to 

 reach with the fly, and is not always avoidable. 

 Where possible, the line and leader should be 

 kept out of the swift water. 



When casting to the eddies at the head of a 

 pool, the angler should assume a position on the 



