16 DRY-FLY FISHING 



trout, far advanced in knowledge of artificial flies, 

 ready to take alarm at flash of rod or glimpse of 

 the most fragile gut. Possibly it has been hooked 

 a score of times, and the memory of the piercing 

 barb or the suffocating strain may be strong and 

 clear. It may be that, to ensure success, the cast 

 must be delivered to fall in such a way that the 

 fly reaches the trout before the betraying gut 

 arrives, a trick which will reap great rewards, but 

 which requires assiduous practice and the acquisition 

 of a knack that is difficult. 



When the fly is sent out on its mission, it may 

 hover hesitatingly, as if uncertain yet of making 

 the attempt, but gradually it settles slowly down, 

 until it sits riding the rippling wave forward to the 

 fateful spot. Its progress must be closely watched, 

 for it may disappear, and the moment of its going 

 be unmarked, and a golden opportunity be gone 

 for ever. With so much to do, all else is forgotten, 

 and the dry-fly angler obtains the happiness that 

 alone can come by the moorland pool or the sparkling 

 stream. After the trout is securely hooked, all 

 is commonplace though exciting enough ; but it 

 is the prelude to the fight that requires the thought, 

 demands the preparation, and claims the undivided 

 attention. 



Some who have spoken regarding the dry-fly 

 have unfortunately done the sport great harm, 

 and retarded very seriously the advance of the 

 angler's education. To very many they seem to be 

 striving to put themselves into a position of splendid 

 isolation, and to claim for their methods, and also 

 for themselves, a vast superiority. They appear to 

 disparage other lures and other anglers, proclaiming 



