INSTRUCTIONS 99 



Another point to note is that the boil made by 

 a rising trout travels downstream, and there- 

 fore, if the fly is cast for the rise and not for the 

 trout, it will fall short of the fateful place. If 

 the fish cannot be attended to at once, its position 

 should be marked by some object on the bank ; 

 it may be rather far off for immediate investiga- 

 tion. 



Now the beginner will want to know how he should 

 attempt to cover a rising fish. Some authorities 

 will advise him to place his fly a yard or more 

 beyond the trout and allow it to float freely down- 

 wards without any movement of the rod. This 

 may serve in some waters ; but in the rivers and 

 streams of Southern Scotland, which are fished 

 every day in the season by many accomplished 

 anglers, the trout are inordinately gut-shy. There- 

 fore we advise that the tail-fly be placed not more 

 than a foot beyond the trout, and that only in 

 streamy water ; in calm, currentless water it should 

 be placed as neatly as possible exactly on the 

 rise. 



Owing to the suspicion with which these trout 

 view even the finest of gut, the cast should not be 

 made, except in a few instances, straight upstream ; 

 instead it should be delivered up at an angle of 

 45 to the current, when of course little gut will 

 traverse the field of vision of the trout, and none 

 at all will pass over it. An upstream cast is necessary 

 or advisable when the trout is lying in very fast 

 water, either at the neck of a pool or under the 

 angler's own bank, in a narrow, curving corner, or 

 wherever obstacles prevent a cast across. 



There are three matters arising out of these con- 



