INSTRUCTIONS 103 



withhold his hand when out dry-fly fishing will 

 soon be convinced that it is often unnecessary to 

 assist a trout in securing a fly, but just as surely 

 he will learn that a fish, as soon as it takes the 

 artificial into its mouth, is aware of the unreality 

 and that it has the faculty of expelling at once the 

 fly which has not been forced securely over the 

 barb by the movement, complicated or simple as 

 the case may be, of the trout as it regains its station. 

 Therefore, because it is sometimes necessary, it is 

 always advisable to strike. 



To give clear and explicit instructions on the art 

 of striking is beyond our powers. It seems to us 

 that directions must depend on the individual, his 

 rod, length of line, and the offering trout, that is to 

 say, on many factors all very different and all highly 

 important. A trout rises, the eye sees, the hand 

 acts, the line tightens, the fly responds ; many things 

 have to take place and the time required for an 

 answer to each stimulus varies throughout the 

 sequence ; if there is delay at any point, the final 

 response must likewise be retarded. 



One angler may generally carry through the 

 sequence more quickly than another but even he 

 will not invariably complete it in the same time, 

 because his form changes, winds do not blow always 

 at the same pace and belly out the line to the same 

 extent, the rising trout is not always the same 

 distance away, the fly does not float at a constant 

 rate. It takes a long time for the motion of the 

 wrist to be communicated to the fly, and the time 

 varies with the time, place, trout, and the conditions. 



We have fished on Loch Leven and many other 

 lochs, sharing the boat with many friends, and we 



