DAPPING 159 



wholly unnecessary and we allow the line to stream 

 out in the wind. By altering the direction of the 

 rod it is usually possible to manoeuvre the fly to 

 where it is required. Sometimes the sport is quite 

 good, but it is difficult to prevent the line slapping 

 the water, or the fly from being tossed about. In 

 a more moderate breeze the basket would doubt- 

 less be much heavier, but in that case we throw 

 off yards of line and cast over the spreading rings. 

 Dapping is forced upon the angler, not deliberately 

 selected. 



There is one corner of the Daer, viz. the head 

 of Watermeetings Pool, on which we seldom omit to 

 dap a fly. There the water flows at great pace 

 round a sharp curve, and drag is unavoidable. 

 Now it is perfectly allowable to dap for an expect- 

 ant fish as well as for a rising one ; but how is one 

 to tell whether a trout is in a state of expectation 

 or not ? If a fish is seen hovering near the surface, 

 apparently active and alert, then we may con- 

 clude that it is on the look-out for food ; but in 

 such a place as we have under consideration a trout 

 could not hover ; it must lie on the bottom behind 

 some protecting stone that shelters it from the 

 great force of the strong current. Also the troubled 

 surface effectively conceals the trout from view. 

 The result is that we persuade ourselves that it 

 would not be in such a place except for one pur- 

 pose, viz. to obtain food, therefore we lower a 

 fly to the water to find out if a fish is there. 



With these and similar exceptions, dapping is 

 inadmissible on bare, open streams such as those 

 of the Southern Uplands, where nothing interferes 

 with the freedom of the cast. Its usefulness is 



