A Dry-Fly Purist's Advice to a Beginner. 15 



meet a young angler standing by the riverside, say, 

 at Eastertide, painfully conspicuous by the newness 

 of his get-up ; with a rod far too whippy or too 

 long and heavy, thick running line, coarse gut cast 

 with cottony-looking points, quite unsuitable and 

 badly tied flies, and a large modern brown wicker 

 creel (it may be substantial enough to use as a seat) 

 with complicated arrangements inside, half full of 

 comparatively useless japanned tackle boxes, whose 

 crowded contents, when their lids are opened, are 

 caught by every gust of wind. They have been 

 purchased regardless of expense, in simple faith. 

 But perhaps the most convincing proof that he 

 knows little or nothing of his requirements, and has 

 been badly advised thereon, is to be seen in the 

 large awkward landing-net he carries, screwed, with- 

 out a knuckle-joint, on to a heavy solid handle four 

 or five feet long, and only fit for punt fishing or for 

 a gillie to bear an encumbrance all day as he 

 moves about, as he must lay it down whenever he 

 kneels to cast his fly, and he often forgets to take it 

 up again. The description of a landing net suitable 

 for dry-fly fishing, and how to carry it, are fully 

 given in the Field as under : 



HOW TO CARRY A LANDING-NET. 



There are many ways of carrying a landing-net, 

 and, according to my observation, most of them are 



