A Dry -Fly Purist's Advice to a Beginner. 25 



to profit by the many advantages it gives over a 

 heavy line in a favourable wind, and if the breeze 

 be adverse and too boisterous in the open reaches I 

 shift my quarters, haply to find in some com- 

 paratively sheltered turns of the river, or in nooks 

 and corners of it, more encouraging conditions. 



A tyro who attempts to throw over a rising trout 

 with a heavy line will be sure to put him down and 

 make a bungle of it, and therefore I repeat that it is 

 one of the chief reasons of his failure. I will now 

 briefly refer to the gut cast. I purchase every year, 

 in good time before the season begins, a hank of 

 18in. fine round natural gut, and of 18in. "refina," 

 or the finest natural gut I can procure, also a hank 

 of 18in. 4x drawn gut, and of the very finest 6x, all 

 tinted a pale steely-blue colour, which a weak solu^ 

 tion of Stephen's blue-black ink will give. From 

 these four qualities I select and tie together six 

 strands, so as to form a well-tapered, useful, superior 

 cast, about 3yds. in length, and costing only 5d. 

 or 6d. It can be shortened or lengthened at pleasure, 

 and an uniformity of excellence obtained, and every 

 strand of it, whether it frays or breaks, can be 

 renewed. Only the very best of gut should be used, 

 regardless of cost. Gut looks so different in different 

 lights, and so much rubbish is bought by the inex- 

 perienced, that I suggest it is a good plan to keep 

 fair samples of what suits in one year for comparison 



