62 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



In casting your line,* do it always before you, and so that 

 your fly may first fall upon the water, and as little of your line 

 with it as possible ; though if the wind be stiff, you will then of 

 necessity be compelled to drown a good part of your line to keep 

 your fly in the water : and in casting your fly, you must aim at 



• The management of the rod in casting the line, cannot be taught by 

 book, though every writer on angling has attempted it, Theophilus South, 

 who illustrates his rules by diagrams, perhaps more successfully than 

 any other : but even his directions are scarcely comprehensible except by 

 the practised angler. The better plan is to confess your ignorance to some 

 expert friend, and ask him to teach you at the stream side. The thing to 

 be aimed at is, a proper propulsion of your line by the spring of your rod, 

 so that only the flies will fall lightly on the water where you wish to have 

 them. To do this, begin with a short line and a single, rather heavy, fly. 

 Manage the rod by grasping it firmly a little above the reel, and giving it 

 motion not by exerting the whole arm, but the hand and wrist only. For 

 the first cast, hold the fly between the finger and thumb of your left hand ; 

 turn the point of your rod to the right, and then, as you let loose the fly, 

 by the spring of the rod let the line be thrown out to its full length be- 

 hind you (if you do not, your fly will be snapped off" like the crack of a 

 whip) ; by a like motion forward, spring the line in the direction you wish 

 the fly to fall, checking its descent in time to prevent any of the line 

 striking the water with the fly. Then play the fly with a gentle tremu- 

 lous motion of the hand across the current, if the water be swift, or in 

 such directions as circumstances may determine, if it be still. When an- 

 other cast is to be made (and fly-fishing requires industry), draw the line 

 a little towards you so as to bend your tip, then spring it backward from 

 such resistance, and repeat the operation as before. Remember that cast- 

 ing the fly, is not whipping it, though that term is sometimes inappropri- 

 ately used ; and that the more of your arm you use, the more clumsy you 

 will be. It is of course easier to make a cast with the wind at your back ; 

 but as that cannot always be, practice must teach you how to manoeuvre to 

 overcome its resistance ; the main thing to be learned is so to spring 

 your rod by the wrist only, as to give it the due movement at the tip. 



When two flies are used, the lower (or tail, or end, or stretcher) fly 

 should be the heaviest and winged (though a large hackle may be used) ; 

 the dropper should be looped on the bottom line at about their feet or so 

 from the stretcher, or a gut of such length as that it will play on the water. 

 The upper fly is to be watched, leaving the tail fly to follow. If another 

 fly be added, its gut should, of course, be proportionately longer ; but two 

 flies are generally quite enough, if well managed. Palmers are used 

 mostly as drop flies ; and the droppers should be light. Care should be 

 taken to have the bottom -line of due proportions. (See note to p. 281.)— 

 Jim. Ed. 



