Flies not to be " worked'' 101 



to sink some inches under water, even to mid-water 

 if he pleases, and then 'work it gently by raising 

 and lowering the point of the rod ; " and many 

 other English authors recommend that the natural 

 motion of the fly should be " assisted/' and a " life- 

 like appearance " imparted to it by jerking it up, 

 down, and across stream. I have considered these 

 recommendations in a previous chapter, and have 

 tried to show that they are at once antiquated and 

 absurd, and utterly at variance with what every 

 observer knows of the behaviour of the natural in- 

 sect whose motions it is our intention to imitate. 

 I have only to remind the angler that he should, 

 so far as he can, follow nature in the motions of his 

 flies quite as much as in their colour and form, and 

 that, therefore, he should never "work" his flies, 

 but make a skilful cast, dexterously keep his line 

 well in hand as the flies sail down, and leave the 

 stream to do the " working " business, and impart 

 to them their " natural motion." 



1 ' For thus at large I venture to support, 

 Nature best followed best secures the sport." 



I have already urged the beginner to be guided 

 in his casting by the hints he receives from the 

 rising trout. In endeavouring to cover a rising fish 

 the angler should make the cast 2 or 3 feet above 

 the precise spot where the fish rose, allowing the 



