Frequency of the Casts. 103 



for the angler to cast too frequently. If trout are 

 rising freely at the natural insect, it can only be 

 to satisfy the " keen demands of appetite ; " and as 

 these demands brook no delay, the first moment of 

 the fly's appearance will most likely be the last of 

 its existence. Clearly, therefore, in this case the 

 most deadly moment of the angler's cast is the 

 moment his flies alight. But fish, like folk, are not 

 always at starvation-point ; they are often shy and 

 sometimes fickle ; and so flies may alight arid yet 

 fish may not rise. But let the fly sail gently down- 

 stream, and make as though it would escape him, 

 and then " the blessing brightens as it takes its 

 flight," and the wayward, greedy trout leaps to 

 secure it. For myself, I could not say whether, in 

 the whole course of a season's fishing, I capture more 

 fish with fly at Mr Stewart's " deadly moments/' 

 or during those which succeed. If trout, then, are 

 taking well, it is a perfectly good system to cast 

 frequently, and so multiply these critical and fate- 

 ful times. But if otherwise, the angler's oppor- 

 tunities are not to be measured by the frequency 

 of his casts ; the imitation will offer a more attrac- 

 tive lure in its progress down-stream than at the 

 instant when it alights; and therefore the angler 

 should allow his flies to sail down two or three 

 yards according to circumstances, before moving 

 up to make the next cast. 



