FISHING AT A DISTANCE. 6r 



throwing the float and bait out to them. Even a 

 practised angler would not find throwing so far 

 child's play unless the float and shots were very 

 heavy, and the novice would be well advised to aim 

 at something less ambitious as a beginning. He 

 might, for instance, go round the left side of the 

 pool and cast into it from the gravel. From there 

 it would not be more than fifteen or twenty yards 

 to the spot where the fish are, and with a little 

 practice he might manage so much. The first thing 

 for him to do is to inspect the ground at his feet 

 and make sure that no twigs or sticks cumber it ; 

 then he must pull some ten yards of line off the 

 reel below the first ring, letting it fall to the ground 

 in loose coils as he does so. Having pulled enough 

 line off, he must rearrange it, picking it up and 

 recoiling it so that the top coil is the one nearest to 

 the ring. This done he can essay his first cast. 

 With the rod in his right hand, the line between 

 finger and thumb, and the float hanging about 

 5ft. below the rod-point and 2ft. above the hook, 

 which is baited with half a dozen gentles, he swings 

 the bait backwards and forwards until he feels that 

 it has acquired enough momentum ; then he releases 

 the line from his finger and thumb and the float and 

 bait fly out over the water, picking up the coils of 

 line as they go. 



