USING THE WET Fix. 95 



propelling agent. There are, I think, two main 

 rules to be observed in casting a fly. The first. is 

 to keep the rod-point well up, and the second is 

 to make the rod do some work. Most novices, 

 according to my observations, are too gentle with 

 their rods, and seem afraid to make them bend. 

 This may be because they have been told that the 

 flies must drop lightly on the water and because 

 they fear lest any force may frustrate this end. 

 Therefore they try by holding the rod high above 

 their head with a more or less stiff arm to cause the 

 line to float out, as it were. This method is just 

 possible if the wind is at one's back, but with the 

 wind against one it is hopeless. 



As a matter of fact, one has to use some force in 

 fly fishing not much, but enough to make the rod 

 bend to the weight of the line. The first action 

 when enough line is out beyond the tip of the rod 

 is to throw it into the air behind one by a sharp, 

 but steady sweep of the rod (made from the elbow 

 rather than from the shoulder), which is checked 

 when it has just passed the perpendicular and is at 

 a slight slant behind the head. The effect of this 

 sweep is to extend the line straight out in the air. 

 Then comes a forward sweep, the rod bends to the 

 weight behind it, and the line flies straight forward. 

 The principle of the thing is very like casting a 



