96 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



clay pellet from a willow wand, a device with 

 which most men made acquaintance in their youth. 

 As the lissome qualities of the wand were made to 

 respond to the weight of the pellet, so the suppleness 

 of the rod responds to the weight of the line, and 

 in each case the result is to throw the resisting 

 object forward. Nor need the novice be afraid of 

 his flies alighting too heavily if he makes his rod 

 work. He can ensure their falling lightly by not 

 dropping the rod-point below the level of his hand 

 at the end of the forward sweep, and in any case it 

 is better to send your flies rather violently to the 

 right spot than to let them drop like thistle-down 

 in the wrong one. 



The object of keeping the rod-point high in the 

 backward sweep is twofold to prevent the flies 

 touching the grass behind and to get the full 

 advantage of the weight of the line, which tells 

 most when it is extended in the air. One more 

 very important thing must be noted, the necessity 

 of beginning the forward sweep at the psychological 

 moment when the line is fully extended, and of 

 making sure that the sweep does not become a 

 jerk. Timing the cast is a matter of practice. At 

 first the noyice is bound to make the sweep too 

 soon, in which case he loses the advantage of the 

 full weight of line and only achieves a muddled 



