138 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



tighten, and the chances are at least equal that he 

 will hook his trout, for, according to my experience,, 

 fish which are smutting in this way often take the 

 little fly under water with perfect confidence, and 

 get hooked well inside the mouth always provided 

 that the angler tightens at the right time. 



This style of fishing is not, of course, dry-fiy 

 fishing, but it is a perfectly legitimate way of catch- 

 ing trout on dry-fly streams wl en they are obviously 

 not taking surface food. It is also extremely fascinat- 

 ing and by no means easy, for the indications of 

 the rise are so slight that they may well be over- 

 looked. It is much more difficult when the trout 

 cannot actually be seen, owing to the light or to its 

 being too far away. Then the clues to a rise are 

 very small indeed ; there may be a slight movement 

 of the water as the trout moves, but oftener the 

 only sign is that the gut near the fly stops for a 

 moment in its downward course. Some men go so 

 far as to oil their cast up to within about a foot of 

 the fly, so that it may be certain to float ; then it 

 is easier to detect a stoppage and the rise that 

 causes it. But I have found on the whole that 

 without oiling the gut floats well enough to serve 

 as an indicator, and that I generally become aware 

 when a fish has taken the fly. Hooking it is 

 another matter, and here the angler has to depend 



