SALMON AND SEA-TROUT. 227 



some obstruction at the angler's back makes ordi- 

 nary casting impossible. It is called the " Spey " 

 or " switch " cast, and I should say is only to be 

 mastered by those to the manner born. I can get 

 out "a sort of" a line in a way that remotely 

 resembles it, and is sometimes useful, though not a 

 cause for pride. If the novice stands with his back 

 to a strong wind and, having about fifteen yards of 

 line out, raises his rod straight up in the air as high 

 as he can till nearly all the line is out of the water, 

 and then sweeps the point straight forward and 

 down, he will find that the wind catches the belly- 

 ing line and takes it out for him, the fly travelling 

 last but ending first. I know no better way of 

 acquiring the principles of the cast, and afterwards 

 one can get the rod to do what the wind did, by 

 making it describe a sort of curve in the air. In 

 salmon fishing ambidexterity is of the greatest 

 value, and the novice should by all means practise 

 casting with the position of his hands reversed, i.e., 

 with the left hand above the reel and the rod coming 

 back over the left shoulder. Ability to cast both 

 from right and left doubles one's efficiency. 

 I know, because I can only cast from the right ; at 

 any rate, my efforts from the left are of a most 

 rudimentary character. 



Fishing the fly for salmon is in essentials much 



Q 2 



