H 4 A BOOK ON ANGLING 



force than usual is required ; indeed, the less force used the 

 better. The great proportion of anglers use double the force 

 that would be needed to cast a much longer and lighter line 

 than they do cast. 



I will now suppose the angler to have acquired the art of 

 casting tolerably well. Having cast his line out into the 

 stream, so as to have it all clear and straight, he should make 

 his first cast up-stream, parallel and as close as he conveniently 

 can to the bank on his own side of the stream, as here the best 

 fish are lying in wait. The line will come floating down towards 

 him with the stream, and he should never draw it faster than 

 the stream, or it will travel faster than the natural flies which 

 are coming down with it, and this will beget suspicion on the 

 part of the fish, besides making an unnecessary disturbance 

 in the water. All that he has to do is to keep steadily raising 

 his rod so as to keep the fly near the top of the water, and 

 to have as little slack line in the water as possible. Some 

 people work their flies ; but unless the fly be sunk rather 

 deeply in the water (when it is mistaken rather for some 

 quick darting water larva than a fly), this is bad, and often 

 destructive of sport. Watch the flies upon the water how 

 they come floating down. They do not dart and spring and 

 shoot about that is, the great majority of them do not. 

 There are one or two, as the stone fly and certain spider flies, 

 that do so. If fishing with these, motion may be given to them, 

 but with three-fourths of the flies it is worse than unnecessary. 

 Let the fly come properly home and then make another cast 

 about a yard farther from the bank, and so go on covering 

 fresh water at every throw, until you have fished the entire 

 water, each throw representing a radius to the quarter of a 

 circle, when you can take a step or two farther up the stream 

 and repeat the process. 



Now, this is the way to fish a stream thoroughly when you 

 are, as it were, searching for fish and do not know the stream 

 or where they may come up, but if the fish are rising fairly 

 it is a needless waste of time. Cast, then, over the rising fish, 

 and fish over the likely spots, and don't dwell upon barren 

 water. In casting over a rising fish be careful not to put the 

 line across him, as the sight of the whole of the casting line 

 coming down immediately over his head will not increase his 

 confidence. Throw beside and above him, and allow him to 

 see as much as he likes of the fly and as little as possible of the 

 line. In Plate VI, page 93, the Fig. 3 is the right way and 



