ON STRIKING. 259 



where or whereabouts the fish is rising, and a little above 

 it of course ; and as the fly can be lowered on to the water 

 au naturel like thistledown, and by the skilful working of 

 the rod point can be made even to skip and flutter up and 

 down on the surface like the natural insect in the enjoy- 

 ment of the most rabid and demonstrative liberty, and 

 as no line need be visible, and nothing need touch the 

 water but the fly, if a fish be taking (as most fish are 

 when the May fly is on) and the angler be anything but a 

 bungler, a rise should be almost a certainty. When a fish 

 rises at a fly, give him time enough to get the fly into his 

 mouth before you strike ; as the May fly is a largish fly, 

 the trout will possibly not take the entire fly quite in his 

 mouth at the first gulp, but sucks it in slowly, and a strike 

 then may eventuate in the hook coming away without the 

 fly, and a scared fish. I have often known this to be the 

 case, and were it not for the misses the fish would have a 

 bad chance against the blow-line ; but a miss or two of 

 this kind soon rentiers them wide awake, and I have seen 

 a blow-line worked over a mile of stream where lots of fine 

 fish were rising at the May fly without hooking a fish. 

 Of course the angler must do his best to keep out of 

 sight of the sharp-eyed fish, or even the best worked 

 blow-line will fail in its effect, and as the length of rod 

 and line employed is rather limited, this is not always 

 easy. In fishing a lake the boat is allowed to drift with 

 the wind, and the rises are fished in much the same way 

 as in a river. 



By far the more skilful, and the more difficult plan of 

 using the live fly, however, is to employ only the ordinary 

 fly-rod, and with about three yards of the very finest gut 

 and a fine wire, No. 7 straight bend, short-shanked hook, 

 to cast the fly as though it were but an imitation floater. 

 In the action of casting a good deal of care and practice 

 are required, or the fly will wip off to a certainty. Then 



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