DIFFICULTY OF FISHING UP. 71 



than up, because the latter requires more nicety in 

 casting. But to attain anything like eminence in 

 fly-fishing, the angler must fish up, and all beginners 

 should persevere in it, even though they meet with 

 little success at first, and they will be amply re- 

 warded for their trouble. 



The only circumstance in which fishing down 

 has the advantage of fishing up, is when the water 

 is so dark or deep that the fish would not see, or if 

 they did see, would not have time to seize the flies 

 unless they moved at a slower rate than the stream. 

 We think that this rarely applies to angling for 

 river trout, as when inclined to feed upon flies they 

 are generally on the outlook for them, but it does 

 apply to salmon and sea-trout fishing. Both these 

 fish lie in strong deep water, and as they are not 

 accustomed to feed upon flies, they are not on the 

 outlook for them ; so that if the salmon-fisher were 

 to throw his flies up stream, they would come down 

 at such a rate that the salmon would never see 

 them. Besides which, it is obvious that whatever 

 salmon take the angler's fly for, they cannot take it 

 for anything they have seen before, and therefore 

 there is no reason for supposing they can detect any- 

 thing unnatural in its motion. 



We have devoted this chapter principally to the 

 errors of fly-fishing as generally practised, and we 

 hope we have succeeded in convincing the reader of 

 the truth of our observations ; but as we have fre- 

 quently endeavoured in vain by viva voce demon- 



