CASTING AGAINST THE WIND. 117 



advisable. To cast against the wind, it is 

 necessary to use great force, and immerse a con- 

 siderable portion of the line in the water. If the 

 wind is very strong, it is a great nuisance, no 

 matter which way it is blowing, as it is sometimes 

 almost impossible to keep the line in the water. 

 In such circumstances it is impossible to fish the 

 streams properly, and the angler should limit his 

 operations to the pools, and should use thicker 

 gut and a heavier casting-line, which will be found 

 a great assistance to casting. It is in such a case 

 that the thorough worthlessness of a supple rod 

 becomes apparent. 



As the trout seldom take fly readily for more 

 than four or five hours in the forenoon, you must 

 make the most of the time, fish quickly, walk over 

 the intervening ground smartly, take the trout off 

 the hook, and basket them as speedily as possible, 

 and in every way economise time. If you ever 

 see a professional angler at work when the trout 

 are taking, watch him, and you will be able to 

 form some idea of how expeditiously fishing may 

 be done. As long as you are fishing, do it as if 

 you expected a rise every cast ; we have lost 

 many a good trout in an inadvertent moment. If 

 you are tired, or the trout are not taking, sit down 

 and console yourself in some way or other. A 

 late writer upon the subject suggests, that for this 

 purpose the angler should carry a New Testament 

 in his pocket, to which there can be no possible 



