i8 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 



well also to determine as quickly as possible which 

 p . method of presenting the flies seems to 



Experimfnts. be most popular with the fish ' If * e 

 customary method of casting, that is, 



keeping the flies well up on the surface, does not pro- 

 duce sufficiently satisfactory results, try the submerged 

 fly. A variation in the method frequently spells the 

 difference between success and failure. I have often 

 made good baskets of trout by fishing the flies from six 

 inches to a foot underneath the surface, when, at the 

 same time, it was impossible to induce a strike by ortho- 

 dox surface fishing. 



Trout habits are in great measure a matter of local- 

 ity. If you are to fish a stream that is new to you, by 

 all means get into communication, if possible, with 

 some local angler and believe all that he tells you. If 

 he is the right kind of a sportsman he will save you 

 many hours which might otherwise be spent in un- 

 successful experimenting. 



Down-stream fishing is best adapted to the swift cur- 

 rent of most American trout streams, although where 

 . the stream is quiet it may properly, and 



racticai S0 metimes to better advantage, be fished 

 Hints. u T it 



up. -Large, quiet pools and extensive 



still-waters may properly first be whipped at the lower 

 part and then from the head. It is not at all necessary 

 to be early on the stream; there are more natural flies 

 on the water after the sun has been up for a time and 

 consequently the trout are then more likely to rise to 

 the artificials. Early in the season a bright day is no 

 disadvantage, rather the opposite ; but later, in the latter 



