60 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 



cast too long; begin it when the flies are well away 

 from you. 



In the paragraph above I have suggested waiting 

 for the line to straighten out behind the caster on the 

 back cast, that is, before beginning the forward cast. 

 Instantaneous photographs of expert casters, however, 

 show that in actual practice the line does not entirely 

 straighten out in the rear before the forward cast is 

 started ; that, in fact, there is a considerable loop at the 

 end of the line which straightens out just after the 

 caster begins the forward cast. The theory of this is 

 quite plain. If, when casting a rather long line, you 

 wait until the line becomes quite straight behind you, 

 you wait just long enough for the line to lose its life. 

 The forward cast, then, should be started when the line, 

 having passed to the rear of the caster, first begins to 

 pull appreciably on the rod. 



On the other hand, do not start the forward cast too 

 quickly, because this is liable to snap off the end fly. 

 Correct timing of the forward cast is one of the greatest 

 factors in clean-cut casting. Do not start the forward 

 cast too strenuously. The speed of the rod when pass- 

 ing through the arc of the forward cast should be 

 greater toward the finish. At the end of the forward 

 cast the rod should be a little above parallel with the 

 water 



In the matter of rod handling, then, the chief points 

 for the fly-caster to observe, as regards primarily the 

 overhead cast, are these: To hold the rod with the 

 thumb extended along the upper surface of the hand- 

 grasp; not to carry the rod too far back on the back 



