FINE AND FAR-OFF FISHING 125 



perpendicular; the thing to aim for is a high back cast. 

 Successful fly-casting fine and far-off requires, how- 

 ever, something more than the ability to get out a long 



line and lay it down straight and softly. 

 Striking The ler must be able to strike his 



with a Long, . , 



T . & trout without over-many misses and 



also to play him, both at the end of a 

 long line. Consistently successful striking at long dis- 

 tances is, in addition to the usual requirements of quick 

 eye and snappy wrist, purely dependent upon a taut 

 line. An actually taut line, however, is not possible 

 when distance casting; more or less sag is bound to 

 occur in proportion to the rate at which the line is 

 stripped in and the backward motion of the rod. Strik- 

 ing, when a long line is out, should therefore be done 

 with more force, quicker than when using a short line. 

 The backward motion of the rod must first take up 

 the slack line before sufficient draw is imparted to the 

 hook to set it firmly. 



Fly-fishing fine and far-off is a pretty difficult game 

 to play successfully a game of skill purely and one, 

 moreover, at which every fly-fisherman should strive to 

 become expert in spite of the fact that in this respect 

 the expression "many are called but few are chosen" 

 holds true as well as in any other branch of sport in 

 which the highest form of skill and greatest amount of 

 experience are required. 



