140 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 



fly-casting, you will not have to learn it; otherwise, 

 although a limited proficiency may be quickly acquired, 

 it will pay you to practice this phase of strip-casting 

 faithfully; its importance is equal to that of thumbing 

 the reel in bait-casting. During the cast the outrunning 

 line must be subject to exactly the proper control, must 

 run out neither too fast or too slow, or the line will 

 foul at the first rod guide. 



Having stripped the line from the reel, and controll- 

 ing it as above indicated with the left hand, presuming 

 that you are casting from right to left, carry the rod to 

 your right and slightly to the rear, pointing a little 

 downward toward the water, and then swing it smartly 

 to the left across the body and slightly upward. When, 

 during the swing of the rod, the rod tip points in the 

 direction you wish to cast as a matter of fact, just a 

 little before that point release the hold of the left 

 hand on the line sufficiently to allow it to run out 

 through the fingers. Do not release it entirely, as this 

 will feed the line to the first rod guide faster than it 

 will run through and a tangle will result. The cast 

 is quite similar to the side cast in bait-casting from the 

 reel. 



The cast being completed, that is, the bait having 

 reached the water at the desired point, the line is re- 

 trieved by stripping it in through the guides with the 

 left hand, taking pains to lay the coils down evenly on 

 the bottom of the boat as in the preliminary stripping 

 from the reel. The line should be stripped in at a 

 moderate rate of speed, rather faster with artificial 

 lures than with natural, in order to impart lifelike 



