60 FLOATING FLIES 



Lift the line from the water quickly and neatly. 

 Care must be taken not to carry the rod too 

 far back only a little beyond the perpendicular 

 as this will invitably result in loss of control 

 over the line. 



Instantaneous photography has conclusively 

 proved the fallacy of the orthodox advice of 

 the older school of angling writers, to " wait 

 for the line to straighten out behind you " be- 

 fore starting the forward cast. This fact was 

 noted sometime ago in a short paper in one 

 of the outdoor periodicals and the writer at 

 once proceeded to verify it since which time 

 I have often seen in print the old, familiar 

 warning to the novice stated above. However, 

 it is now generally recognized by well-informed 

 anglers that when casting any fair length of 

 line there is a considerable loop of line and 

 leader which straightens out only after the for- 

 ward cast has been started; that, in fact, the 

 right time to begin the forward motion of the 

 rod is when the line first begins to pull notice- 

 ably on the tip of the rod a psychological mo- 

 ment soon readily recognized after a little prac- 

 tice. To avoid weakening the leader by whip- 

 ping, or in rare instances snapping off the fly, 

 the forward cast should not be started too 

 forcefully. 



Start the forward motion of the rod, then, 



