62 FLOATING FLIES 



when used in this manner, need not be held in 

 an awkward position, that is, close up to the 

 reel, but may be held in a natural way at about 

 the waist-line; it is simply a matter of the 

 length of the loop of line drawn out by the 

 left hand between the reel and the first guide 

 of the rod. When this loop for any reason 

 becomes so long that there may be a possibility 

 of fouling it may be taken care of by shifting 

 the rod to the left hand, clipping the line to 

 the handgrasp of the rod beneath the fingers 

 of the left hand, and winding up the super- 

 fluous slack line. 



The beginner should accustom himself to 

 handling the line in this way when first learning 

 the use of the fly-rod; later it will be all the 

 more difficult to master since at the same time 

 he will be under the necessity of correcting 

 other casting habits which may have become al- 

 most second nature. Further reference to this 

 manner of manipulating the line a most im- 

 portant factor in effective fly casting and fish- 

 ing will be found in connection with various 

 subjects such as playing and landing a trout, 

 methods of preventing drag, and so on; in fact, 

 in one way or another the method is essentially 

 a part of practically every phase of the purely 

 manual side of dry or wet fly fishing. 



It has been noted above that the overhead 



