TO FISH FLOATING FLY 89 



ing all the water should proceed much after 

 the manner of the wet fly fisherman: the angler 

 who has been accustomed to fish upstream with 

 the wet fly need not alter his general methods 

 in the least, save as regards floating the fly and 

 avoiding drag. As a rule, it is best to follow 

 or wade along the left bank, looking upstream, 

 as this will give you an unobstructed right- 

 handed horizontal cast. 



As the dry fly man works upstream and the 

 trout habitually lie facing the current, the care- 

 ful and quiet angler seldom needs to cast a 

 long line provided, of course, he is casting 

 practically straight up and actually stalking the 

 fish from behind. But when casting diagonally 

 up and across from either bank, in which man- 

 ner it may happen that a great deal of the wa- 

 ter may be most advantageously worked, the 

 familiar fact that " keeping out of sight " is 

 half the battle in trout-fishing must never be 

 forgotten. This time-honored rule of the 

 trout-fisherman is, it would seem, quite fre- 

 quently neglected by even the most experienced 

 anglers, its non-observance often constituting 

 the " inexplicable " reason for failure when 

 casting to a rising fish or when fishing a good 

 pool. 



It is always best to use the shortest line corn* 



