102 FLOATING FLIES 



same path as the natural fly if the trout is to 

 rise to it. 



Choose your place from which to cast over 

 the trout with two things in mind to avoid 

 being seen by the fish, and to lessen the liabil- 

 ity of drag. Keep low and cast not a foot more 

 line than necessary. 



Do not cast to the exact place of the rise; 

 drop your fly some two or three feet above it 

 so that the fly will float down over the place 

 where the fish rose. Moreover, if possible, 

 avoid throwing your leader over the fish 

 which will not occur unless you cast actually 

 in line with it from below. 



If the fish fails to rise let your fly float well 

 below it before lifting it from the water for 

 which the reason should be obvious. My own 

 experience leads me to believe that often a 

 trout will rise only to a fly, natural or artificial, 

 floating over a certain small area of the sur- 

 face which sometimes the fish seems to have 

 selected for the purpose of feeding; if the arti- 

 ficial fly fails to cover the exact spot to which 

 the trout is rising it may be the fish will wholly 

 disregard it. Frequently I have cast to a ris- 

 ing fish and failed through difficulties of drag 

 and poor casting to get the fly over the 

 right place in the right way until possibly the 



