122 FLOATING FLIES 



no matter how skilfully the angler may manipu- 

 late it. 



The fly-caster who handles his fish as here in- 

 dicated is of all anglers best armed against the 

 running back of a hooked trout. Once you 

 have reduced the action of stripping in the line 

 with the left hand to a purely automatic mo- 

 tion, so that you perform it quickly, expertly, 

 and without forethought in the matter of how 

 to go about it, it is a very fast fish, indeed, 

 which can accumulate much slack line, for the 

 line may be retrieved through the guides far 

 faster than with any sort of reel and almost al- 

 ways with sufficient rapidity to save the fish. 



It seems, too indeed, it is a fact that when 

 playing a trout in this manner one can usually 

 tell what the fish is going to do before he does 

 it, and the value of this forewarning should be 

 obvious. Every slightest movement of the fish 

 is carried to the left hand of the angler hold- 

 ing the line, and the least lessening or increase 

 of tension between the rod-tip and the quarry is 

 instantly sensed and line taken or given accord- 

 ingly. Moreover, the method insures against 

 forcing the fish too strenuously because one 

 knows to a practical certainty when there is too 

 much pull a thing far more difficult to esti- 

 mate when killing the fish on the reel. 



