148 THE SCIENTIFIC ANGLER. 



to the dullness of the e^es of fish, owing, it is affirmed, 

 to the skin of the head covering the pupil of the eye, 

 the trout fisher knows very well that in their own ele- 

 ment they habitually exercise the most keen and dis- 

 criminating powers of vision, when the water is clear; 

 and any moving or brightly-colored objects outside it 

 attract their attention.* In order to deal comprehen- 

 sively with our subject, for the more especial edification 

 of the tyro, we shall proceed to allude in detail to the 

 leading items already referred to as being: essential to 

 success, viz. : Casting the Fly, Playing or Landing, and 

 Killing a Fish. Before doing so, however, the necessary 

 appliances must engage our attention. 



The KOD, KEEL and LINE should be well adapted to 

 act perfectly and in concert with each other. We have 

 already pointed out the inconvenience and disaster arising 

 from the common practice of employing implements to- 

 tally incapable of working together evenly. The intending 

 purchaser most frequently considers what is the strength, 

 length or thickness of line required for some specified 

 water or fish, and not for a particular rod. The rod 

 forms the first subject of attention; the winch, or reel 

 and line being next chosen, with a view to the harmoni- 

 ous working of the whole, the reel to balance, and the 

 line to suit the "play" of the tool. This is of the most 

 vital importance. Fly-rods are made of many different 

 woods and dimensions. It is a noteworthy fact, how- 

 ever, that during the twr> centuries that have elapsed 

 since Cotton first wrote upon what afterwards developed 



*I have always been under the impression that it was not the sub- 

 stance of our presence, but the shadow of it, that startled the fish; that 

 when fishing with the sun's rays full on our front, and even on dark, 

 cloudy days, our body and moving rod-arm, although throwing no 

 shadow upon the water visible to the human eye, were reflected upon 

 the stream to an extent appreciable and alarming to the fish, indicating 

 to them an unusual condition of affairs that boded no good and placed 

 them upon their guard. 



