98 ANGLING. 



the rod forward somewhat more smartly, with a cutting or 

 flogging action, towards the spot where he wishes his fly 

 to fall, and, if he has followed my counsel accurately, the 

 line will fall straightly upon the water in the direction 

 desired. When he has brought the rod forwards so that 

 it stands at about an angle of forty-five degrees, he should 

 check it, and as the line falls, lower it gently another 

 twenty or thirty degrees, so as to allow the fly to fall 

 softly on the surface, and to travel lightly and unchecked 

 down the stream. In making the forward impulse of the 

 rod, after having sent the line back behind him, the angler 

 should be careful to give the line time to fully extend 

 itself. If he does not he will probably hear a crack like 

 the faint flick of a whip, only sharper, and if he then 

 looks at his gut he will find that he has cracked his fly off. 

 In order to avoid this as much as possible, it is desirable 

 not to throw the line straight back, and then straight 

 forward, but, when the line has extended, to make a 

 slight sweep or curve with the rod point so that the fly 

 may also travel in a curve instead of a sharp angle. 

 Some anglers make this curve away from the face or 

 shoulder, others towards it, I prefer making it away from 

 the face, as the more upright the rod is when you with- 

 draw the line from the water the better and quicker it 

 comes off it. 



Windy weather, particularly if the wind is in your 

 favour, greatly facilitates the flicking off of flies, as it 

 prevents the line from thoroughly extending itself behind 

 before the cast is made. In such a wind special care 

 should be taken if the angler does not want to lose his fly. 

 The outline of a long jargonelle pear starting from the 

 stem round over the eye and so back to the stem again, 

 will give some notion of the sort of curve the rod point 



