n8 HINTS TO DRY-FLY FISHERMEN. 



or floating on the surface of the water with its 

 wings up, or what we technically term, " cocked ; " 

 fourthly, to put the fly lightly on the water, so that 

 it floats accurately over him without drag; and, 

 fifthly, to take care that all these conditions have 

 been fulfilled before the fish has seen the Angler or 

 the reflection of his rod. 



The first point, viz. : To find a fish rising at 

 the winged insect, may not, at the first glance, 

 appear difficult, but it is astonishing to how great 

 a degree the success of the Angler depends on his 

 judgment in this particular respect. Merely to 

 note the disturbance caused by the movement of 

 the fish is, of course, a question of sight ; but when 

 looking from any distance, it is not quite easy to 

 define exactly the precise spot at which the dis- 

 turbance took place. Suppose even the fish is 

 rising close to the bank and you mark down care- 

 fully the very blade of grass against which the ring 

 of the feeding trout is seen, you must remember 

 that, as a general rule, it is the sound which first 

 attracts your attention, and in the moment which 

 must elapse between hearing the rise and catching 

 sight of the disturbed surface of the stream, the 

 ring or bubble made by the fish has been carried 

 some feet down by the current. When, however, 

 the rise is in mid stream, it is far more difficult : the 

 only mark by which the place can be defined is 

 usually the apparent distance between the ring and 

 some broken line on the surface of the stream, 



