126 HINTS TO DRY-FLY FISHERMEN. 



actual perception of a human being, or of the 

 flashing rod carried by him, are nothing more or 

 less than danger signals, the effect of which is to 

 send the frightened trout or grayling off with a rush 

 either to the nearest sheltering weed, or if, as too 

 often, alas ! happens, every patch of weed has been 

 mowed down, madly up or down the stream, 

 communicating the scare to fish after fish, until 

 the surface of the water for scores of yards is 

 positively ploughed by them " urging on their 

 wild career." 



Hence it is necessary at all times to keep well 

 out of sight, not only the Angler himself, by taking 

 advantage of every hiding-place behind tree, bush, 

 or bunch of sedge, and, as far as possible, creeping 

 along on all fours, and kneeling or sitting down 

 when casting, but also by avoiding the flashing 

 about of the highly varnished rod in the bright 

 sunshine. With respect to the motion of the rod, 

 let me again impress upon the tyro the manifest 

 advantage of the " underhanded cast," by means 

 of which neither the point nor the reflection of 

 the rod, is ever over the rising fish. 



As to the rod, no dry-fly fisherman can ever 

 hope to be quite first-rate unless he uses a single- 

 handed one. With a double-handed rod he cannot 

 really throw further than with the single ; he cannot 

 fish underhanded, and he is utterly powerless to 

 direct his fly against the wind. This style of fishing 

 is far heavier and more clumsy, and, in fact, the 



