360 THE SALMON FLY. 



Then I ordered more " caulkers " upon the festive scene. The con- 

 versation shortly glided into other channels, and, among other songs which 

 were most entertaining, " The lass o' ' Gowrie ' " was befittingly rendered 

 by one of these honest souls. 



The " Governor " is a singular cast, sound in principle, though quaint 

 in its inception. In practice it works admirably. Without it I, at least, 

 know no other way to reach fish lying fifty yards or more across stream, 

 and for no other purpose did I originally intend it. The cast is withal 

 simplicity itself. A mop handle, five feet in length (shod) is pushed into 

 the ground and remains fixed at its back merely by string attached to two 

 tent pegs. A small staple has been previously hammered in at the top, 

 through which an elastic band is adjusted. The fly must not penetrate 

 the elastic itself ; the hook should merely hang through the ring. All 

 the Angler has to do then is to walk right away to the riverside in the 

 line of the cast, letting the winch "run" as he goes, until he has 

 sufficient casting line out to cover the distance required. Of course 

 he will have previously made himself acquainted with the particular 

 catch he desires to command, and have taken precautions as to measure- 

 ment and direction, by shifting the apparatus beforehand. By this 

 simple yet judicious method, any novice lady or gentleman can get 

 out a tremendous line, without any previous knowledge, in half a dozen 

 trials. 



When an extra long cast is wanted I invariably use a line which 

 has been spiced for the purpose, for it is a drawback to have any length of 

 thin back-line at the point of the rod. 



The next step is to make the " thrash-down." This breaks the elastic 

 baud, releases the fly, and away it goes. But it is necessary to bear in 

 mind that the rod must always be dropped back, as shown in the drawing, 

 so that the line almost touches the ground when the operation is about 

 to be performed. The more the rod is checked at the finish, the greater 

 is the line under command. 



If the first cast does not raise the fish, all you have to do is to wind 

 up, walk back to the mopstick with the fly in your hand, put on another 

 band the band is partly pushed through the staple and looped through 

 itself and muttering to yourself "better luck next time," at it you go 



