THE PLACES TO FISH. 381 



change their course ; now making towards that large deep eddy on the 

 far side, now increasing in velocity and forming certain little curls below 

 until the Angler is forced to wade or retire a veritable low water 

 catch, this ! 



First, the question forces itself upon us, Where are the fish ? Well, 

 the gillie will decide this for you, as, sometimes they take up their places 

 at the neck of the ripple, sometimes at the near edge of the large eddy, and 

 at other times at the lower part of the pool altogether. But let us 

 consider how best we can proceed from the eddy downwards ; for the 

 streamy part at the neck will hold not one single fish until quite the 

 middle of the month of May, unless the weather has been abnormally 

 warm. 



The chief object here is not to allow the fly, which must be cast well 

 into the eddy, to be dragged too quickly past the long narrow catch by the 

 force of the water upon the bellying line. (These catches are generally 

 long and always narrow, for the fish lie in the small space between the 

 stream and the eddy, which may be even twenty yards in length.) If the 

 fly comes too quickly, the rule of presentation is broken from the fact that 

 the fly travels head first past the fish. And yet, in this case, it is im- 

 possible to rigidly obey the rule, unless the length of line in use is so 

 limited that the Angler can work the fly at almost any pace he likes, by 

 holding the rod high in the air. Still, there is usually a way out of these 

 difficulties, and, maybe, the remedy is simply to " mend " the cast 

 immediately it is made. 



It would be a very strange place if that remedy did not have the 

 desired effect all down the eddy and cause the fly to work before the fish 

 in true orthodox form. 



When the first cast is completed and previous to making another, as 

 your gillie will tell you, walk one yard on, or, if the water is coloured much, 

 half a yard will do, and continue casting and " mending " as before. But 

 should you raise a Salmon and he should happen to come short, walk away, 

 change the fly for one a trifle smaller, or, if you like, cut out such feathers 

 as Jungle fowl or Summer Duck, and use the same one again. In about 

 four minutes make a couple of casts over the fish from where you stood 

 before, but not lower. Should this fail, select a fly a trifle smaller still 



