What the Rod Should Do 



forth in the air without touching the 

 water. Meanwhile, keep stripping off 

 line until the desired length has been 

 taken from the reel. But do not swing 

 your rod violently as if you were try- 

 ing to beat a carpet with it; let its 

 movements be gentle and graceful. 

 The wrist and spring of the rod should 

 do all the work. Allow the tip to de- 

 scribe only a small arc; that is, let it 

 go only slightly beyond the perpen- 

 dicular on either the forward or the 

 back cast. Gentle movements of the 

 rod in the air are far less liable to alarm 

 the trout than quick, violent motions. 

 Before the series of false casts has been 

 begun the angler is supposed to have 

 picked out some particular spot on the 

 water where he thinks there is a fish, 

 and therefore desires to place his fly. 

 He keeps his eyes on the fly as it goes 

 through the air, and when he sees that 



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