Practical Dry-Fly Fishing 



water upon which it lay, but upon the 

 force exerted by the current upon the 

 line, and without power of resistance 

 it would be dragged wherever the line 

 happened to take it. The same thing 

 would occur in the case of the imita- 

 tion insect forming the angler's float- 

 ing lure. 



These unnatural motions given to the 

 fly by the varying and conflicting forces 

 exerted upon the fly and line give rise 

 to what anglers call the drag. This 

 drag may occur when the line is in 

 swifter water than the fly, when it is 

 in a slower current than the fly, or 

 when there is a difference in the direc- 

 tions of the currents. The drag fre- 

 quently makes itself evident when one 

 casts across stream or up-stream and 

 across. Near the opposite bank where 

 the fly is placed the current may be 

 sluggish, while in the centre of the 



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