Practical Dry-Fly Fishing 



the banks. Impelled by some pecu- 

 liarity of the atmosphere, or by some 

 other cause which we cannot, and need 

 not if we could, explain, the fish have 

 come close to the surface to watch for 

 their prey, which can thus be easily 

 seized as the victims float along with- 

 out further trouble on the part of the 

 fish than gently lifting their mouths 

 above the water. Now, the angler's 

 fly is wet and heavy, and, thrown from 

 the other side, has a certain weight of 

 line in addition. So, as it is not in the 

 nature of things that this soaked arti- 

 ficial fly can swim upon the surface as 

 the natural ones do, it follows the al- 

 ternative and sinks below the rising 

 fish, the notice of which it entirely 

 escapes, because they happen just then 

 to be looking upward for the materials 

 of their meal. Let a dry-fly be sub- 

 stituted for the wet one, the line 



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