106 ANGLING. 



You must learn bow to make the fly-cast, however, and 

 there are several plans of performing that essential operation. 

 The ordinary cast is made by adding from one to four 

 "bobs" or "droppers" to the casting- line, from twenty 

 Inches to two feet apart. The droppers should hang from 

 two to three inches from the main line, and should be 

 joined to it by slipping the knotted end of the "bob" 

 through the links of the fisher's knot, described on page 

 25. This is a simple, easy, and efficient mode of making 

 a fly-cast, and especially suitable for beginners. The drop- 

 pers can be easily removed. It should not be forgotten 

 that the flies must be dressed on the finest gut, and any- 

 thing that will add to the strength of the line, without 

 adding to its dimensions, should not be overlooked. Mr 

 Stewart recommends a fly-cast somewhat different to the 

 above, and much more difficult to make. He takes two 

 flies dressed on long lengths of fine gut, and ties the two 

 ends of gut together, so as to have a fly at each end. He 

 then whips a length of gut about two and a half inches 

 above one of the flies, and to the end of the gut he attaches 

 another length of gut on which a fly has been dressed, and 

 so on until the required number have been added. He 

 claims for this plan the recommendation that really each fly 

 forms a continuation of the main line, and if it does not 

 strengthen, it certainly does not weaken it. The old loop 

 practice, once so common, should never be followed. 



With two or three " casts " twisted round his felt wide- 

 awake hat, the young fly-fisher is ready to commence opera- 

 tions. His dress must be sober coloured. He has his rod, 

 reel, fishing-basket or haversack, landing-net or gaff, and, 

 on his feet his waterproof boots or stockings. He has a 

 knife in his pocket, a pair of tweezers, a disgorger, scissors, 



