156 PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 



make the side or under cast, seldom lifting their 

 rod above their shoulder. There are supposed ad- 

 vantages in such a movement, but I have never 

 been able to discover them. One must have a large 

 space of clear water to escape such entanglements 

 with brush or tree-tops as no angler covets. Of 

 course, there are times when this movement is 

 necessary to enable one to reach desirable objective 

 points, but it is not a movement to " tie to." Others 

 still have 110 fixed mode of casting. It is their boast 

 that they are equally expert in all. As a rule, how- 

 ever, you will find that in angling as in everything 

 else, those who are " equally expert in all " rarely 

 excel in any. 



In casting, attitude may not be everything, but 

 it is a great deal. And what a multitude of atti- 

 tudes anglers assume ! Some stand as erect as pil- 

 lars, swaying neither to the right nor to the left, 

 whatever reach of line they covet. Some sway to 

 and fro, with every movement of their rod, like a 

 tall pine in a tempest. Others throw themselves 

 forward as if ambitious to follow their fly in person ; 

 while now and then one casts with an ease and 

 grace of attitude and movement which would excite 

 the envy and admiration of an athlete or sculptor. 

 As I write, the recollection of one such comes back 

 to me very pleasantly. He was an Adonis in form 

 and physique, and his casting was the perfect 



