break the tips casting for the wily toad upon the 

 lawn, we will go to the bank of some swiftly run- 

 ning stream to practise to our heart's content the 

 art which all true anglers love the casting of 

 the fly. 



As most of our fishing will be done from canoes, 

 we should begin our practice in the method by 

 which we intend to kill our fish ; and when one has 

 become proficient in the art of casting the fly from 

 the canoe, it will be easier to accomplish the feat 

 upon land. Casting from the canoe is less difficult 

 than from the bank or beach of the river, because 

 one usually has a clear space in which to make the 

 cast, and should the fly, when thrown back pre- 

 paratory to the forward cast, strike the water, as it 

 sometimes does, nothing more serious is likely to 

 happen than marring the beauty of the cast ; but 

 when casting from the land one should be more 

 careful, for if the fly touches any obstruction it is 

 liable to become fastened, and the result is usually 

 a broken tip or hook. To touch either the water 

 from the canoe, or any obstruction when fishing 

 from bank or beach, is, of course, bad form, and 

 pardonable only when a very heavy wind is blow- 

 ing against one's back. Even in the canoe, do 

 not fail to look behind you to see if there are 

 any trees on the banks, or rocks projecting above 

 the water, which might cause trouble ; for it would 

 be most annoying to find our fly fastened to a 



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