108 ON TROUTING WITH THE FLY. 



After your flies alight, allow them to float 

 gently down stream for a yard or two, taking care 

 that neither they nor the line ripple the surface 

 There is no occasion for keeping them on the surface, 

 they will be quite as attractive a few inches under 

 water. As the flies come down stream, raise the 

 point of your rod, so as to keep your line straight, 

 and as little of it in the water as possible ; and 

 when they have traversed a few yards of water, 

 throw again about a yard or two higher up than 

 where your flies alighted the previous cast, and so 

 on. Unless the spot looks exceedingly promising 

 you need not cast twice in one place if you do not 

 get a rise, but if there is any quick turn in the 

 water where there is likely to be a good trout, we 

 frequently cast over it six or seven times in succes- 

 sion, just allowing the flies to alight when we cast 

 again. Where the current is strong, the trout may 

 not see the fly at first, and so we cast repeatedly to 

 make sure ; and we have frequently, after casting 

 unsuccessfully half-a-dozen times over the same 

 place, caught a good trout at last. Move up the 

 pool as quickly as you can, first taking a cast or 

 two straight up on the side you are on, and then 

 fishing the opposite side, and so on, until you finish 

 the pool. Although it is about the edges of the 

 pool you will generally get most trout, the main 

 current must by no means be neglected ; indeed in 

 it you will frequently capture the best fish. By 

 fishing in the way we have described, throwing a 



