REPEATED CASTING NECESSAKY. Ill 



there is much less chance of their discovering its 

 artificial nature at that distance. For the same 

 reason, if you see a trout rise at a natural fly, throw 

 above it, and in general it will meet the fly half- 

 way. If a trout rise and you miss it, cast again, 

 and continue doing so until it ceases to rise ; a 

 small trout will frequently rise four or five times in 

 succession ; but the large well-conditioned fish are 

 more wary, and if they miss once or twice will some- 

 times decline returning, however temptingly you 

 may throw your flies. 



A breezy day is generally considered favourable 

 for fly-fishing, and no doubt it is so if the wind is 

 blowing up stream ; but it is equally likely that it 

 may be blowing down it generally blows either 

 up or down, very seldom across in which case the 

 angler would be very much better without it. 

 Because the wind is blowing down, the angler 

 should on no account fish in the same direction, 

 but must endeavour to cast against it as well as he 

 can. He may, however, stand a litt]e further back 

 from the water, and fish more nearly opposite to 

 where he is standing than would otherwise be advis- 

 able. To cast against the wind, it is necessary to 

 use great force, and immerse a considerable portion 

 of the line in the water. If the wind is very strong, 

 it is a great nuisance, no matter which way it is 

 blowing, as it is sometimes almost impossible to 

 keep the line in the water. In such circumstances 

 it is impossible to fish, the streams properly, and 



