CASTING THE MINNO\\ 415 



comparatively long time. If a sinker be required in ad- 

 dition to the swivel, it should be placed a foot above it. 



MAKING THE CAST. 



Now reel up the line until the sinker, or swivel, as the 

 case may be, is at the tip of the rod, and we are ready to 

 make a cast, which I will now endeavor to explain with 

 the aid of the annexed diagram and cuts : 



In the diagram, A represents the angler; we are sup- 

 posed to be looking down upon him from above, so that 

 only his hat and rod are visible. He is facing B. The 

 angler now wishes to make a cast to the left, X being the 

 objective point to which he desires to cast the minnow, 

 some twenty yards distant. He grasps the rod immedi- 

 ately below the reel with the right hand, with the thumb 

 resting lightly but firmly upon the spool, to control the 

 rendering of the line; the right arm is extended down- 

 ward, slightly bent, with the elbow near the body, and 

 with the extreme butt of the rod nearly touching the right 

 hip; the thumb and reel are upward, inclining slightly 

 toward the left; the tip of the rod, or rather the minnow, 

 just clears the ground or surface of the water; the position 

 of the rod is now in the direction of the line A C, inclin- 



