53 



The dry-fly fisherman walks quietly along by the side of the 

 stream, and if he sees a trout rising, drops his fly lightly a little 

 above it, and preferably also a little on one side, and lets it float 

 down stream on the surface to the fish, gently raising the point 

 of his rod in the meantime. In case no fish are rising, he care- 

 fully casts to the most likely-looking spots, and particularly under 

 the bank on which he is standing. 



In nine cases out of ten, a trout, if it rises at all, takes the dry 

 fly immediately it touches the water ; therefore, one should learn 

 to cast clean and straight, without any slack line. 



TACKLE. 



There is a great difference of opinion among anglers as to the 

 amount of pliancy a fly-rod ought to possess. From the old- 

 fashioned, heavy, stiff rod, we have gone to the other extreme, 

 and had cane rods so light and whippy as to be entirely useless 

 on a windy day ; and now we have what is, in my opinion, a some- 

 what sensible reaction, and are coming back to a greenheart from 

 ten to twelve feet long, of medium substance and pliability. 



Such a rod, with an Acme line suited to it, and the whole 

 adapted to the height and strength of the angler, ought to make 

 good casting. Long casting may be showy, but in practice it is 

 far better to cast lightly and accurately, and this tends to fill the 

 basket much more than being able to get out an extra length. 

 One piece of advice may be relied on : never part with a good 

 rod after you have become accustomed to it. It is not only the 

 pleasurable associations connected with it, but the confidence you 

 have in it, and, through it, in yourself, enables you to kill fish 

 with it. 



With care, it may be made to last a lifetime. I used, the other 

 day, at the International Tournament, a greenheart that I have 

 used almost exclusively for about twelve years, and with which I 

 have killed many hundred brace of trout. If, on the occasion 

 referred to, I had used an Ogden and Scotford's multum in parvo, 

 I believe I should have thrown two yards farther. 



