38 Scotch Loch-Fishing. 



difference between a well-thrown fly and the 

 reverse is very apparent. After you have made 

 a satisfactory cast, draw the line slowly to you 

 by raising the point of the rod, taking care to 

 keep the line as taut as possible. Also see 

 that your bob-fly is tripping on the surface, 

 as we consider that a well-managed "bob" is 

 the most lifelike of the whole lot. Do not fish 

 with too long a line, unless, indeed, on an excep- 

 tional occasion, when you wish to reach the lie 

 of a feeding fish. It is difficult to define a long 

 line, but a good general rule is that it should 

 never be longer than when you have the con- 

 sciousness that, if a fish should rise, you have 

 him at a fair and instantaneous striking dis- 

 tance. Eemember that the time the flies first 

 touch the water after each cast is the most 

 deadly ; therefore, cast often. 



If you have only the share of a boat, the rule 

 is that one man takes the stern up till lunch, 

 and the other after it. For ourselves, we have 

 a preference for the bow, and we generally find 

 that most anglers prefer the luxury of the stern ; 

 so when both parties are pleased, there is no oc- 

 casion for changing at all. The most important 

 thing to bear in mind when you have a com- 



