igo A BOOK ON ANGLING 



ON DIBBING OR DAPING 



Fishing with the natural fly, or, as it is termed, dibbing or 

 daping, ranks next to fishing with the artificial fly. It is a 

 much simpler process, but requires a great deal of nicety. The 

 easiest style in which to use the natural fly is with the blow- 

 line, but the blow-line is hardly fair fly-fishing ; indeed, 

 dibbing, more especially with the May fly, is so destructive 

 when worked by an adept, that it is more then a question 

 whether it should be held fair fishing at all. However, as many 

 clubs and good anglers do follow and profess it, and as in many 

 lakes it yields almost the only sport got from them, I will e'en 

 treat of it. 



The blow-line is thus employed. The line is composed of 

 the lightest, loosest, and airiest floss silk so web-like that 

 the least puff of wind will drive it before it. Light and loose as 

 it is, it has abundant strength. The rod used generally 

 resembles the mast of a fishing-smack, being of the lightest 

 cane, but as long as it can be obtained or worked. It generally 

 runs to nineteen or twenty feet, and often beyond that. As a 

 foot-line or cast, there is some two feet or more of very fine gut, 

 and a hook to match. On this hook is impaled a live May fly. 

 Put the hook into the thorax about the throat, and bring it out 

 again just below the wings. Some anglers use two flies, and 

 two hooks are then employed, tied, not back to back, but side 

 to side, and then opened wide enough to get the two flies on 

 comfortably ; I do not commend the plan as it makes too bulky 

 a bait. The angler then chooses that bank of the stream whence 

 the wind is blowing, and walks up the bank ; when he sees a 

 good fish rise, he turns his back to the wind, faces the fish, lets 

 out line enough just to clear the ground holds the rod per- 

 fectly upright, and allows the wind to take the line out over the 

 river, which, if but a very moderate breeze is on, it will do 

 easily. When it is bellied out half-way or three-parts across 

 the stream, judging his distance carefully, the angler slowly 

 lowers the point of the rod, so that if he has measured his 

 distance pretty rightly the fly will light where or whereabouts 

 the fish is rising, and a little above it of course, and as the fly 

 can be lowered on to the water au naturel like thistledown, and 

 by the skilful working of the rod-point can be made even to skip 

 and flutter up and down on the surface like the natural insect 

 in the enjoyment of the most rabid and demonstrative liberty, 

 and as no line need be visible, and nothing need touch the 



