v FLY-FISHER'S AFTERMATH 79 



too quickly for trout, but for dace one can 

 hardly strike quickly enough. Hence I do 

 not consider dace -fishing as very useful 

 practice for trout, except, of course, in so 

 far as any sort of fly-fishing teaches a man 

 how to throw a good line. 



One ought perhaps to say a few words 

 with regard to tackle. The rod which I like 

 as well as any for dace-fishing is a cheap 

 American split-cane. It throws a good 

 enough line, is very light, and is pliant 

 enough to obviate the natural tendency to 

 strike too hard, which accompanies one's 

 frantic efforts to strike instantaneously. But 

 this is only private prejudice. As a matter 

 of fact any fly-rod does well enough for 

 dace, so it be very light and not too stiff. 

 The reel-line should be tapered, and not too 

 heavy for the rod ; with the American cane 

 one can use a very light line even more or 

 less across the wind. But the essential thing 

 in dace-fishing is that the gut cast should 

 be tapered as fine as possible ; by possible I 

 mean as fine as the lightness o'f the angler's 

 hand will permit. A man who cannot get 

 out of the habit of striking hard loses both 

 time and trouble in fishing too fine, as 



