69 



precisely the same manner as before. 



Tlie point to which the student's attention is specially called is 

 liiis : That in certain instances as, markedly, in the case of very rough 

 waters, defeat would be inevitable if too much line were allowed to 

 run along the surface at any given time. It stands to reason, that 

 choppy waters and rapids are very liable to plunge the floating line 

 into confusion, and dash it to a depth from which the rod could not 

 recover it in lime to complete the cast. By reducing this floating 

 portion from ten )'ards or so to a few feet, the current has much less 

 chance of " queering the pitch." And it is precisely to the slight 

 initial movement of tlie rod that this reduction of floating line is due. 



The question as to where this same portion strikes tlie water, 

 now remains to be dealt with. For the experienced, who habitually 

 pitch upon the right spot with unerring accuracy, it might be decided 

 as a moral certainty ; for beginners, as a possibility depending upon 

 a possibility. For instance, a wild and increasing descent of water 

 entails the necessity of casting with more and more speed. Is it not, 

 therefore, perfectly plain that the point of contact vajies, and takes 

 place further and further up stream ? while the distance is, of course, 

 regulated by the degree of strength applied. 



The difference between tlie two wa)'s- A and H- ma)- apjicar to 

 tlic uneducated eye as being very insignificant, l)ut the effect produced 

 on the line at starting in B is, at all events, sufficient to establish the 

 belief, that by this " sliglitly varied movenx-nt " the best results can 

 alone be obtained. 



In either method, the line can be cast along llie water from the 

 butt of the Spey Improved Rod in the usual wav, or, in case of 

 necessity, as for instance, in rough weather, propelled through the air 



