420 SWITCHING 



when I make use of the term 'stiff,' I do not mean a 

 heavy, unyielding lump of wood, but a rod in which 

 there is ample substance in the butt and middle joints ; 

 sufficient, but no more, to prevent the line going too 

 far back and the hook catching in grass, trees, etc., 

 etc. ; in fact, to make my meaning more clear, a rod 

 which is strong enough to sustain the weight of the 

 line when thrown backwards without unduly bending 

 and allowinor the cast to drao;- on the orround and catch 

 in any obstructions — a rod with plenty of ' backbone ' 

 in it. 



The switch, or, as it is termed, the ' spey ' cast is 

 easily acquired with the aid of a running stream free 

 from backwater. It is made thus: An ordinary cast 

 having been made, the stream is allowed to carry the 

 line taut to its full extent ; the point of the rod is then 

 gradually and quietly raised, without any check or 

 catch in the motion, until the fly is brought up to 

 within some four or five yards of the point where the 

 fisherman is standing. At this time the rod will be 

 as upright and as far back over the shoulder as can, 

 under the circumstances, be managed ; it must be 

 grasped tightly with both hands, and, pointing the top 

 in the direction required for the new cast, be brought 

 sharply and forcibly down to within a foot or two of 

 the water, by which motion the fly and line are drawn 

 off the water, and come over in a circle again, falling 

 on the water at their full extent, and in the direction 

 the top of the rod was pointed. During the process 

 of drawing the fly towards him, the fisherman must 

 remember to, as it were, ' keep touch ' with the fly. If 

 the cast is a long one, the line may be drawn rather 

 across the body towards the shoulder and further away 



i 



