224 SALMON AND TROUT. 



CASTING. 



I have so far given all the information I can think of that 

 may be of use as a guide to the selection of the principal requi- 

 sites for an outfit for salmon fishing. There are, however, 

 several other articles to make it complete, such as fly books, 

 tin boxes, &c.; but these do not require any mention in detail, 

 and, as they will not make or mar sport, the choice of them 

 may be safely left to the angler's fancy. 



The first thing a beginner has to learn is, how to cast over- 

 hand, and he should commence work with a short line, say 

 from ten to fifteen yards. When he can make a tolerable cast 

 with this length, he may gradually lengthen the line ; and if he 

 perseveres and works upon a sound principle, and has provided 

 himself with a rod suitable to his powers of casting, he will 

 gradually become master of it, and be able, with tolerable ease, 

 to cast a line of twenty or twenty-five yards, which is as far as 

 will be required for general purposes. To make a clean cast 

 overhand, it should be borne in mind it is necessary that the 

 line be lifted out of the water to the very end to where the fly 

 is attached ; and that it should be thrown to its fullest extent in 

 the backward cast (that is, behind the angler's back) prior to 

 the forward cast being made. If this be neglected, the fly will 

 as often as not be cracked off, and the line sent out in a slovenly 

 corkscrew fashion, or else both line and fly will fall in a heap 

 together in the water, the disadvantages of which will be ex- 

 plained later on. To make a cast in a workmanlike manner 

 the line should be sent clean out, down, and across stream 

 at an angle of not less than 45° (see d e, fig. i). As soon as 

 the fly touches the water, the rod, supposing the angler to 

 be standing at a, should be held in the position A D at an 

 angle of about 10° down stream from a line taken from where 

 the angler stands straight across to the opposite bank, and it 

 should remain in that position until the fly has reached mid- 

 stream, G, after which the point should gradually follow the 



