102 MINOR TACTICS OF THE CHALK STREAM 



bank, while he has more command in cutting 

 across to the far side from the left bank than 

 from the right. If, on the other hand, the wind 

 be upstream and off the left bank, by standing 

 back a bit and using a short cross-country cast 

 tlie angler may get his fly very neatly over most 

 of the fish under his own bank, and can cut 

 across more easily than he could from the right 

 bank. 



Take, again, the case of a wind downstream and 

 across from the right bank to the left. Here again 

 the angler on the left bank is in the superior 

 position for negotiating his own bank, casting 

 almost straight into the wind, and letting fly and 

 point be deflected under his own bank. On the 

 right bank the angler would be apt to have his fly 

 flung out towards midstream, and the short cross- 

 country cast would be apt to miscarry. On the 

 other hand, if the wind be downstream and across 

 from the left bank, the advantage lies slightly with 

 the right bank, but it is nothing like so marked 

 (assuming, as we have been doing from the first, 

 that the angler is right-handed) as in the converse 

 case. 



On the whole, therefore, it will be seen that, 

 contrary to the generally received opinion, unless 

 the wind be fairly direct upstream or (for the 

 opposite bank) down, the left bank is almost 

 invariably the bank of vantage. 



