NOTES FROM A DIARY 137 



suggestion of a flicker in the depths or an 

 infinitesimal bulge on the surface of the 

 water as the fish turns to take the fly. 

 Here the strike has an added charm, for 

 when it meets that live resistance, when 

 the rod hoops and the reel sings, the fisher 

 forgets the impalpable sign of a second 

 before. His strike appears to him as a 

 miracle of intuition, timed exactly at the 

 psychological moment. There are days, 

 too, when an oiled cast will be of assistance 

 in detecting the trout's acceptance of the 

 fly. The gut cast now acts as a float, 

 which is pulled under water when the 

 fish takes — only the thicker links of the 

 cast are oiled, the finer point being allowed 

 to descend with the fly. Here glycerine 

 may prove useful. A well-glycerined fly 

 will sink like a stone. Of course, as a 

 rule, this method is superfluous, and we 

 cannot be expected to carry the whole 

 stock-in-trade of an apothecary in our 

 pockets ! Yet there are occasions when 

 glycerine is worth while. A big fish is 

 worth any amount of trouble. We must 

 bear in mind, moreover, that it is the first 

 cast that really counts. Number two has 



