Keep Your Head Above Water 



one, and three off colored ones. I had never seen a 

 fly cast, or a fly-casting outfit, but I thought I could 

 learn. So after the corn was laid by, the wheat 

 threshed, and the hay put in the mow, I decided to 

 try my new outfit. 



I had practiced some on the pond at home, but only 

 caught a mud catfish about five inches long. But I 

 had hopes of something better when I tried my luck 

 at the river which was twelve miles away, at the 

 nearest point, from home. But by getting up at two 

 o'clock in the morning, I could get there in time for 

 the morning fishing. 



One morning, about the last of July, I started for 

 White River to try my luck. I got there and was 

 ready to fish by five o'clock. I tried a white fly and 

 one of the off-colored ones first, and fished about a 

 quarter of a mile of the river, and never got a fish 

 to raise to them. I had no boat, so I just waded and 

 fished. I changed my flies, placing my black one on 

 the end of the line; and the red one back about four 

 feet, and " at it " again I went. I could not keep 

 from making a splash when the flies hit the water, 

 and my wrist got tired, so I took both hands and 

 tried it awhile. 



Just below me the river made a sharp bend. There 

 was swift water at the turn, and about fifteen feet 

 depth below it. I waded out twenty-five yards and 

 began fishing the swift water, gradually working down 



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