76 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



this document they have imposed no penalties, but 

 the true golfer is, if possible, more punctilious in 

 respect to the etiquette than he is to the rules of the 

 game. If a member of a golf club is unsportsman- 

 like, or possibly only careless, and habitually commits 

 the grave indiscretion of disregarding the etiquette 

 of the game, he will find difficulty in persuading his 

 fellow-members to make a friendly match with 

 him. I would suggest that the ethics of the dry-fly 

 on a fishery where dry-fly only is permitted should be 

 regarded in much the same light. 



After all, what does it amount to ? A member of 

 a club or subscription water has to practise a certain 

 modicum of unselfishness so as not to interfere with 

 the sport of his fellow-members. He must abstain 

 from hammering a fish, whether rising or in position, 

 so as not to add to the fish's already advanced 

 education. He is expected to keep well back from 

 the bank when walking upstream, so as not to scare 

 the fish and injure the prospects of others who are 

 following him. When making his way downstream 

 he should take even greater precautions in this respect, 

 because from the position of every feeding fish with 

 its head directed upstream the angler is then visible 

 at a far greater distance than when moving upstream. 



If he has crawled into position- over a rising fish 

 with every precaution to keep out of sight, and has 

 after a number of unsuccessful casts decided that it 

 is better policy to abandon the pursuit of this and 

 find another fish rising elsewhere, he should, when 



