CHAPTER V 



DRAG 



The object of the dry-fly fisherman is to place his 



fly in such a position and in 

 Definition of drag. such a manner that it will float 



accurately over the rising fish 

 following a similar course and travelling at the same 

 pace as would the natural insect on the same run. Any 

 deviation from the natural course governed by the flow 

 of the stream, and any acceleration or diminution of 

 the pace of the living insect on the part of the artificial 

 fly, is designated drag. The use of the word drag, to 

 define any unnatural appearance of the artificial fly on 

 the water, due to its proceeding in a different direction 

 or drifting down at a slower or faster rate than the 

 natural, was, no doubt, in the first instance suggested 

 by the perceptible wake made by the artificial fly under 

 such conditions. 



A natural dun floating on the surface will, under 



normal conditions, follow the 

 The cause of drag. course of that part of the 



stream on which it happened 



to be when emerging in the winged state from the 



nymphal envelope. It will not only follow the course 



of the stream, but float down at the same pace as the 



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