146 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



towards B, if it is placed very close to a shy trout 

 it is very likely to scare it, if it is placed well above 

 in the fast water in the bay below A, it will generally 

 sail over the fish without drag. v 



It is surprising how the experienced fisherman can, 

 after a little study of the position, realize intuitively 

 what is necessary in each case, either in reference 

 to the station from which he should throw or the 

 kind of cast he should deliver in order to avoid or 

 delay drag. It is, perhaps, owing to the necessity for 

 this continual study and the ever-varying nature of 

 each position that we are able season after Season to 

 keep up our enthusiasm. We go on casting floating 

 flies over those shy chalk-stream trout without the 

 sport or absence of sport affecting us very much, and 

 the cult of the dry-fly never seems to pall on those 

 who take it seriously. 



On a well-kept shallow there are clean gravel 



patches behind beds of weed 

 Gravel patches. plentifully dotted about, and in 



the part of this book devoted 

 to fishery management it is shown how effectively the 

 modern plan of driving piles in different parts causes 

 the water to wash away the weed so as to scour and 

 leave exposed the bed of the river. It is safe to 

 predict that when the trout are feeding on the surface 

 or below the surface, or when they are taking up their 

 positions ready to feed, there will, in a well-stocked 

 river, be one at least lying over every gravel patch. 

 No experienced dry-fly man ever fails to scan each 



