196 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



" It is simply pitiable to see the paltry hooks and 



tackle that are generally thought 



Inadequate tackle. sufficient for these trout. There 



seems to be a mistaken idea 

 that with the dry-fly you must have finest of gut and 

 tackle combined with a powerful split cane rod and 

 heavy line well suited for tournament casting, but very 

 rough on hooks and gut and the trout's mouth ; also 

 bad to handle a fish on." 



"When you have cast to a fish without result, you 

 do not want to lift all the line that is out directly from 

 the water. Palm the line gently in until the fly is 

 well clear of the fish. It is not like fishing a stream 

 where you know the position of your feeding fish and 

 where the current carries your fly down past the fish 

 and out of its sight. The drag of the fly, gut, and 

 line when being lifted off the water from a long cast 

 is very apt to scare fish. Not much time is wasted 

 and the few false casts required in getting the palmed 

 line out dry the fly. Do not strike a fish quickly ; 

 these large fish often take slowly." 



" When you find a rising fish, get quietly near it and 

 watch to see how it is feeding ; you can generally see the 

 direction in which it is heading, and anchor so that you 

 are within fair casting distance of its beat and can cast 

 your fly so that it alights on the surface in front of the 

 fish on the course it is taking. Do not move the fly 

 until you are sure the fish has passed it. In casting to 

 ja fish be careful not to rock the boat at each cast 

 by moving your whole body instead of only the arm. ' 



