MAY-FLY FISHING. 373 
the natural flies are floating down in droves of some six or 
seven, with intervals, and especially in the case of the spent 
gnat, a trout will often take every one passing over him ; in 
such a case do not select the interval, but rather strive to let 
your artificial fly come down the first of a drove. With very 
shy fish on a calm day taking only an occasional fly, it is some- 
times a good plan to wait patiently, and just as he rises cast 
into the very ring he has made ; if he misses the natural it is 
almost certain that he will come at the artificial, and even if 
not, he will often turn round and seize the imitation as well as 
the living insect. After such a’fish has leisurely taken the fly 
and gone down into the weeds to ruminate is perhaps the very 
worst moment to select for throwing to him. 
Above all, remember that the first cast over a rising fish, 
before his suspicions have been aroused, is the most likely one 
to kill him. If it were possible to gauge the probability of 
tempting a trout under any circumstances, and reduce the 
problem to a question of odds, I should say that if at the first 
cast the odds are three to one against rising the fish, at the 
second they are ten to one, and at the third or any subsequent 
cast fifty to one. If you wish to kill shy fish, take as your 
guiding principle that delicacy and accuracy combined in the 
first cast, before the trout has caught a glimpse of either the 
fisher or his rod, is the great desideratum. 
Do not cast except to fish feeding or poised near the surface 
on the look-out for food. Mark accurately the precise spot of 
the rise, and when doing so do not forget that the ring made 
by the trout is carried down at the pace of the stream ; thus, 
though you cannot place the rise too high, you may easily place 
it a yard too low down ; and this is a fortunate circumstance, 
as it is a fatal error to make your first throw too high up and 
bring too much of the gut, and possibly part of the reel line, 
over your fish’s nose. Crouch down and keep well out of 
sight ; crawl up to the place from which you can most con- 
veniently reach him. On a puffy day move during a catspaw, 
wait during the calm interval, and cast during the next catspaw. 
