April i6, 1898.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
309 
sport was counted done, and with this pool covered the 
boy had been promised his wage was earned. The pool 
had been whipped to the angle, and the bass probably 
driven to that point, but not badly frightened; or per- 
haps he was hiding where the water broke over the 
stones. At any rate he came up with a mighty lunge 
and caught himself, for a careless hand did not respond, 
till he tried to go over the fall with his barbed prize. 
Then there Avas resistance that threatened tackle for a 
few seconds, but he changed his mind and direction, 
came back into the pool, and finally to net — and then 
the day was done, and Herbert's lines recalled: 
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, 
. The bridal of the earth and skie. 
Sweet dews shall weep thy fall to-night. 
For thou must die. 
Our best wish for our best friend would be such an- 
other day. Henry Talbott. 
Fresh- Water Angling. 
No. II. — Brook Trout (Continued). 
BY FRED MATHER. 
Worm-fishing for trout in clear water is claimed by 
some to be an art, but the worm and float in muddy 
pools is simply trottt murder, fit only for those to whom 
sport is nothing and the number and weight of the 
catch is the only consideration. I do not look with 
favor on the worm save as a lure for the groveling cat- 
fish and its neighbors in the ponds, but there are others 
who use it in what they consider to be a scientific man- 
ner, and as 'I learned and practiced worm-fishing for 
trout in my early days, and have seen it practiced since. 
I will write of it, under protest, as it were, for I can 
say, with the late Dr. Bethune: "My hands have long 
been washed of the nasty things." 
Now a worm is not so dirty if it has been well scoured 
by keeping it a day or two in damp moss, when it be- 
comes not only cleaner, but also tougher and livelier. 
The common garden earthAvorm, of medium size, is best, 
and is variously known as "our mutual friend," "barn- 
yard hackle/' etc. On a long-shanked hook loop two 
or three worms, piercing them transversely about three 
times each, and leave the tail ends free. Use ordinary 
trout tackle with a 6ft. leader. One hook is plenty ; more 
is murder; a shot, or sinker, only impedes the action 
of the worm, and should not be used; neither should a 
float, for the worm should be cast up stream, if the 
current is slow, and be allowed to roll or drift down, 
the idea being to present the worm in an attractive 
manner and to induce a trout that is in hiding to leave 
its retreat and rush for the bait. After the worm is cast 
the point of the rod should be lowered for a moment 
to allow the lure to sink, and then raised in order not 
to have too much of ' the bight of the line dragging 
in the water. Above all, be careful of jarring the banks 
and alarming the trout, for one so alarmed will not 
take anything that is offered. 
Under the conditions described worm-fishing for trout 
may be classed as sport, but it should only be practiced 
in midsummer, and in clear water, to be so classed; 
and it is so easy for an angler to be tempted to use 
his worm in other wa5rs and at other times that worm- 
fishing is not looked upon with favor by anglers gen- 
erally. 
Casting the Fly. 
There have been many descriptions of the art of 
fly-casting, but to be a good caster needs practice. I 
will try to lay down the main principles, and the pupil 
must do the rest. Grass will do to begin on if water 
is not handy, remembering what was said in the chapter 
on tackle about rods and lines. Leaders and hooks 
had best be left off until you can get out 30ft. of line, 
as they will only bother you while learning the spring 
of the rod. Tie a knot in the end of the line to keep 
it from fraying out, and lay out loft. of line on the 
grass, or water, the rod pointing downward; lift the 
line slowly until the tip of the rod is at the height 
of the eye, then give it a gentle twitch to throw the 
line over your right shoulder, but stop the rod when 
just beyond the perpendicular. Use no force. Put a 
book under j'our arm and hold it there to teach you to 
cast entirely with your wrist, and to make the spring 
of the rod do the work, and not your biceps muscle. 
Never mind if you have seen champion casters in the 
tournaments throw up their arms until their elbows were 
high as their ears; they are working for distance, while 
you will never be called upon for more than 30ft. in 
stream fishing, or twice that distance from a boat, on 
a lake. 
Keep the elbow at the side, and when it comes easy 
to drop the knot on a certain spot at 10 or isft., try it 
at 20. Now you will need to see that your line re- 
quires as much time to straighten out behind as it does 
on the forward cast, or it will crack like a whip and 
you will lose a fly every time it snaps. You will also 
need to keep the fly from touching the ground or water 
behind you, and to this end must make the twitch on 
the back cast up as well as back, and not let the tip of 
the rod go too far behind. The way to judge of time 
is to count from the first forward motion until the knot 
drops on the water, and then count as many from its 
leaving the water, and you will have an idea when the 
fly is straight out behind and is safe to be cast. This 
is a good rule, no matter how far you may cast. 
If in one day's practice you have got out 20ft. of line, 
delivered straight on the water, and without either snap- 
ping, falling in the grass behind you, or coming back 
in your face, a fault in not retrieving the line high in 
air, as directed, then go home with the knowledge that 
you have done well, and think it over. 
I have had pupils who took several days to master 
the art so far, while I have made good casters of others 
in two days. The main trouble with the slow ones was 
to rid them of the idea that force is necessary, a thing 
which they could only realize when their arms were 
completely tired out. I would have them take hold of 
my wrist to prove that a light twitch of it made the 
rod do the work,^ and then give them the rod and hold 
their wrists to show the exact moment to give a slight 
impulse to the rod, and then when I let go they would 
use their arms as if throwing a stone at a cow, and 
muscle was needed to do it. When they once mastered 
the principle the invariable remark was: "Why, how 
easy it is!" 
It is better when two learn together, and one can 
coach the other, for the caster should never look to 
the rear to see Where his fly is, and then the coacher can 
.say; "More time on the back cast;" "don't let your rod 
go so far back," or "keep your fly up higher in the air," 
as these are the three principal faults of the beginner. 
Now comes the time to put on a leader and a tail 
fly. Then the pupil fully understands that the back 
cast is the main thing. Snap, crack, goes his whip, and 
his fly is ofif and he says that he will allow more time 
on the next back cast. But he will get into trouble 
if he essays to cast 6oft. before he can cast 40 well. 
He is tempted to try it, and his line comes back in his 
face; he must creep before he can walk. Withottt a 
teacher he will do well if he can drop a line straight and 
true at 40ft. without snapping off his fly in a week's 
practice. 
Let him learn to use both hands, and he will be glad 
that he can use them when casting for several hours. 
And after he has mastered all that is here laid down he 
will find plenty to learn in casting with, against and 
across the wind, as well as avoiding obstacles in front 
or behind. A strong wind in front or behind may bring 
his flies about his head, and while this may often be 
avoided there is no rule for it, and a gust may serve 
the best of casters in this manner. In retrieving, in- 
cline the rod to the left to avoid fouling the line on the 
rod, then cast over the right shoulder, making the tip 
move in a circle. 
In works of fiction we read of flies "alighting on the 
water as lightly as a thistle-down." The inference is 
that the line did not follow and make its mark on the 
water, but remained, like Mohammed's coffin, suspended 
in the air. Many of us can make the flies drop first by 
casting high and checking the flight, but that is mere 
trick casting, and the trick is of no use in fishing. 
One of the most useful casts was introduced into this 
country some years ago at the New York State Sports- 
men's tournament, held on Coney Island, by an English 
i-od maker, named Harry Prichard. They called it the 
"hoop-snake cast," "water cast," and it was so suc- 
cessful that those who could not mal<:e it barred it from 
the tournaments. It is a most valuable cast to know 
where there are obstructions which prevent the angler 
from extending his line as far behind him as he does 
in front. He only needs a few feet more than the length 
of his rod, behind him, for he does not retrieve his 
line. He makes a short cast, a little more than the 
length of his rod, leaves the line in the water, and draw- 
ing the rod well back behind him, even as low as hi.s 
shoulder, sends it out with a vim which is not used 
in the other method, and repeats this until he gets his 
line out where he wants it. 
I have fished Avith Prichard, and have seen him, when 
trying for a long cast, have 90ft. of line off his reel 
in the water while he was whipping at it with no ap- 
parent prospect of getting it straightened out, and then 
have seen it roll out, loop after loop, and drop the fly 
in the distance. I am not an expert at this style, but can 
use it in ordinary fishing at 6oft., if on the shore of a 
lake with a wall of trees behind. It is a most valuable 
cast to know, but I can't tell how it is done any better 
than I have in the above description. 
"Wading Streams. 
A stream is waded for two reasons; one is that there 
are many reaches which cannot be fished from the bank, 
on accotmt of brush, or because the fly can be cast 
better in the middle of the stream; and the other is that 
the trout are not so much alarmed by a wader as by one 
who jars the often clastic bank in the slightest degree. 
There are four questions for the wader to decide, and 
these are: 
1. Will you try to keep dry in waders.'' 
2. Would you prefer to wade without rubbers? 
3. Will you cast the fly up stream? 
4. Do you choose to fish down stream? 
I have practiced all these ways, and having arrived at 
an age when I would never fish if I had to wade all day, 
perhaps I may be trusted to depict the miseries of each 
of the two propositions which lead the list. 
Waders are made in two forms, if not three. There 
are wading stockings which come to the hip, and are 
sustained by a loop which a waist belt runs through. 
These should be worn inside of heavy hob-nailed shoes, 
because a smooth, water-worn stone covered with slime 
invites the angler to sit down if his shoes are smooth, 
and as he promptly accepts the invitation he realizes 
that his waterproofs have a hole at the top, and when 
he crawls ashore he lies on his back and extends his heels 
up a tree trunk to drain. Then there are wading trous- 
ers, which only differ from the above in coming up 
under the arms, and are supported by suspenders; they 
require heavy shoes also. Another kind of trousers has 
the heavy shoes attached, and of three evils you may 
choose what appears to be the least. If you have worn 
rubber boots or clothing you will know the evil that 
I refer to is perspiration, which becomes cold and clam- 
my. A slip on one's back and a change from hot per- 
spiration to cool water is delightful. I'd rather be 
drowned, like Clarence, in a butt of malmsey, than be 
stewed in my own juices; it's horrible and enervating. 
Then discard all rubber goods, put on heavy hob- 
nailed shoes, for reasons given; wear heavy woolen 
stockings, no cotton if you value health and comfort; 
tie your trousers about your ankles and step into the 
water. You may, or may not, cut slits in the shoes 
to let the_ water out; but it's not necessary to do it, 
for water in the shoe soon gets warm if the stockings are 
of wool, and if you are in cold water above the knees 
a moderately warm foot is a good thing to stand on. 
On a warm June day, to be in cool spring water from 
one's knees down and at the same time having the Avarm 
atmosphere about one's bodj'- and an occasional expos- 
ure of the head to the direct rays of the sun is enough 
to make a man who knows what rheumatism is very 
careful about enjoying too much of this form of sport; 
yet there are young men, such as I once was, who do 
no consider the consequences. 
"On with the dance; let joy be unconfined." 
That is their motto, and it once was mine; and I have 
no desire to have young men stop wading streams, as 
we old fellows did in the auld lang syne, but merely 
to show them the penalties attached to each form of wad- 
ing, and to let them choose. If I were called upon to 
wade a stream to-day, and I have passed the three- 
score milestone, I would prefer to get into the water 
with heavy shoes, low cut, and woolen stockings, and 
take all the chances; but that is only an individual choice, 
based on the fact that as soon as you step out of the 
water your feet are in a glow, while with rubbers you 
are cold and need a foot bath and towel rubbing before 
you feel right. This seems to be a fair presentation of 
case of waders vs. non-waders. 
Up Of Down Stream? 
This question has been debated in most of the books 
on trout fishing since the days of Walton, and writers 
of the present day do not agree as to the best manner 
to approach a trout in running water. The difference 
may be likened unto that of Swift's "big-endians" and 
"little-endians," as far as the fact that each believes in 
his own methods; but the anglers have merely argued 
in a gentlemanly way, while Swift's people actually 
fought over the question of the proper end of an egg 
to be broken before it was eaten. 
The up-stream fisher works on this theory: The eyes 
of a trout are placed so as to see well in 
front, above and on the sides, but not be- 
hind; and as he always keeps his head up 
stream he is not apt to see an angler who approaches 
quietly from behind. The line is cast above, and comes 
toward the trout as a worm or fly should, and the fish 
is not alarmed. The line shoidd be kept from getting 
too much start by raising the tip of the rod as the lure 
comes back to the angler. He should then cast again, 
covering a few feet more of the water before he advances 
a step, and should try each side of the stream if it is 
wide. A trout has some slack line, and when the angler 
strikes there is less danger of pulling the fly from the 
mouth of the trout; the angler can also better imitate 
the action of a natural insect, and there is no disturbance 
of the water above the trout. These are, I believe, the 
stock arguments of the up-stream fisher. It so hap- 
pened that I had read all this before I ever did much 
trout fishing, and I fished up stream in Canada, the 
tributaries of the Genesee River in western New York, 
and on other streams, and fotmd so many objections to 
it that I tried fishing doAvn stream and paraphrased an ' 
old couplet in his manner: 
"This Avay to fish T long have sought 
And mourned because I found it not." 
In fishing up stream the only advantage that I can 
see is that you are behind the fish and it does not see 
Avell in that direction; but as you cast above it the glint, 
or shadoAv, of the rod may not be confounded by the 
trout with the Avaving of branches, especially when the 
branches are not Avaving. Then your line comes back 
on you and you must keep up a A-igorous, arm-tiring 
casting, often Avhere trees, bushes and other obstruc- 
tions take the fly when you are not casting for them, 
but only for trout. Think of an angler striking Avith a 
slack line and "pulling the fly from 'the mouth of a 
trout My dear boy, Avhen a trout rises to an artificial 
fly, thinking it a succulent and palatable insect, and 
finds that it is only a dry combination of steel, silk, 
shoemakers' Avax, fur, feather or other unpalatable ma- 
teria', it drops that counterfeit like a hot potato if it 
can. There is no slow process of deglutition such as 
a catfish gives a Avorm, but the fraud is rejected at once, 
if accident has not fixed the hook in the jaw, as it does 
nine times out of ten, if the line is nearly taut. On a 
slack line a trout may do the ejecting act oftener than 
on one Avhich has no slack. Its ru.sh, snatch and retreat 
to cover are quicker than the strike of the angler, and 
the fish is often hooked by its OAvn exertion. 
In fishing doAvn stream the water may be disturbed 
and the trout frightened by a rolling stone or by sedi- 
ment which is loosened, and that is the only objection 
Avhich I can see; btit then one has complete control of 
his line and fly, can work it across the stream, on the 
shalloAvs or into pools, and by skillful handling cause 
the fly to struggle like a droAvning insect, because you 
need not cast at all, the current doing the Avork, no flies 
are hung up in the bushes, and the angler need only be 
careful about disturbing the water and watching for a 
rise. And then this fact remains: The SAvift brooks can- 
not be fished up stream because in them the angler can- 
not control his fly, and it is back at his feet in a short 
time. 
I prefer to fish brooks down stream from the banks, 
as n.uch as possible, getting into the water only Avhen 
necessary to avoid bushes or to cross to the opposite 
bank, and to wear low shoes and heavy Avoolen stock- 
ings. By this mode one is not in the Avater long enough 
to become chilled, and can fish with more comfort than 
in any other Avay. 
In England they use the fly in tAvo ways, known as 
"wet fly" and "dry fly." In America, as far as I know, 
dry fly-fishing is not practiced; it is a modern use of 
the fly which is said to be killing Avhere the trout are 
wary and discriminating. I only know of this method 
by reading of it, and not having a description of the 
mode handy, Avill give my idea of the pifocess. The 
fly is a winged one, Avith the Avings cocked up, and it 
is not allowed to sink, the object being to simulate a 
living fly which has just alighted on the water. There- 
fore it must be kept dry, and after a cast the angler 
waves the fly back and forth in the air for a longer or 
shorter time, until he thinks that the fly is dry, AAdien 
he makes another cast. Some British angler, with a de- 
sire to save both time and muscle, has coated his flies 
Avith paraffine. If I were a dry fly-fisher I would have 
a tablet to that man's memory erected inside of my 
brain-pan, and would bless him every time I went forth 
to cast the dry fly, provided that the device works as 
well on the water as it does on paper. 
SomehoAV the dry fly has not tempted me to try it. It 
looks like hard Avork to little purpose, and where I fish 
there seems to be no necessity for it. I took six good 
trout last week, on Long Island, in the old-fashioned 
