THE SUBTLE ART OF FLY CASTING 
IN WHICH THE MANY DIFFICULTIES THAT CONFRONT THE ANGLER ARE DIS-. 
CUSSED AND SOME PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR OVERCOMING THEM OFFERED 
A S an object of intrinsic beauty there 
is no fish in all the world that is 
even remotely worthy of being com- 
pared to the American Brook Trout. A 
creature of phenominally graceful build, 
gorgeously dazzling in its coat of rose 
and olive chrome, with countless Vermil- 
lion spots and aureoles of blue, the gar- 
ments of this Salmo are unparalleled. It 
is one of God’s most beautiful objects. 
Dashing and vigorous, shy and courage- 
ous, it has been extolled in song and story 
until we have come to believe that no 
other fish can measure up to it in fighting 
ability. In truth there are several, but 
there are none better to catch. 
To battle with a giant salmon fresh 
from the sea is an exhilarating and 
memorable experience that has drawn its 
votaries from the four corners of the 
earth to the salmon rivers of North 
America for a brief hour of thrilling en- 
joyment, yet on light tackle there is more 
solid pleasure and keen fun in taking this 
Beau Brummell of the brooks, than in 
landing the mighty monarchs of Ameri- 
can salmon waters. 
Nature has thrown her protecting arms 
about the water courses by supplying a 
thousand and one things to make the fish- 
ing exceedingly difficult, and, it is the 
signal ability to fish the stream in spite 
of these obstacles which marks the high- 
est degree of skill in modern angling. 
There are several ways to fish a stream, 
but there is no more sportsman-like 
method of taking trout than fly-fishing, 
or one that accords the angler greater 
gratification, once he has surmounted the 
difficulties which discourage the inexperi- 
enced and become master of the art. 
To contemplate fly-casting from the 
standpoint of the novice, who has 
dreamed, but never attempted to acquire 
the art, it seems a difficult and well-nigh 
hopeless undertaking, yet a few hours are 
sufficient in which to master the first 
principles, but it will take many a full 
season of costly experience for the be- 
ginner to become adept in every casting 
problem that confronts him and gain the 
skill and confidence of the veteran, so 
necessary to out-general the silent guard- 
ians of the stream. 
It is apparent to every angler that the 
places along a brook that are the easiest 
fished are the very ones fished to death. 
Any water that can be reached by the 
ordinary overhead cast, which is the sim- 
plest known and is always used for cast- 
ing from an open boat or on a compara- 
tively open stream, is pretty sure to re- 
By CARL SCHURZ SHAFER 
cuive the attention of every passing 
angler. 
This cast is so simple and so easily 
made that it hardly requires description, 
yet, like all the others there is a knack of 
doing it neatly and effectively. Perhaps 
the best method for the beginner is for 
him to hold his rod almost horizontally, 
stripping sufficient line from the reel to 
bring the end or dropper fly to the butt, 
then put sufficient tension on the line to 
bend the tip in a half circle. By releasing 
your hold the pliant tip will cause the line 
to shoot forward through the rings to its 
full length and the flies to settle on the 
water. Now strip sufficient line from the 
reel to cover the required distance and 
you are ready for the actual cast. With 
a gradual, quickening motion raise the 
rod until the tip passes backward over 
the right shoulder, following an eliptical 
course which brings the tip forward and 
to the left until the rod is again in front 
of the caster, at an angle of twenty-five 
degrees, where it is checked. In rising 
from the surface of the water the re- 
sistance will take up the slack and if 
properly made the line will be straight 
out ahead and the flies will have dropped 
to the water. The secret of making the 
Where the big fellows lurk 
overhead cast is to have the line straight 
out on the back cast at the same instant 
the rod is in its furthest backward posi- 
tion for if it is reversed before, the fate 
of the flies and leader is sealed with a 
cracking report. 
It is only the inexperienced angler who 
hurries down stream, faithfully neglect- 
ing the seemingly inaccessible places and 
fishing only those easily reached by the 
simple overhead cast. The veteran pro- 
ceeds leisurely and is not indifferent to 
the open reaches ; he likes to see those 
bush-rimmed, alder-bordered, snag-in- 
fested pools where the water whirls and 
eddies around boulders and heaps of 
drift, that will tax his skill, for he knows 
that they are generally avoided and that 
nine out of every ten big trout which 
are taken from the stream will come 
from just such localities. 
T O the untrained eye all trout streams 
are practically alike, but they are 
radically different and the novice 
should endeavor to accustom himself to 
read their characteristics as he advances, 
unless he is thoroughly familiar with 
every nook and turn of their courses. The 
brook trout must be still-hunted. You 
can not regard too highly his ability to 
see and hear. Concussions on the surface 
of the water or beneath it are sure to 
alarm him. A glance tells the veteran 
where it will be necessary to cross and 
recross, walk around bushes and banks, 
where to fish to avoid casting a shadow 
over the pool, how to gain a handy cover, 
or when it will be necessary to make a 
short detour to reach the exact spot from 
which to make a perfect cast. This 
knowledge is as essential as a suitable 
rod and the novice who has a desire to 
add to his store of trout lore should make 
haste slowly, study the stream with ex- 
treme care and fish every foot of water 
where it is deep enough to hold a trout. 
Even after picking the most likely look- 
ing places difficulties will continually 
present themselves that will call for 
every bit of skill at his command and 
every known style of cast. 
On the stream the first difficulty the 
novice is sure to encounter is getting 
fast. To a certain extent it is unavoid- 
able. Even the most expert fly-casters 
occasionally foul their lines, but it is 
noticeable that the experienced fisherman 
seldom loses a fly or breaks a leader. 
By long practice he has acquired a cer- 
tain skilful faculty of getting loose as 
quickly as he got fast. Ordinarily a few 
