760 
FOREST AND STREAM 
"mist” color is preferred. The three fly cast is 
no longer used by the sportsman angler, and 
two flies are deemed unnecessary by the skilled 
caster, who prefers to take his trout with the 
single lure. However, if a dropper fly is wanted, 
select your leaders with an extra loop tied in for 
this fly. For the single fly, but two loops are 
used, and for attaching the line to leader a small 
neat knot, known as the “angler’s knot," is wide¬ 
ly used. When dry, gut is very brittle and 
should be handled as little as possible when in 
this condition, as a dent 'or twist is sufficient to 
weaken the slender leader to a considerable ex¬ 
tent. Leaders should be kept coiled in a metal 
box, provided with a felt pad, moistened with 
water to render the gu't pliable and in fishable 
condition. 
To mention the subject of artificial flies wher¬ 
ever anglers are gathered together always assures 
an enduring topic for conversation, and while the 
favorite list of one angler is likely to differ some¬ 
what from that of another, all include certain 
established patterns, which may be called stand¬ 
ard. The most killing flies for Eastern brook 
fishing, number one dozen and include: 
Beaverkill, Coachman, Cowdung, Montreal, 
Brown Hackle, Grey Hackle, Matih Brown, 
Queen of the Water, Cahill, Grizzly King, Profes¬ 
sor, White Miller. 
Matched wing and fluttering wing flies are oc¬ 
casionally used, but most fly-casters seem to pre¬ 
fer the reversed wing fly—that is, the wings are 
placed on the hook parallel with the snell or 
eye, and when the hackle is put on, the wings 
are reversed 'to point toward the barb. This 
method of tying makes a firm and strong fly— 
one that will stand up better through much cast¬ 
ing. Most of the flies are tied with a gut snell, 
the better grade being tied with a double strand 
of gut near the hook, called a “helper,” which 
strengthens this, the weakest part of the snell, 
considerably. The snetled fly is attached quickly 
by passing the loop of the fly through the leader 
loop, and 'the fly up through the loop so formed— 
slip-knot fashion. 
Flies tied on eyed hooks, either used with a 
snell or directly knotted to the leader, have been 
popular with English anglers for many years, and 
American anglers are jus't beginning to perceive 
their many advantages. Considering that the 
snell is the weakest part of the common fly, and 
many good flies must be discarded because the 
snell is worn, the practical utility of the eyed- 
fly is apparent. Many of the larger tackle-dealers 
now stock eyed flies in the most wanted patterns 
and hook sizes, and looped leaders for attackin'? 
them to the leader may also be obtained. Almost 
all of the regular forms of hooks are good, but 
the Pennell hook is perhaps the best adapted for 
fly tying. For small brook fishing the fly-caster 
never has occasion to use a hook larger than 
number ten, and number 'twelve is 'the most ap¬ 
propriate size, though number fourteen hooks are 
sometimes preferred for early season casting. 
Success in fly-fishing is generally supposed to 
•rest upon tire use of artificial flies which shall 
imitate, as Closely as possible, the natural insects 
found upon the stream we are fishing. The 
English devotees of the dry-fly carry this theory 
to a very fine point, indeed, and with these an¬ 
glers a knowledge of entomology is considered 
of equal, if not greater, importance than pro¬ 
ficiency in handling the cast. The character of 
our trout waters and the English streams is, of 
course, entirely different, and while the brown 
trout, which inhabit the quiet flowing and clear 
streams of England, very likely accept their 
carefully dressed flies as the natural insect, the 
fisher in American waters is more inclined to 
believe that the trout rises to his flies because 
he is hungry and the artificial “bugs" merely look 
good to eat. 
Skill in casting the artificial fly, that it may 
be lightly 'dropped on the surface in a manner 
similar to that of the natural insect, requires 
much practice to master. With many anglers, 
expert casting means the ability to cast a long 
distance, and while this facility is the important 
thing in tournament casting, it is by no means 
important for fishing. Accuracy and delicacy are 
the points to acquire, for the caster is rarely 
called upon to cast his lure farther than forty 
feet, while the average casts will seldom exceed 
twenty or thirty. From a fishing standpoint, of 
what value is the long tournament cast which 
allows the flies to hit the water with a sharp 
slap? 
The knack of casting the fly is readily acquired 
by anyone after a little practice, but it is im¬ 
portant to hold the rod correctly at the outset. 
Casting should be regarded as an out-and-out 
wrist motion, with but very little arm and no 
shoulder motion at all. The rod should be held 
where it balances the best, and the arm should 
be held closely to the body, otherwise considera¬ 
ble difficulty will be encountered in getting con¬ 
trol over the line. Practice may be indulged 
in on the lawn, and probably more will be accom¬ 
plished away from the fishing ground. The most 
useful and difficult cast to learn is the “over¬ 
head cast,” and the angler should practice sys¬ 
tematically until he has gained complete control 
of his line and can drop his flies lightly upon 
any desired spot up to 'thirty feet. 
The overhead cast consists of three separate 
movements. First: The “up throw,” made by 
raising the tip of the rod to retrieve as much 
line clear of the water as possible. Second: 
The “back cast,” made with a sharp upward and 
backward sweep of the rod, which projects the 
line high in the air and back of the angler; then, 
a pause to give the line time to straighten out. 
Third: The “forward cast,” made by bringing 
the rod down smartly and checking it when it 
reaches the level of the angler's waist; this pro¬ 
jects the line in the desired direction. This cast 
is really very simple, and if the angler will focus 
his entire attention on his back cast he will soon 
gain control of his line. The one thing to aim 
for always is to keep the line in the back cast 
as high as possible, and the line should never 
be allowed to fa'll lower than the angler’s head. 
For the beginning, there is no advantage in 
using a good line, nor are flies or hooks re¬ 
quired, as the first attempts are certain to whip 
the line and snap both leader and flies; a com¬ 
mon braided line, without leader or fly, is plenty 
good enough to practice on. At the start, make 
it a point to strive for accuracy and lightness 
with the minimum of muscular effort, and do 
not make the usual mistake by attempting Ion”- 
casts until you can drop the fly lightly and where 
you will it to alight, at the shorter 'distances. 
When the angler has complete control of his 
line a't any distance up to twenty feet, and not 
before then, should the practice distance be 
lengthened. 
To make the cast, let your reel be underneath 
the rod, handle on the right side (if you are 
right-handed), the right hand grasping the rod 
at the point where it balances the best, with 
thumb extended straight out in direction of the 
tip. Now pull from the reel, with the left hand, 
twice as much line as the length of your rod, 
and let it fall in loose coils at your feet. Bring 
up the rod with a snappy movement of the wrist 
and forearm, and quickly check the rod when the 
butt joint reaches the perpendicular. The line 
is now high in the air, and as soon as it has 
time to straighten out, and before it falls below 
the level of the angler’s head, the rod is brought 
down with a quick snap of the wrist, and the line 
is thrown forward. The pause in the back cast 
is the most difficult part of all to master, and 
practice will alone enable the caster to time cor¬ 
rectly the interval necessary for the line to 
straighten out. However, the caster can feel the 
increased tension on the rod as the line straight¬ 
ens out behind him, and if the novice will begin 
his forward cast immediately he feels this char¬ 
acteristic tug on the tip, the back cast may be 
timed with precision. 
The ability to cast a long line and drop the 
fly gently upon 'the water is no small accomplish¬ 
ment, but it is not all of fly-fishing. The man¬ 
ner in which flies are fished on the water has 
an important bearing upon the size of the creel. 
However largely the element of “luck” is sup¬ 
posed to enter into fishing, it is certain that 
skill and experience are factors of considerable 
value. The experienced fly fisherman not only 
knows how to cast his flies, but possesses a 
knowledge of the habits of the trout, and his 
fund of experience gleaned from many angling 
trips enables him to better “size up” a strange 
brook, and to drop his flies in the best parts 
of the fishable water. The brook trout is an 
eccentric fish, and while doubtless governed lay 
something, his actions seldom tally with the an¬ 
gler's forecast. Upon some days the trout rise 
freely to the most palpable fraud, while the next 
day they absolutely refuse to take the most 
daintily dressed fly, cast in the most approved 
manner. The bait fisherman likewise experiences 
the same disappointments, and when the trout are 
in this indifferent mood the angler has his work 
cut out for him, for it means a hard day’s fish¬ 
ing to creel a comparatively few fish. 
1 he floating fly is unquestionably the most 
sportsmanlike, but the submerged fly is the most 
killing. It is a good plan to cast across the 
stream at an oblique angle, and take advantage 
of the favorable current to carry the flies over 
die good looking places. The flies should be 
lightly dropped on the surface, and retrieved 
by slowly withdrawing the line through the guides 
with the left hand, that the fly may sink slightly 
below the surface. The fly should never be 
trolled, nor should it be twitched violently about 
in the mistaken idea of imitating the natural in¬ 
sect. The flies ought not to be removed too 
quickly, neither should they be allowed to remain 
too long on the surface. For if the back cast 
is postponed unduly the angler will lose control 
of his line, and will be placed in an awkward 
position in case an unexpected strike should oc¬ 
cur, and—the unexpected is prone to happen in 
trout fishing. 
The brook trout is a bundle of nervous energy, 
and in rapid water will generally hook himself. 
However, in pool fishng, where the water is 
deep and the current sluggish, the angler should 
