May, 1918 
FOREST AND S T R E A M 
281 
on. Now take the rod in the right 
hand and grasp it as shown in Fig. 6 
at the bottom of this page. 
To cast a fly successfully th^ 
rod must be held firmly, the ball 
of the thumb transmits most of 
the force and the fingers act more 
or less as a fixed fulcrum, in the act 
of casting. Now stand well out in the 
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inches long. When not in use it hangs 
closed up from a ring on my left hip. 
When I wish to use it I reach round with 
my left hand, unhook it and by a circular 
motion open the net ready for use. 
The average size of the trout we hope to 
catch when dry fly fishing can be assumed 
to be longer than the average size of trout 
caught otherwise, and consequently we 
need a good roomy basket or creel. The 
basket I use is 19 inches long by 6 inches 
wide by 7 inches high. Such a basket will 
hold trout of 2 x /i to 3 lbs. weight. 
Having given a description of the prin¬ 
cipal articles required for dry fly fishing. 
I will now proceed to try to explain the 
manner in which they are used. 
Up to the present I have been describing 
inanimate objects, but now I have to de¬ 
scribe actions, which is a very different 
thing. 
For instance, it is almost impossible to 
teach a man how to cast a fly by a written 
treatise; a few actual lessons will teach 
much quicker and better than all the books 
ever written on the subject; but the written 
word can supply hints and precepts which 
will be useful, even to those who are al¬ 
ready proficient in fly casting. 
Before giving hints on fishing I will en¬ 
deavor to describe how to throw or cast a 
fly. It is not necessary to proceed to the 
water’s side in order to learn how to throw 
a fly; a good sized lawn is the most con¬ 
venient sort of place to learn or practice on. 
Put the rod together by putting the tip 
into the middle joint first and then these 
joints into the butt. To take down a rod 
reverse this arrangement, i.e., begin at the 
butt and middle joints. As soon as the 
rod is put together screw the spear into the 
socket in the butt. Now put the reel on 
with the handle of the reel projecting to 
the left hand side when the rod is held 
horizontally with the reel on the under side 
of the rod. The handle should project to 
the left hand side for a right handed man 
and to the opposite for a 
when using the left hand to do so, that is 
the first thing that you must learn to do. 
The right hand is used to hold the rod and 
the left hand must learn to wind up the 
line. No one fact will be more productive 
of lost fish than the inability to wind up 
with the left hand. Changing the rod from 
the right hand to the left hand every time 
it is necessary to wind up some line shows 
at once that the fisherman has never prop¬ 
erly mastered the elements of his art. 
The rod being together with the rod 
properly mounted, now proceed to thread 
the line through the guides, putting off 
about 12 or 14 feet of line to hang from 
the end of the rod. 
To attach the end of the reel line to the 
loop at the upper end of the leader, the 
knot “A,” Fig. 5, is commonly used; but 
this knot has the disadvantage that it grad¬ 
ually shortens the tapered end of the line 
until in the course of time all the taper is 
worn off that end of the line. 
Some people have a loop of stout gut 
permanently whipped onto the end of the 
reel line. I prefer another method which 
is to make a loop at the reel line itself and 
to wrap or whip fine silk around that part 
of the line forming the loop. This is a 
rather troublesome thing to do, but when 
it is done, if done well, the job will last a 
long time before new whipping is needed. 
In learning to cast a fly do not use a 
leader over 6 feet in length and use a fly 
about No. 10 or No. 12 size with the barb 
and point of the hook broken off. 
There are .four different knots that can 
be used for attaching the fly to the fine 
end of the leader, viz., “b,” “c,” “d” and 
“e,” Fig. 5. The knot “b” is known as “Mr. 
Hall’s knot” from the name of the man 
who first applied it to the eyed flies; “c” is 
the “Turle” knot, after Major Turle; “d” is 
known as the “jamb knot” and “e” as the 
“half hitch jamb knot.” “B” and “c” are 
used when large flies are being used, while 
“d” and “e” are used for small flies; “d” 
lends itself more readily to upturned eyed 
hooks, and “e” can be used advantageously 
with down turned eyes. 
The leader should be soaked and made 
soft, so as to enable the fly to be tied 
middle of the lawn and hold the rod at 
about an angle of 20 deg.; position “a,” Fig. 
7; hold the fly in the left hand (there will 
be possibly 20 feet of line from the'tip of 
the rod to the fly). Raise the rod up to 
position “b,” and convert this raising mo¬ 
tion into a backward motion, but without 
any cessation of movement. When the rod 
is at “b” the fly, which has been held in the 
left hand, should be released. 
The backward motion of the rod should 
be continued, but at a gradually faster ’-ate 
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until the position “c” is reached; at this 
point the motion of the rod should be 
checked or stopped quickly. A slight pause 
should be made. This pause enables the 
line to straighten itself out behind the 
pupil. Now bring the rod back to the first 
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