476 
FOREST AND STREAM 
august, 1918 
would jump; none, however, landed in the 
boat for some time. After drifting along 
in this manner for several hours, a two- 
pound bass suddenly leaped into the boat, 
hitting Pard a resounding thud squarely 
in the back, knocking the breath out of 
him (Pard). We tried this method on 
and off during the whole day, but had no 
further luck, although one small bass ac¬ 
tually jumped clear over the boat! I can 
picture the look on the faces of some of 
my readers. However, the explanation is 
very simple. Bass hate muddy water. 
When the water is in this condition, nat¬ 
urally the clearest water is where it is 
shallow, so the bass hunt these shallow 
places. The boat comes then, drifting in be¬ 
tween them and deep water; they become 
frightened and make a dash for liberty. 
Fearing to swim through the shadow of 
the boat, they attempt to leap over and 
so, occasionally, fall into the boat. 
U P at daybreak, a quick dip in the 
sparkling water and a shiver around 
the stove, for it gets pretty chilly 
here at night, breakfast and off for an¬ 
other glorious day. Although our experi¬ 
ences with the shoals were very pleasantly 
productive of thrills we were getting rather 
contemptuous of them (that is, Pard and 
I were), so disregarding Hale’s advice we 
narrowly missed several catastrophes. Al¬ 
ways around the bend, we would hear a 
murmur, then a roar, then with a rush 
we would be in the midst of the rapids. 
Some miles above the Virgin shoals, in 
rounding a bend of this character we hit 
square on a rock, the current catching the 
stern of the boat swinging us around and 
the boat wedged, broadside to the current, 
between two rocks. Naturally, with the 
water piling up on the side of the boat it 
began to tip, and there was nothing to do 
but pile out. This we did (the water was 
waist deep) and two of us held the boat 
down while the other rescued our belong¬ 
ings. Luckily for us, one of the rocks was 
large, flat and dry, so everything was saved 
except our potatoes and Pard’s socks (they 
were nicely rolled in a ball) and right 
merrily they went dancing through the 
shoals until they finally sunk from view. 
We were lucky, but we learned our lesson 
and thereafter did not rush blindly into 
the unseen. Indeed, we had our reminder 
daily, both in Pard’s lament for his lost 
hosiery, and in the absence of potatoes 
from our menu, for we were unable to pur¬ 
chase any for several days. 
That afternoon we passed the Virgin 
Bluffs. These are the most notable of 
the many that line the James, rising sheer 
for about one thousand feet high along the 
south and east bank of the river. The sun 
rarely shines into these waters here and, 
in the clear water beneath, the fish can be 
seen swimming about. We caught any 
amount of bass here, one weighing about 
five pounds. 
Clear to the top of this bluff the cedars 
here and there find a foothold, clinging for 
all like gigantic apes. We landed here and 
after a tedious climb reached the top, 
from whence a beantiful panorama spread 
itself out before us. For miles the river 
could be seen winding in and out among 
the Ozark hills. 
On again and past the Virgin shoals. 
These are probably the most dangerous 
(continued on page 494) 
WHY’S AND HOW’S OF DRY FLY FISHING 
THE FINAL ARTICLE OF THIS SERIES CONTAINS HELPFUL GENERAL HINTS FOR THE 
NOVICE AND OTHERS WHO WOULD MASTER THE INTRICACIES OF THE DRY FLY 
By R, L. M. (CALIFORNIA) 
T HE great charm of dry fly fishing is 
that the fly is in plain sight as it 
floats down stream towards the place 
where the fish rose, and the pleasurable 
excitement and anticipation are increased 
as the fly nears this spot. 
There is a very large range of water 
that lends itself to dry fishing. Even 
the most rapid mountain streams will 
frequently flow through meadow bot¬ 
toms of greater or less extent. Hence 
owing to the considerably reduced fall 
the stream will widen out and flow 
more sedately between its banks, and in 
all probability furnish a number of reaches 
where the dry fly can be used to advantage. 
The wet fly fisherman generally looks 
for fast flowing riffles and leaves the slow 
flowing stretches of deep water, with a 
surface like glass (unless ruffled by the 
wind) alone. 
But these still reaches are just the places 
where the larger trout are to be found 
and a skilled dry fly fisherman is not afraid 
of a glassy surface. His fly will fall on 
the water so lightly as to make scarcely 
the faintest ripple, his fine leader will be 
unnoticed by the trout, and the dry fly 
man will have the satisfaction of catching 
trout in places which are generally regard¬ 
ed as hopeless by the rest of the frater¬ 
nity, unless a wind is blowing and rough¬ 
ening the surface. 
There are some important points to be 
remembered. Figure io is reproduced 
herewith in large size so that the mechan¬ 
ics of the cast will be plainly seen. The 
movement of the forearm and its relation 
to the position of the line is shown. 
I should not advise a beginner at fly fish¬ 
ing to start his operation against trout 
with a dry fly. It would be better if he 
commenced his novitiate on more turbu¬ 
lent streams and fished with a wet fly, until 
he had caught lots of fish and felt confi¬ 
dent in his ability to put his fly on the 
spot he wanted it to reach. Furthermore, 
stronger, leaders can be used in wet fly 
fishing and consequently not many fish 
should be lost because of breaking the 
leader. 
As time goes on and more experience 
and knowledge is acquired, finer leaders 
can be used; until the fisherman can land 
quite decent sized trout on fine leaders, 
then he can begin with good hopes of suc¬ 
cess to use the dry fly. 
Starting on the dry fly, before an ap¬ 
prenticeship has been served at wet fly 
fishing is somewhat similar to trying to 
learn trick riding on a bicycle before one 
can even ride straight ahead. 
If the beginner should be fortunate 
enough to commence his fishing in a locality 
where a first-class fisherman lives, he will 
without doubt be able to get a lot of very 
useful information by watching the per¬ 
formance of the expert and questioning 
him as to the why’s and wherefore’s. A 
good fisherman is never close with his in¬ 
formation, and is generally only too glad 
to give any advice and assistance that it is 
within his power to give. So do not be 
afraid to ask intelligent questions. 
Do not hurry your casting; be sure the 
“pause” is of sufficient duration to allow 
the line to straighten out behind. Keep 
out of sight as much as possible. Never 
cast a foot farther than is absolutely nec¬ 
essary. Do not strike too quickly, a big 
fish takes a fly in a leisurely manner. 
When you hook a fish, keep a tight line, 
but do not handle him roughly. Get the 
fish into the landing net as soon as pos¬ 
sible, but if a large fish, not until he has 
given signs of exhaustion by turning over 
on his side, and above all, if properly 
equipped, do not blame your tackle if you 
do not achieve success. 
the novice could purchase a 
cheaper rig for wet fly fishing, 
and if he managed to break 
his rod or line, the loss would 
be much less than if he was 
using a good dry fly outfit. 
A really good dry fly rod 
will leave very little change, if 
any, out of a $50 note, where¬ 
as a rod good enough for a 
beginner to cut his teeth on, 
and incidentally break and 
otherwise maltreat can be got 
for a fraction of that sum. 
Then again much coarser, i. e., 
/<SL 
£2BO l*' JO/Atr. 
/ 9 / 7 . 
