CASTING THE FLY
"Ah, tired man! Go find a spot
Somewhere in solitude;
Take hammock, books and tackle
And wearing apparel crude.
And live, if but the shortest time.
A wild life in the wood
A-fishing, reading, dreaming.
And you'll declare it good."
J. MILTON HARKINS.
=Up and Down Stream.=--English Anglers wade upstream, and some Anglers
in America do the same. There is good reason in this manner of wading
on the part of the old country's Anglers, because where they practice
it the water is quiet and not altogether shallow. In America, where
our trout waters are rapid and foaming as they rush along, it is not
practical as a general rule to wade upstream. The walking is
difficult, you become wet, the trout see you notwithstanding they lie
face up stream, your flies drift toward you, it is hard to keep the
line from being slack all the time, the flies sink too often, and
altogether you spoil the chances of creeling whatever is takable in
the stream. On still, barely-flowing, deep waters a line may be cast
up or down stream.
=Down Stream.=--"There is much diversity of opinion about the manner
of fishing, whether up or down the stream. The great majority of
Anglers, both in Europe and this country, favor the latter method, and
very few the former."--John J. Brown.
=Motion of the Fly.=--In clear, smooth water let the fly sink a
little; then move it along with a quick motion.
=Manner in Fly-Fishing.=--"The manner in which the flies are fished
distinguishes the fly-fisherman from the mere fly-caster, whether or
no the fly-caster, as such, be expert or otherwise."--Samuel G. Camp,
_The Fine Art of Fishing_.
=Fly-Casting Practice.=--"When the learner becomes accustomed to
handling his rod, he must try to perfect himself in two matters of
great importance--accuracy and delicacy. Place a small piece of paper
fifteen or twenty feet away, and aim at making the knot in the end of
the line fall easily and quietly upon it. Your efforts will be aided
if you will raise the point of the rod a trifle just as the forward
impulse of the line is spent, and the line itself is straightened in
the air for an instant in front. This is a novel kind of target
shooting, but its usefulness will be realized when the Angler finds it
necessary to drop his flies lightly just over the head of some wary
trout."--Ripley Hitchcock.
=The Magic Fly.=--"Reader, did you ever throw the fly to tempt the
silvery denizen of the lake or river to his destruction? Have you
watched him, as it skimmed like a living insect along the surface,
dart from his hiding-place and rush upon the tempting but deceitful
morsel? Have you noticed his astonishment when he found the hook was
in his jaw? Have you watched him as he bent your slender rod 'like a
reed shaken by the wind,' in his efforts to free himself, and then
have you reeled him to your hand and deposited him in your basket as
the spoil of your right arm? If you have not, leave the dull,
monotonous, everyday things around you and try it."--S. S. Hammond.
=Lifelike Fly.=--Don't simply drag the fly through the water. Move
your wrist gently up and down; then the lure will look and act like a
living insect, not a bunch of hair or feather.
=Nature-like Fly.=--"In fly-fishing the lure must always be in
motion." Excepting, say I, the instant when it first drops upon the
pool. I have caught many of my largest trout--sometimes two at a
single cast--the moment the fly touched the water.
=Dry-Fly Success.=--"There are no insurmountable obstacles in the way
of becoming a successful dry-fly Angler that do not confront the user
of the sunken fly."--Emlyn M. Gill, _Practical Dry-Fly Fishing_.
=Correct Fly-Fishing Line.=--"Nothing in reference to fly-fishing can
be answered with such ease and confidence as the question what line
should be used. Unquestionably the enameled waterproofed line, and no
other."--Henry P. Wells.
=Sunken Fly.=--"Every bass fly-fisherman knows that to let his flies
sink for a depth of six or eight inches is alluring. Under certain
conditions, when after trout, to let the flies descend for a depth of
two feet before retrieving, is to tempt some sleepy old monster to
attack. "--O. W. Smith.
=The Strike.=--"The moment the trout seizes the artificial fly, it is
as far in his mouth as it ever will be; therefore, you cannot strike
too quickly after you have seen or felt the trout."--D. W. Cross.