THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES.

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CHAPTER II.

THROWING THE LINE

AND FLIES-HUMOURING THEM FISHING A STREAM-STRIKING, HOOKING, PLAYING, AND LANDING A FISH.

OUR LANGUAGE contains many pretty, pithy, and largely expressive figures of speech. One man says of another, he is the best "whip" in England.' We understand by this little phrase that he is vaunted to be the best driver and manager of horses in harness in the kingdom. So when we say 'he throws a line or a fly better than any man we know,' we mean to assert that he is the best fly-fisher of our acquaintance. The possession of the one power commonly, not always, implies the possession of all the other necessary ones. Throwing well the line is an indispensable fly-fishing qualification, the first to be learned, always called into play, and without which other attributes are nearly valueless. You may hook a fish well, play a fish well, land a fish well, but you will not often have an opportunity of doing so unless you throw a line well. We judge of a fly-fisher by the manner in which he casts his line. If he does so with ease and elegance, and

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THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES.

efficiently, we set him down as an adept in all the minutiæ of the art; if he does not, we conclude that he is a tyro. We confess our conclusions may be frequently wrong. That, reader, you may not long remain in the category of novices, let there be, during the fly-fishing season, for you, nulla dies sine lineâ.

I can see no wonderful difficulty in throwing a line well. Many certainly do not cast well, by reason, chiefly, of having adopted a bad method at the outset. It is better to have no fly-fishing habitude at all, than to have a bad one. Commence on the proper principle; persevere, and you must become a proficient.

HOW TO THROW THE LINE AND FLIES.-You are a beginner, I presume, and have never handled a rod before. Let the rod for your novitiate be ten or eleven feet long; its play inclining rather to faulty stiffness than to over-pliancy. Put the joints or pieces together, the rings standing in a straight line the one to the other, that your line may run evenly between them without any tortuous impediment. Affix your winch or reel with its handle towards the left side, and draw out your line through the rings, until there be about four yards of it uncoiled beyond the last ring of the top joint. You have now quite sufficient line out to commence the practice of casting with it. Let your winch and the rings of

HOW TO HOLD THE FLY-ROD.

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your rod be on the under side of it when you practise casting.*

You are now ready to begin. Grasp your rod, in your right hand, a little above the winch, but not tightly. Your hand must not close firmly with the thumb turned over your knuckles, as if you were about to strike a blow. Your fingers must simply entwine the rod, not squeeze it, and your thumb must lie straight with your arm on the upper part of the butt, the first joint being very slightly bent, and the fleshy or flat fore-part pressing on the rod. Hold your rod up almost perpendicularly, and pointing rather to the left side. Take the tip of the line between the forefinger and thumb of your left hand. Poise your rod loosely and easily, and see that it balances freely in your right hand. Be devoid of that fear which begets awkwardness. What injury can you do? You are not going to explode a mine. You

*This is the English, and more convenient method. The winch, being underneath the butt, does not come in contact with your fore-arm as you throw, and therein lies the greater convenience, but it is counterbalanced by having the rings also on the under part of the rod, whereby the line runs and works upon them rather than upon the rod. The Irish generally, and properly, affix the winch with the handle towards the right, and fish with the rings upwards. In this way the line grates less upon the ring-wires, and running upon and along the rod, instead of beneath it on the rings, it is more influenced by the qualities of the rod, and can be thoroughly managed by them. In most cases, play your fish with the winch upwards.

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THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES.

are merely going to throw a thin line with a slight limber rod upon the water. What if you fracture one or both in the attempt? The damage can be remedied.

I suppose you now on a bank above some river's surface, all ready for your first cast. Move your right wrist and fore-arm round to the right, letting go, just as it begins to get taut, the tip of the line in your left fingers, and bring round from left to right over your right shoulder the upper part of your rod, describing with the point of it an irregular-a horse-shoe-circle, and then cast forward with a flinging motion of the wrist and fore-arm. The motion of the wrist must predominate over that of the fore-arm and elbow-joint. If you follow the above motions exactly and with freedom, from four to five feet of your line, supposing you to have between three and four yards of it out, must fall lightly upon the water. If that length does not so fall, you are wrong, and you must go on casting and casting, practising and practising, until you are right.

At first you will find, unless you are very handy and a very apt scholar indeed, that nearly all your line will fall upon the water, and that the top of your rod will come in contact, or nearly so, with the surface of it. These are the greatest drawbacks to throwing a line well, and if not overcome, the learner must never expect to be

PROPER POSITION IN CASTING.

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come an expert fly-fisher. With might and main he must struggle to vanquish them. They are caused by letting the fore-arm fall too low whilst casting, and bending the body forward in unison with the downward motion of the arm.

Here is the remedy. When you have made your casting movement-brought round your rod and line over the shoulder, and propelled them forwards, the motion of the wrist and elbow-joint must be gradually checked the instant the line is straightening itself in its onward course. The body must be upright, the chest held rather back, and the bust must not assume any marked forward or stooping position. You will find, if you hold your rod properly, that the end of it nearest to you, the part between your hand and the spear or spike, will come in contact with the under part of your fore-arm just as your line is approaching the water. This contact will prevent the point of your rod following the line so low as to cause a great part of the latter to roll on to the water. Stand with your left foot a little forward, and flat on the ground, with a firm purchase; the right foot a little behind, the toes turned out, and the ball of the foot touching the ground with a slight springy pressure. Your left upper arm must hang loosely by your side; the fore part curbed from the elbow-joint will bring your left hand over and opposite to the outer ends of the right