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"-W.

"Trout take some flies because they resemble the real fly on which they feed. They take other flies for no such reason, C. Prime.

Th

'Srare the rod and spoil the

y a long day, and if I had ace it would hardly have made no doubt to-day in my mind

"The oft-repeated quotation, child,' has been misconstrued for known early in life its real sign" so doleful an impression. that this 'rod' meant a fishing od, and the timely cherishing of it in youth tends to develop that portion of one's nature to which the former use was entirely innocent."-Thomas Sedgwick Steele.

"My favorite fly of all is . S pe feather and mouse bodv." "Prank Forester."

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"Often the whereabouts of a trout is betrayed by a break or a leap from the surface, and the wide-awake angler will make it his business to toss his fly over the spot sooner or later. Sometimes the trout rush at the lure like a flash, leaping clear over it in their eagerness. They are difficult to hook then."-Charles Hallock.

"No description of the brook trout, that has ever been given, does him justice. It stands unrivalled as a game fish."-Theodatus Garlick, M.D.

"The best flies to use are imitations of those which are born on the water; for, though tront will often take land flies, and indeed almost any insect you can throw on the water, yet it is on the water-flies which he chiefly depends for his sustenance.”—Francis Francis.

"A trout does not always get the fly when he attempts to; it may be lying against the leader, making it impossible for him to get it in his mouth; you may strike too quickly, taking it out of reach; the strike may be too hard, tearing his mouth. More trout by far are pricked than hooked. Practice only can teach you when to strike; you see a faint gleam under the surface, when you instinctively twitch, to find you have hooked a beauty. Few fishermen can separate force from quickness of motion. Never use your arm in making the strike, only your wrist; then will the difficulty be overcome.”—T. S. Up de Graff, M.D.

"Innocent stranger! Thou who readest these lines! perhaps you never caught a trout. If so, thou knowest not for what life was originally intended. Thou art a vain, insignificant mortal! pursuing shadows! Ambition lures thee, fame dazzles, wealth leads thee on, panting! Thou art chasing spectres, goblins that satisfy not. If thou hast not caught a trout, this world is to thee, as yet, a blank, existence is a dream. Go and weep.”—Thaddeus Norris.

"On one occasion the writer was awakened at a very early hour, when, lo! Mr. Webster, who happened to be in a particularly playful mood, was seen going through the graceful motions of an angler throwing a fly and striking a trout, and then, without a word, disappeared. As a matter of course, that day was given to fishing."— Lanman's Life of Webster.

HOW TO CAST A FLY.

BY

SETH GREEN.

I AM asked a great many times what is the secret of fly-casting? There are three principles. First, quick out of the water; second, give the line time to straighten behind you; third, throw. I will explain these principles more definitely.

Raise your rod straight up, or nearly so, the inclination being backward; then make a quick stroke forward. When you take the line from the water it should be done with a quick jerk; then give your line time to straighten behind; then give it the same stroke forward that you did to get it out of the water.

Why so many fail in fly-casting is, they throw the rod backward too near the ground behind them, and when they make the forward stroke, and the line gets straightened out, it is some distance above the water and kinks back, so that when it falls upon the water it lies crooked, and is some distance short of what it would have been if it had struck the water as soon as it was straightened out.

If a fish should strike at your flies at this time you are pretty sure to miss him. By never throwing your

rod back more than to a slight angle from the perpendicular, and making the stroke forward, your line goes straight out and the flies go to the point you desire.

Great care should be taken when you have thrown the line behind you, that the line is given time to straighten before making the stroke forward. I have thrown seventy feet of line against a strong wind, first, by giving my rod a quick, strong back stroke, carrying my rod but slightly back of the perpendicular, and giving my line time to straighten behind me, then making the same stroke forward that I did to get it back of me.

I nearly forgot to mention that it is more important to have your line fit your rod than it is to have your coat fit your back.

You may think it strange that I should tell you three or four times over in the same article, that in order to do good fly-casting you must throw your rod back only just so far, and then wait for your line to straighten behind you; and when your line is straight, to make a quick stroke forward, without carrying your rod forward, even a little, before delivering your line, but these movements are the essential principles in flycasting. By observing them one may hope to become a skilful fly-caster.

TROUT:

MEETING THEM ON THE "JUNE RISE."

BY

"NESSMUK."

There is a spot where plumy pines
O'erhang the sylvan banks of Otter;
Where wood-ducks build among the vines
That bend above the crystal water.

And there the blue-jay makes her nest,
In thickest shade of water beeches;
The fish-hawk, statuesque in rest,

Keeps guard o'er glassy pools and reaches,

'Tis there the deer come down to drink,

From laurel brakes and wooded ridges;

The trout, beneath the sedgy brink,

Are sharp on ship-wrecked flies and midges.

AND of the scores of mountain trout-streams that I have fished, the Otter is associated with the most pleasing memories.

It is, or was, a model trout-stream; a thing to dream of. Having its rise within three miles of the village,

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