Brook and river trouting / A manual of modern north country methods, with coloured illustrations of flies and fly-dressing materials

by Harfield H. Edmonds; Norman N. Lee

That trout have exceptionally keen eyesight, no one who has ever walked along the banks of a trout stream will deny. How then can the least thoughtful expect to creel decent fish with the river in normal condition, if he stands with the fish below him, or, for that matter, stands anywhere within their very wide range of vision, a range so wide that, if a circle be described with the head of a trout for the centre, only about one-sixth of the circumference of such a circle, and that immediately behind, would appear to be outside the range of vision of the fish?

From these well-known facts it will be obvious, even to the uninitiated, that the best approach for the angler bent on capturing trout in clear water is from behind. Yet, astonishing as it may seem (and for the simple reason that it is the easier way), many men—we might almost say the majority of men—invariably fish their flies across and downstream, letting the flies sweep right round until they are directly below, where they are often allowed to dangle in the water at the end of a taut line.

To fish downstream in this manner requires no particular skill, as the stream does most of the work; and, while the great majority of fish risen are merely pricked and lost, those caught are below the average of size for the river fished. If the beginner is having a bad day and everything is going wrong, if he grows tired with his efforts to fish upstream and is tempted to resort to this method, rather than do so, let him knock off for a while and smoke a pipe, and then return, with renewed hope and vigour, to his upstream fishing, determined to master it.

Now it frequently happens that the angler wading upstream gets almost up to, or at any rate within two or three yards of a fish, before ever his presence is noticed. There is therefore in general little necessity to use a long line when fishing upstream, yet it is often done.

Frequently anglers are met who say that they cannot fish upstream, urging, by way of excuse, that they have difficulty in seeing fish rise, which causes late striking, the fish being missed entirely, or, at the most, only turned over. Of course it is difficult to see a rise, or to strike a fish, in a rapid stream if a long line is used, and in the majority of these cases the reason for failure is to be found in the use of too long a line.

Therefore the novice who is bent on mastering fly-fishing upstream can almost dismiss from his mind the first part of the “far off and fine” theory. In practice it will be found that, for fishing strong flowing streams, a line (including the cast) but little longer than the rod is ample; while for fishing the more gently flowing shallow water at the edges of such streams, another yard or two of line will be necessary to assist the angler in keeping out of sight. The angler must be ruled by circumstances, always bearing in mind the fact that the most practical length of line to use is the shortest on which a trout may be killed. Once this fact has been fully appreciated and carried into practice, many of the supposed difficulties of upstream fishing will vanish entirely, leaving the novice free to tackle other problems.

Arriving at a likely stretch of water, and full of excitement on noticing a fish rise at the tail of the main stream, the beginner will often wade straight out to a point below the fish and then cast over him. There is always a temptation, even to the expert, to go for a rising fish, but under such circumstances, if the angler be wise, he will take a careful survey before wading out, and will note the character of the water within casting distance of the edge.

The experienced angler will do this instinctively, and will make his first cast to the sharp run at the edge of the bank. His second will be made slightly more across; and, after he has released another foot or two of line, his flies at the third throw will search the slack water behind the rock. Here the cast will be repeated two or three times in rapid succession, the flies not being allowed to remain in the water more than a moment, lest the current pick up the line and cause a drag.

The fear of drag is ever present, but drag may be avoided in many cases, if care is exercised in regulating the speed at which the rod point is raised as the flies are swept down by the current. When the flies have been thrown to a quieter bit of water and there is a danger of the current picking up the line, the moment of drag can often be postponed if the cast finishes in a wavy line on the water, as the current has to pickup the slack before the drag takes effect on the flies. To cast thus is a feat not difficult of achievement for many of the fraternity.