Macon beacon., 1917-04-13
ON LEARNING FLY-cAsTlNe.
Mr.. Dear Buck:

It's some jump from bait-casting
with artificial plugs to fly-casting with
the light, feathery imitation that coaxes
the gamy fighters out of the waters.
but you can make it easy enough, old
man, by doing a stretch of dry wa
ter practice work on the back lawn.
To the ordinary bait-caster who has
accustomed himself to the sitter,
short rod, fly-casting with the nine or
ten foot rod weighing from five to six
and quarter ounces seems like the
impossible. Many are the yarns he
has heard about the fine art of fish
Ing" fy-casting; much has been writ
ten about the science" of this end OF
the game. in fact, the average every
nOw-and-then, week end fisherman who
has become proficient in bait-casting
has been scared to a fare-you-well at
the thought Of learning to toss the
light flies and he has stuck to bait
casting as the "safety-frst" Of fishing,
thereby missing many pleasant hours
whipping btIcdub.
Practice Makes a FIy-caster.
Right down to rocks, Buck, you
can learn f1y-casting by little prac-
tice with the right tackle-of course,
you must not get the bug in your
tackle-box that this practice makes
you an expert fy-fisherman, but it
uiUoc n ri Of onu1n ~ tho
game to which you will become a
regular member as soon as you have
whipped a stream or two. You can
learn the action Of fly-casting quite
easily, practice will make you in a
short time C good tly-caster, but there
is nothing whatever to make you
bring home a we'll filled creel, except
the study Of fish, the streams you fish
and the exercising Of care and alert
ness Of mind while after the game fish
that rise to the ay.
You can whip stream all day with
any variety or selection Of flies with
out creeling a fish If you don't know
the habits and loaflng places of the
fish and how to cast without soaring
them to death.
Tackle Necessary to Start.
Probably the best all round fly rod
for all except the smallest OF noun
tain brooks, is a split bamboo from
nine to ten feet, weighing from five
to six ounces, my preference is the
nine and half footer for general cast
ing, with h125 yards of waterproof enam-
eled silk~line, size e or F, according
to the weight of the rod, E for the
heavier and F for the lighter one. An
ordinary single action click reel of 100
yards capacity is necessary. Don't
bother with leader for the lawn
practice, save 1t for the real fishing,
although you can tie a very small
piece Of white string on the end of
the line to locate the end easily to
note the distance from your target.
Trying Out the Cast.
Peg down q newspaper or small
cloth on the lawn, take position fac
ing 1t, say 25 feet away, place the reel
on the underside of the rod with the
handle to the right and keep it there
at all times. Grasp the rod in the
right hand. reel under, with the thumb
straight along the top of the grip
never curved around the grip. Cast
out about ten feet of line letting it
fall in front of you on line with the
target, with the left hand unreel about
fifteen feet Of line-but do not pass this
line through the guides and out the
tip, but let it drop to the ground at
your feet, retaining hold on the line
about a foot this side Of the first
guide. Point your rod at the target,
keeping your arm as far as the elbow
close to the body (this is essential
the forearm and wrist must do the
work. swing the rod up to vertical ,
position slowly at first, taking up
loose line and ending with a strong,
quick wrist and forearm motion. This
throws the lGe In the air and the
swing OF the rod carries 1t back over
the shoulder, but be sure Of this
point, stop the cast when the thumb |
along the grip shows that the rod Is
vertical; more casts are killed by too
much OF a swing over the shoulder
than any other way. This is the first
half Of the cast and is called the back
cast. This cast causes the line to fly
out behind you and the instant you
feel the slightest tug on the rod you
know that the line has Strengthened |
out behind and at this point start the
cast. Make the forward cast
beginning 1t with an easy swing put
Ting the steam on at the windup, stop
ping the cast with snap when par.
allel with the ground.
Big Points TO Remember.
The main points to watch are Make
he back cast forcibly. Not to swing
he rod back too far on the back cast,
keeping 1t at vertical rather than back
,arther-start forward cast at the
slightest pull of the line-start for
ward cast mildly, finish 1t strong, and
lot to lower the rod too near the wa
er at the wind up.
DIXIE