In either school the casts are divided into six classes : the overhand, the underhand, the spray cast, the wind cast, the flip cast and the switch cast. The object of them all is to cause the fly to drop upon the water as if it were a natural fly which had alighted on the surface in its natural habit, or had fallen off some over hanging branch, or been blown from the grass and was floating down stream. The most com monly used cast is the overhand. To perform it the angler standing on the river's brim un winds a few yards of his line and lets the fly float down stream, raising his rod until it is at an angle of some 60 to 80 degrees in front of him. With a swift movement of the wrist, he lifts it so that it passes over his shoulder: the line follows and passes away beyond it. At a moment only to be learned from experience, but which every angler soon feels, he throws the rod forward and onward in the direction in front of him which he wants the fly to take, and it falls there, gently. This cast is possible wherever there are neither trees nor rocks for the necessary distance behind the angler. When these are present the switch cast is used: in that the fly is drawn along the top of the water toward the angler's feet, and then, lower ing his rod by a quick downward movement, the line is sent forward rolling over and over itself in curves. When all the curves are un wound the fly falls back into the water at the extreme end of the line. The first movements in the wind cast are the same as those of the switch cast: the difference is in the thrash by which the line is made to travel up against the wind. The flip cast is made by taking the fly between the thumb and finger, pulling the top of the rod down until it is a bow, and then letting it slip back. The force will carry the fly to the desired spot. The spray cast is used now when a great length of line is out. The fly is then drawn up to the feet of the angler and the pole thrown forward up stream, not, as in the overhead cast, swished behind the line of the shoulders.
For the experienced angler there is nothing to be said — he knows it all. But for him of little experience or none, it is advised that he read freely among the books written on the subject before essaying the adventure in the open. Careful study of the habits of the fish to be hunted will be well repaid in the weight of the creel on the homeward stretch; and fisher men's lore should he absorbed without stint. It is an old saying that °good tackle is half the It is a common mistake to start in with a very cheap and hence unresponsive outfit. It is unwise also to select the most refined and delicate tackle before appreciative skill is ac quired. In the selection of tackle the personal equation is a large and weighty factor. The tackle which best suits the angler is that which will eventually bring him the most fish. But fishing tackle is a subject so diverse and ex tended as to demand a separate article, and to that the reader is referred for detailed infor mation. See FISHING TACKLE.
Bibliography.—Barrington, 'Seventy Years' Fishing' (London 1906) ; Bradford, C. B., 'The Determined Angler and the Brook Trout' (New York 1916) • Buxton, S., 'Fishing and Shooting' (London 1902) • Camp, S. G., 'Fishing Kits and Equipment' (New York 1910) ; and 'The Fine Art of Fishing' (New York 1911) ; Halford, F. M., 'The Dry-Fly Man's Handbook' (Lon don 1913) ; Henshall, J. A., 'Bass, Pike, Perch and Others' (New York 1903) ; Holder, C. F., 'Game Fishes of the World' (New York 1913) ; and 'The Log of a Sea Angler' (Boston 1906) ; La Branche, G. M. L., 'The Dry Fly and Fast Water' (New York 1914) ; McCarthy, E., 'Fa miliar Fish: Their Habits and Capture' (New York 1909) ; Rhead, L., 'American Trout Stream Insects' (New York 1916) ; Shaw, F. G., 'The Complete Science of Fly-Fishing and Spinning' (New York 1915) ; Walton, Izaak, 'The Compleat Angler' (reprint, New York 1913).