An angler standing without motion is unheeded by the fish. As a general thing he should be concealed. It is well to be attired in plain, dark clothing and wear hob-nailed shoes, to prevent slipping off rocks and stones into the water. Before casting, unreel of line three or four times the length of the rod. As soon as the flies have touched the water, the rod should be gradually raised toward the perpendicular. The fly, after being thrown, should be kept gently moving, immediately above the surface of the water. Cast quietly and carefully around big stones, at the edge of weed-beds and the like. Always use a landing-net. In a lake to drag a fish out by the line is almost sure to lose it. In drawing hold the rod with the left hand and reel with the right. When the fish is hooked be on the alert to get away from logs and briers.

Trolling is done from the stern of a boat, with a guide to row or sail the craft. Fish on the hook are disposed to run under the boat, for succor or shelter. Some think that the calm after a storm is the best time for trolling ; others, that a windy day is best. It is good weather when the mercury is well up in the barometer and there is a gentle breeze ; also when the sun looks with a modest face, it is much better than when the god of day is red, or glares with a golden stare. The best fishing is had just after sunrise and at or just after sundown, when most fish are in quest of food. Settled weather is favorable ; changeable weather prognosticates uncertain sport.In all fly-fishing, whether on lake or river, a moderate, rippling breeze and a checkered sky are advantages ; doubtless because they help conceal the counterfeit fly and lessen the glitter of the gut.

The best places to fish in any river are usually not where there are the most fish, but where they can be most easily caught. These places are moderately rapid runs ; scours, or stickles, where the water is of a medium depth, and carries a brisk ripple or curl; pools with a sharp current through them ; and mill-tails, weirs, and eddies. Deep, stagnant, lagoon-like reaches can only be fished with success when there is a good breezy ripple on them.

Water that is thickened is always bad. It prevents the fish seeing the flies on the top, and brings down with it ground-food, which fixes their attention on the bottom. The presence of any large number of natural flies on the water is bad.

When the fishing season is over, your rod should be cleaned, oiled, and put away in a cool place, in readiness for the next campaign. The best of wood that a rod can be composed of, if exposed for a length of time in a dry atmosphere, will shrink. All lines, after being used, should be run off from the reel and laid out, or stretched on pegs to dry. Should they have been lying by for any length of time, they should be examined and tried in every part before using. Lines will chafe and fray out by constant use.