SALMON ANGLINQ IN IRELAND. 161 



kingdoms, and as a station Ballina seems built expressly for the 

 purpose ; but before speaking of the summer angling we will pause 

 to say only a few words about the river during the earlier months. 

 The best time for the spring fishing is from the middle of March 

 to May 15, as the river is large, and cannot be relied on at the 

 commencement of the season. Pontoon seldom wants a clean 

 salmon on the opening day, for all early comers rest there before 

 plunging into the wide waters of Lough Conn ; but in the river, 

 too, are some admirable casts, and many a heart will thrill at the 

 mention of Mountfalcon, Cooldi-onane, Bannifinglas, and Foxford. 



For the sake of convenience we will speak of the angling in this 

 neighbourhood under three heads the tideway, up the river, and 

 Pontoon. 



Twice in each day the flood flows to the weirs, and for an hour 

 and a half before and after high water little can be done with the 

 rod. Through the town, on either bank of the river, are handsome 

 quays, similar to those on the Liffey above Carlisle bridge ; but here 

 no barque ever floats larger than the cot of my stout friend Terry 

 Divers, who is now awaiting me at the steps. How well I remember, 

 some dozen years ago, that brawny form standing just on this spot, 

 steadying the boat with his pole, even as he does now, waiting for 

 an eager young Englishman, who, unwilling to waste an instant, cast 

 his line down the stream as he stepped on board. Do I forget the 

 strong shove that sent the cot spinning against the current, the 

 dashing rise, the unlucky stroke ? Oh, Terry, Terry, those combined 

 forces moving in the same line were too much for mortal tackle I 

 How well I remember your ill-concealed disgust of the bereaved 

 Saxon, and the suppressed rage with which you selected another 

 pair of flies ? Have you forgotten the next two salmon which I 

 hooked, played, and lost ? Have you ever paid for the Sunday hat 

 you then tore from your head and trampled under foot as if it had 

 been a thing of nought ? Can I forget your taking my rod vi et armis 

 in order to mend our luck, and presently smashing top and second 

 joints in a 101b. salmon above the arch of the bridge yonder? 

 No, no, it all comes back as fresh as yesterday. And do not I 



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