]04< CARMARTHEN LAKES. 



Though the situation is so elevated that the snow- 

 remains unmelted upon the shore for the greater 

 portion of the year, this lake abounds with trout 

 and eels of superior quality. When a strong breeze 

 ruffles the surface of Llyn Van, the rise of the fish 

 is almost incredible, and can be compared only to 

 violent rain, or the effect that would be produced 

 by casting handfuls of gravel upon its surface. 

 We once spent an entire day on its wild, rocky 

 shores, and were, for that period at least, perfectly 

 satiated with sport. The trout threw themselves 

 out of the water in summersaults, by hundreds at 

 once ; and the effect was most singular, as their 

 golden spotted sides flashed and glittered in the 

 sunbeams that occasionally broke through the gloom 

 which overspread the atmosphere. Fortunately 

 for the lover of angling, from the shallow rocky 

 bottom of this lake near the shore, it is useless 

 to attempt dragging with a net; while its great 

 depth towards the centre, would render any similar 

 method of fishing equally unprofitable, even could 

 a boat be conveyed to the lofty rugged moun- 

 tain hollow in which it is situated. The trout are 

 therefore propagated in immense numbers, undi- 

 minished by the successful devices adopted for their 

 destruction in waters less difficult of approach, 

 and they consequently, for the most part, die of old 

 age ; very few persons being willing to encounter 

 the toil and fatigue of the ascent. In the grousing 

 season, a tent is generally erected on the shores of 

 Llyn Van, and the sportsmen occasionally vary 



