In Connemara. 49 



better sport, though inany were the lamenta- 

 tions of our boatman as he came to us in 

 the morning, that more water had not come 

 down from the hills; but, at any rate, we 

 should have a good "drift," and, not, in his 

 language, have to "dodge down" some par- 

 ticular bit of shore. And a true " duster " 

 the wind proved to be, raising white and toss- 

 ing waves at the far end of the lake. But 

 the sport was not satisfactory ; good fish 

 were not moving, and the double-handed rod 

 was ignominiously employed, for no trout of 

 more than half-a-pound would rise. At length 

 our patience was rewarded, for in the half 

 shelter of a rocky point a fine white trout 

 bounced bodily out of the water at the red- 

 bodied dropper, and was soon sailing away, 

 firmly hooked. After a frantic rush or two, a 

 handsome sea-trout of a couple of pounds was 

 adorning the bottom of the boat. Then an- 

 other throw or two, and another fierce rise, 

 and off flew a vigorous white trout, with a 

 couple of those preliminary leaps which are 

 the sure characteristic of these fish, and which 

 have before now secured the liberty of many 

 a good trout, and bitterly disappointed many 

 D 



