56 



THE BANN AT COLERAINE. 



The acc()iu}>;iiiyiiio- illustrations will aftoicl the readei- 

 a veiv good idea of the magnitude of this splendid river 

 weir the river is tidal, and salt water, at spring tides, 

 forces its way up to the town, which is half a mile below 

 the " cuts." These are salmon traps, which occupy the centre 

 portion of the weir, a " queen's gap " being- the only s]iace 

 left throuoh which ascending fish can escape the trap])prs. 

 Below the weir, the fishing is free, but above this barrier 

 the Bann Club charge a guinea per week for the right to 

 fish. The weir-])ool and race are often crowded with fi'esh- 

 run fish, and it is a good fly water, the best flies being the 

 Dunkeld, Judge, and Silver Doctor. A narrow ])latfor7n, 

 extends across the top of the weir, and the lessees of the 

 "cuts" use this platform to enable them to net out the 

 salmon which are captured in the traps. The number of 

 fish thus taken is enormous, as mav be inferred from the 

 fact that the lessees pay an annual rent of £5,000 for 

 their rights. These tra})s are reall}^ square cages of lat- 

 tice-work, into which the ascending salmon are able to 

 enter, from whence they cannot escape. Upon the occa- 

 sion of our inspecting these " cuts," my companion was 

 fired with a desire to become the possessor of a grand 

 twenty-pounder Avhich entered one of the traps Avhilst we 

 were looking on. It was my chum's first salmon-fishing 

 experience, and he had yet to catch his first fish. But 

 the idea of sending home that splendid salmon, and allow 

 the wife of his bosom to suppose he had caught it, took 

 possession of his mind, and do it he would. Giving his 

 card and a sovereign to the man in charge of the "cuts," 

 my friend directed the fish to be sent to his address in 

 Kent. My friend A^Tote, announcing to his wife the cap- 



