62 



the upper extremity of the guinea water, at Portna Weir, 

 our illustration of McCarroll, the lock kee})er, gaffing a 

 salmon, gives us the first bit of " fly water." The break 

 shown in the weir is a sabnon ladder, and running fish 

 that are waiting to ascend it hang about in the easy water 

 below on this side of the river ; the force of the stream 

 being greater in the centre and on the; opposite shore. 

 With a fairly good height of water, this quiet corner is 

 always a safe find for a salmon; and the next bit of fly- 

 water is from the "pier" down to the " Camlet," along the 

 left bank of the river. There is a shallow bit along the 

 eastern shore, after passing the " Camlet," which alwaj's 

 holds fish in high water, and then you go through the 

 arches of the bridge. From the post, in the river, opposite 

 John Blair's '" sally-bush," will pay for fishing carefully 

 with a fly, as there is a ridge which runs across the river's 

 bed at this point, and the salmon rest behind it. This is 

 locally called a " stank," which, being interpreted, means 

 a wall. The Bann abounds in " stanks," and w^henever 

 you come across one you may count with certainty upon 

 finding a fish there ready to take a fly — that is, if there 

 are fish going. Captain Armstrong's cast is a good bit 

 of flj'-water, but there is not enough stream to make it 

 duffers' work, and you must be able to manipulate a fly 

 pretty fairly in order to score at this point. This is one 

 of the first places on the guinea water which fish a fly after 

 a flood, and a big Jock Scott will often yield a fish here 

 before the porter tint has gone out of the water. The 

 same remarks are true of the shallows beneath the wood, 

 at Moor's Lodge, which is situate nearly at the lower end 

 of our guinea water. It will be gathered from the fore- 

 going that the Bann is not a first-class fly-fishing river 

 for salmon, but to that noble army of duffers who do not 

 disdain to troll a minnow or spoon, or even to "liarle " his 

 salmon flies, this river is an ideal amateur angler's para- 

 dise ! Without quite ranking myself as a duffer, I have 

 found the Bann fishing good enough to tempt me, over a 

 long period of years, and I hope yet to pay many more 

 visits to the " Bann shore." 



