70 



iiiiislunl the week on five miles of the river, whicli is 

 strictl}' preserved, and in which the heaviest of the late 

 run fish make their breeding ground. This is the very 

 choicest section of the Bann, and it yields some of the 

 finest fish that are ever taken with rod and line in Ireland. 

 Here is was that the son of my host and hostess — a smart 

 lad, just home from Winchester — some years ago killed a 

 grand forty pounder, after a fierce and desperate fight 

 wliicli lasted five hours. No more picturesque or delight- 

 fully-situated angler's home can be found in the United 

 Kingdom than that occupied by my host. 



Built on a ledge, apparently cut out of the hillside, the 

 sloping ground to the water's edge is terraced, and the 

 terraces are now aglow with autumn flowers, backed by 

 hardy foliaged plants. From the little lawn, in fi'ont of 

 the house, you look down upon the weir pool below. South- 

 ward from this elevated position the eye follows the course 

 of the Bann, through a vista of rich timber trees whilst 

 looking west, the blue mountains of Derry stand out clearly 

 in the occasional gleams of autumn sunshine which light 

 them up at intervals. My hostess is the most accomplished 

 salmon angler in Ireland, and as she selects for me the 

 Idlling fly for to-day, she declares that no more perfect 

 fishing weather could be imagined — wind, water, and light 

 are all that could be wished. And so mj'self and friend 

 step into the boat, and commence to fish the fast water, 

 on the ford below the weii* — a "safe find," the boatman 

 vowed. But never a touch did we get, and the cause was 

 soon apparent. I had stuck to a " golden olive," instead 

 of accepting the advice of the lady angler aforesaid. As 

 Ave approached the next cast I put up the fly of her choice 

 — one of Dan O'Fee's latest inventions — the famous 

 "black and gold." And now the sport began. Arrived 

 Avithin two hundred yards of an eel weir my fly hangs a 

 moment, there is a savage pull under water, and a flyinsf 

 leap of a twenty pounder revealed the fact that my fish 

 was a new comer in splendid fighting condition. In wild 

 rushes, and flying leaps, he went up stream at express 

 speed, and thus avoided disturbing the water where he 



