IKi 



THE MOY AT BALLINA. 



If I was asked to recommond the best and cheapest grilse 

 fishino' in Ireland, I should nnhesitating-ly say, " Go to 

 Ballina." And the best time to go is usually in that part 

 of June when the fish are running up, relying upon some 

 trusty correspondent on the spot to wire the magic word, 

 '* Come ! " The route from London is via Holyhead to 

 jS'orth "Wall, Dublin, thence across the centre of Ireland, 

 passing through Athlone and Eoscommon, and branching 

 off for Ballina at MauruUa Junction. It is as well to give 

 the guard a tip, and tell him your destination, because I 

 have known men carried on to Westport through ignorance 

 of the fact that Ballina is on a branch line. This long 

 journey lies, for the most part, through a very flat and 

 uninteresting — not to say dreary — tract of country, in 

 which bog land predominates. By engaging Frank Hearns 

 beforehand as your boatman, you will find everything 

 plain sailing upon arrival. I sent a friend of mine over 

 there recently, and Frank met him in Ballina station 

 between five and sis a.m. when the train arrived. A cup 

 of coffee with the stationmaster, and away Frank Hearns 

 took his man, straight to the boat. The tide served, it was 

 Monday morning, and the gasworks' pool Avas full of fish, 

 and my friend hooked and played nine grilse before break- 

 fast. The Moy divides the town of Ballina, and the 

 banks are walled in by massive stone walls, and the river is 

 spanned by a handsome bridge of many arches. Between 

 this bridge and the " cutts " above is about the best pool 

 in the river. The reader will see it in our first illustration 

 of the Moy. This pool is within a hundred yards of the 

 centre of the town, and the competition for this mtich 

 coveted cast is often very keen. Of course, the river below 

 the " cutts " is tidal, and this cast only fishes when the tide 



