188 A BOOK ON ANGLING 



day, of course, I believe that there never were any others equal 

 to them. 



Some lakes are what are called " free rising lakes " ; others 

 are but moderately so, the fish being more capricious and 

 apparently shyer, and sport, though sometimes good, is less 

 certain in them. These lakes often have better fish than the 

 " free risers." Some, again, are termed " sulky lakes," and are 

 very hard to get fish from at all, though occasionally, but 

 rarely, splendid sport will be had on them. I have dealt rather 

 fully upon the rationale of this in my former work upon Fish 

 Culture, and I make no doubt but the reasons I have there 

 given are the correct ones. It is a question altogether of food 

 and the depth of the water. On many lakes there is but one 

 time in the year when you get anything like sport, and that is 

 when the May fly is on. The Westmeath lakes, Lough Erne, 

 and Lough Arrow, in Sligo, are excellent examples of this latter 

 peculiarity. In the former, particularly, sport to any extent, 

 except at this time, is exceptional. When the May fly is on, 

 the sport is often splendid, the fish running very large. At 

 other times the fish do not seem to think it worth while to 

 come to the surface at all, the flies they find there probably 

 not being sufficient in size and number to tempt them up. 

 When these large flies, however, are rising, the fish follow them 

 up to the surface, and are kept there by the plenty they find 

 there. At other times, such is the abundance and choice of 

 food in the depths of the lakes that they can fill their bellies 

 with very little trouble, and without the necessity for leaving 

 the bottom. Thus they grow fat, lazy, and large. As an 

 instance of this, I will quote a fact mentioned by Colonel Whyte 

 some time ago in the Field. The colonel stated that he had a 

 small lake which formerly held a quantity of nice fish. They 

 were not very large, but very free in rising, and he could take 

 a good number of them almost whenever he chose to go a-fish- 

 ing. Wishing to try whether the introduction of fresh food 

 would improve their size and condition, he turned into the lake 

 a good quantity of the small freshwater snails and other small 

 molluscs which are found in many waters, but hitherto had not 

 been present in this lake. These molluscs took well to the lake, 

 and multiplied rapidly. As they did so, the fish increased in 

 size and improved wonderfully in condition, becoming from 

 slim genteel trout perfect miniature pigs with fine pink flesh ; 

 but mark the consequence as they improved in size and 

 condition, they gradually left off rising to flies, so that where he 



