ENNIS NA SHIA. 77 



The fisherman who comes to a strange 

 lake had better, if he can, consult the fre- 

 quenters of it. Local information is the 

 best, if it is to be had ; but if that fail him, 

 his best plan is this : let him judge, by the 

 geological formation of the shores, where the 

 line of deep water runs ; that is to say, what 

 would be the bottom of the valley if there 

 were no water in it: for the chances are 

 that the fish will generally prefer this course, 

 particularly as it must lead eventually to the 

 mouth of the principal tributary river. But 

 it by no means follows that the fish will rise 

 throughout the whole of it, because they will 

 not rise at all in water beyond a certain 

 depth. If this course should be interrupted 

 or compressed by islands, especially if the 

 water shoals between these islands, or, better 

 still, between a range of islands and the 

 main land, here the fish will lie to rest. 



The fisherman should try these places, in 

 the first instance, with the cross-line or otter, 

 looking out carefully for a rise. There is so 

 much difference between the rise of a trout 

 and of a salmon, that it is hardly possible 

 for him to be deceived. Whenever he sees 



