ENNIS NA SHIA. 79 



with mallard wings, especially as, in a strong 

 ripple, the large trout will prefer these to 

 anything that can be offered to them. 



In Lough Melvin, the outlet is at the 

 western extremity, and from that the salmon- 

 course lies along the southern shore, and 

 close to it. It is interrupted, from time to 

 time, by weeds ; and some spots are more 

 favourable than others : but salmon are to 

 be caught all along the first four miles of 

 it. The best part is opposite to the Grove 

 Island, after which it crosses the lake in a 

 north-eastern direction ; and at the eastern 

 end ; though fish are to be found on both 

 shores, that part where our party began will 

 best repay the fisherman. 



The Bridge is not a salmon throw, and 

 that fish which had so nearly caused an ex- 

 plosion between the Scholar and the Squire 

 was, in all probability, a "lost fish" in more 

 senses of the word than one. 



The Lough Melvin salmon are the ugliest 

 of their race ; they seem to be crossed with 

 the black trout — long, narrow, and pike- 

 like, they weigh for their length not two- 

 thirds the weight of an Erne fish. It is 

 remarkable, that though their river, the 



