258 MY SPORTING HOLIDAYS 



fish hooked here may go back over the falls into the 

 estuary pool, where it is a ' thousand to three ' against 

 its heing killed. 



At the head of the pool, again, is another of the 

 most sporting throws on the river Erne, where the 

 angler fishes the arches of Ballyshannon Bridge with 

 rod held perpendicularly downwards, and can see a 

 rising fish open its mouth to take the fly. A good 

 fish hooked from the bridge may run out 150 yards 

 of line, or thread one arch up river and another down. 

 These incidents have happened, and lend variety to 

 the sport, which is always watched and freely advised 

 on, when exciting, by a goodly array of the Bally- 

 shannon population. A distinguished General, not 

 long since, played and killed a fish from the bridge 

 to the martial tunes of a brass Volunteer band that 

 happened to be passing at the time. On another occa- 

 sion an angler, making a longish cast, dropped his 

 hand a little, and hooked a fine retriever dog on the 

 bridge behind him. A splendid run ensued through 

 the streets of Ballyshannon, the angler with tight 

 line, bending rod, and screaming reel only too anxious 

 to save his cast and fly, while the Ballyshannon 

 ' bhoys,' with true sporting instinct, cheered dog and 

 man impartially, while carefully refraining from any 

 interference. 



The Erne is a deep-wading river, and has witnessed 

 many an involuntary ducking of ardent fishermen. 

 Fly-fishing only is allowed, and the local custom is 

 to fish with thin-winged, bright-coloured flies, small 

 in size, as a rule, and worked in the water for all they 

 are worth. I am not prepared to dogmatize on how 

 a salmon-fly should be worked, and what particular 

 colours of body, hackle, or wing are the most killing. 



