FLY-FISHING BY NIGHTLIGHT. 191 
One essential precaution remains to be noticed. 
When the boat is being rowed up for another fall, it 
should not pass over the ground intended to be fished 
by casting only. It is obvious that by such a mistake 
the fish would be scared from their feeding haunts. 
From what has been stated, it may be inferred that 
this kind of angling is entirely different from that 
practised on the Tay in salmon-fishing from a boat. 
Though large trout will rise to flies freely at 
night in trolling, night angling in the Irish lakes 
was considered, by those who practised it, a work 
purely of casting, and in this indeed consisted one of 
its chief charms. As in all other kinds of fly-fishing, 
a certain amount of wind is advantageous ; it should 
not however be inconveniently high. A light breeze 
will best fulfil the requirements of the occasion. An 
overcast sky has its uses, not on account of diminish- 
ing the quantity of light, but for intercepting shadows, 
which, if the moon “ruled the night,” would be trouble- 
some accessories. The low muttering of distant 
thunder and vivid flashes of lightning, which often 
prevail at this season, though adding much to the 
beauty and solemnity of lake scenery at night, are 
inauspicious omens. I have observed that fish, 
though some of the family are expert electricians, are 
not in general partial to electricity. It seems neither | 
to sharpen their appetites, nor to enliven their move- 
ments. As it does not therefore add to the chances 
