208 
THE FISHING GAZETTE 
[Maech 25, 1893 
allowed, and are utterly tabooed by the scientific 
dry-fly man. Xothing, of course, but the dry 
goes down with him, and it must float exactly like 
the natural fly that is on the water, even if in 
some cases, he has to oil his fly to make it stick 
up well. I am not an advocate for this resus¬ 
citated old tip, for I have seen many a good fish 
missed if there is the least drop too much oil on, 
and then it is the usual cry—how short they 
come. Neither do I advocate the use of such very 
fine casts and such small flies that we sometimes 
see used, and where trout are known to run large. 
On two or three occasions last season I caught 
large trout with two, or even three, of these 
small flies in their jaws; it is not only cruel to 
the fish, but angering to the fisherman. The 
recent heavy hill-rains have put a good head of 
water on the midland trout streams, and there 
appears to be a good show of fish on the various 
spawn beds, and I have already seen them rising 
freely about noon at a large Brown Dun which 
is now on. In my own neighbourhood (the Coin) 
I do not expect much will be done until the warm 
weather brings the alder up, though I hear that 
our headquarters are already pretty full up for 
Easter. 
SOME FREE AND OTHER FISHING 
IN IRELAND. 
By J. T. E. 
Tiik lakes and rivers of Ireland are so 
numerous, so exceedingly beautiful in their 
surroundings, in many cases approaching the 
romantic in their wildness, swarming with fish, 
and, above all, free, in the majority of cases, to 
every one who cares to cast a fly for the lovely 
brown trout or nobler salmon, or, with the deadly 
Bhantom, lure to destruction the mighty pike, the 
rare and beautiful gillaroo, and, grandest of them 
all, gamest of all game fishes, the Sahno ferox, or 
great lake trout, that it is a matter of surprise to 
all who visit them for the first time to find them 
so little fished; and yet, with all these attrac¬ 
tions, these natural beauties, possessing every 
requirement one would lay down if asked to 
describe the oft-quoted phrase, “an angler’s 
paradise,” it is a fact beyond question that these 
magnificent waters are very little fished by 
English anglers.' 
Why is this ? It cannot be because they are 
unknown, for, over and over again articles have 
appeared in the columns of the Fishing Gazette 
from writers of great experience, men who have 
fished these waters for years, and whose words 
can be thoroughly relied upon, giving most glow¬ 
ing descriptions of the grand sport to be had upon 
many of the lakes and rivers, and yet, the angler, 
the visitor from England, may wander along the 
banks of many a river, and row about for miles 
upon many a lake, and not see another rod. 
Strange, but true. 
This is so to-day, to-morrow it maybe different, 
for the problem, “where to go fishing,” is be¬ 
coming day by day more difficult to solve, and 
the time must come—is very near, perhaps— 
when these waters will be as'well known as the 
celebrated Broads of Norfolk and Suffolk. But 
there will always be this great difference, the 
Broads, charming and delightful as they are, 
must one day be over-fished, the lakes of Ireland 
—never. 
This can easily be understood when once the 
vast proportions of such lakes as Corrib, Ree, 
Derg, IMask—not to speak of Neagh, the largest 
of all European lakes—are considered. 
So vast, indeed, are the proportions of even 
the smallest of these lakes I have mentioned, 
that, were it possible to empty the whole of the 
waters of the Broads into it, scarcely any differ¬ 
ence would be made in the height of its water¬ 
mark, so that no matter what number of anglers 
fish them, the effect upon the fishing would be 
imperceptible— they cannot by any iiossibility he 
over-fished by rod and line. I am now speaking 
more particularly of the lakes. With the rivers 
it is somewhat different—they will, no doubt, 
suffer to some extent by the increasing numbers 
of anglers, but it must be years before they will 
be seriously affected, even though no re-stocking 
takps place. 
Very many of these rivers are free, some are 
in the hands of various societies and city corpora¬ 
tions, and preserved by them, others are reserved 
by the owners for the sole use of their personal 
friends, for few Irish riparian owners reside 
upon their demesnes, or even visit the country, 
and some few rivers, such as the Shannon, the 
Corrib at Galway, Ballinahinch, &c., are what 
may be called commercial fisheries, and the 
privilege of angling must be paid for at a rather 
extravagant rate ; but whether free or otherwise, 
the fishing is everywhere excellent, and a blank 
day to a good fisherman should be an impossi¬ 
bility. There is one thing which must always be 
borne in mind by the angler intending to fish in 
Irish waters—the rivers of Ireland are essentially 
“ season ” rivers, and in some districts this is 
most marked. 
The entire season may bo taken as extending 
from Feb. 1 to end of November. After that 
date pike and perch are the only fish to be 
caught, and, however heretical it may be to say 
so, yet I do say, and most emphatically, that 
winter angling in Ireland is very little good—let 
those who doubt it try the experiment. 
It has been my privilege recently to visit some 
of the best fishings in this country, and although, 
as I have said, some of them have been described 
in those columns, yet I am sure the readers of 
this paper will forgive me if I again mention 
and describe them as I found them. 
Other rivers I shall refer to will probably be 
new to many. 
First, then, I propose to travel as far as 
Limerick, city and county. The city itself is 
within 3^ hours from Dublin, by Great Southern 
Railway, and an excellent service of trains is 
established. Arrived here, the angler will do 
well to make his headquarters, while staying in 
the city, at the Royal George Hotel, a most com¬ 
fortable house, and one highly spoken of by our 
talented authoress. Miss Braddon. The river 
Shannon flows through the city, but the fishing 
in the immediate neighbourhood is useless. A 
mile and a half up-stream, however, is Corbally, 
from which point the fishing in the Shannon may 
be said to commence. Here is the first, and by 
far the largest, salmon weir on the river. It is 
a fine structure, a considerable portion of it 
being built in stone, and consists of upwards of 
twenty bays. The Queen’s gap is very wide, 
probably the widest in the kingdom, and has the 
privilege specially 'granted of having a fixed 
bridge extending across it. Very large numbers 
of salmon, of great weight, are annually taken 
here, and despatched to the London market. 
The courteous and genial proprieter, J. A. Place, 
Esq., has a lovely home adjoining it, and for one 
who is interested in fishing, and an ardent 
angler, a more delightful position could scarcely 
be conceived. 
From this weir, up stream for about a mile, the 
fishing is free, and on no portion of this celebrated 
river is finer fishing to be had. 
It can be fished only from a boat, and the usual, 
and most fatal, method of taking salmon is 
spinning, the almost universal practice being to 
trail—or, as the natives call it, “ throwl”—a bait 
behind the boat, exactly the same as harling in 
Scotland. 'I'wo rods are used, pointing outwards 
at an angle of 45 deg. from the stern of the boat, 
with some fifty yards of line out from each, one 
baited wit'n a Brown Phantom or natural bait, 
a gudgeon or killough (stone loach) for choice, 
and the other with a large salmon fly peculiar to 
the Shannon. 
This fly is varied according to the size and 
condition of the water. 
Casting a fly is seldom practised; there is, 
however, no reason to doubt that it would prove 
as deadly—under certain conditions—as the less 
scientific system of trailing. The fish, as a rule, 
run very large, thirty and forty-pounders being 
frequently met with : small fish, indeed, in this 
water are the exception. Mr. A. Nestor, 
fishing-tackle manufacturer, of George-street, 
will give any angler the fullest information as to 
where boats can be obtained, and it would not be 
time wasted to consult him as to the best baits 
to use on any particular day. He is an ardent 
sportsman and a keen and practical angler, and 
many are the salmon he has landed from this free 
water. Whatever hints he gives should be borne 
in mind and followed by the angler whose hope is 
I to land one of these splendid Shannon fish. 
Having given the Shannon a fair trial, the 
next place I recommend the angler to visit is 
Groom—a post town in the county of Limerick, 
distant about eleven miles from the city, and a 
station on the Great Southern Railway. Once 
upon a time this town was in a most thriving 
and prosperous condition, the centre of a largo 
agricultural district, employing very many hands 
in its extensive flour mills and factories, but 
now, alas! these mills and factories are closed, 
and for the present its commercial prosperity is 
at very low ebb indeed. The principal, and 
indeed the only, hotel in the place is the Groom 
Hotel, and one which I very strongly re¬ 
commend anglers to stay at. The host, Mr. 
McCarthy, is most obliging, and will be able 
to give even some of the very best of fly- 
fishermen a hint or two that will no doubt 
be appreciated. The visitor can also, if he wish 
it, have a splendid mount from this establishment, 
and follow the stag-hounds in the district, two or 
more meets taking place each week during the 
season. The stone walls will give the most ardent 
follower of this sport an opportunity to break his 
neck not often to be met with. Close to this hotel 
is the River Maigue, one of the prettiest rivers 
it was my lot to see during my visit to 
Ireland. To fish this to the best advantage 
the angler should take train from Groom to 
Bruree, a station about six miles up stream, and 
fish it down. This will give him about eight miles 
of magnificent trout-fishing, or, if he prefers the 
more precarious sport of salmon-fishing, he can 
have it. The fish are there, and rise readily to 
the fly. It is a very easy river to fis’n ; every 
inch of it can be covered from the bank, and 
wading is at no point necessary. The trout are 
exceedingly game and very numerous, averaging 
from 11b. to 31b. in weight. This river may be 
described as a season river, JMarch, April, May, 
and June being the best months. After that it 
runs very low, and, as a rule, is full of weeds. 
From the Salmon FalD, about half a mile above 
Groom Bridge, to Adare, the seat of Lord Dun- 
raven, a mile below, is one of the finest stretches 
of salmon-water to be found on any tributary of 
the Shannon. This portion of the river is not 
free, but permission to fish it could no doubt be 
obtained from the present lessee. Lord Dunraven 
owns the remainder of the river to its mouth, and 
it is very strictly preserved. 
(To be continued.) 
THE PAPER ANGLER. 
By F. G. B E. 
He sits near the fire in an atmosphere 
Of cigar-smoke and hot-punch vapour. 
And indites of the gentle craft so dear. 
As he catches his fish on paper. 
He tells how true anglers will face the blasts ' 
I'pon river banks, dank and muddy. 
And brave all discomforts while daylight lasts— 
But braves them himself in his study. 
He chants of the long fierce battle and thrill 
Of triumph o’er many a salmon ; 
Of gillies, flies, phantoms, and whisky—still. 
Save w'hisky, they’re phantoms and gamnron. 
Sadly he hints at his iron-grey hair. 
And his form that grows daily rounder; 
How, tired out, he sinks—in his easy-chair— 
Having landed a twentj'-pounder. 
At gathering copy he knows all tricks. 
Essaying some few men would dare on ; 
And when he is ferried at last o'er Styx, 
He’s certain to interview Charon. 
His mind in Pluto’s gazette will give birth 
To a work on subjects he’s made his, 
“Memories of my past Angling on Earth, 
By a late arrival in Hades.” 
A Fi.xe Carp. —In the window of Messrs. 
W. T. Hancock and Go,, 308, High Holborn, may 
be seen a splendid specimen carp, weight Itij'lb., 
taken last September from the Thame.s tidal 
waters. A remarkable feature in this otherwise 
perfect fish is the total absence of t) e ventral 
fins. 
