290 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
[April 22, 1893 
portions of the river are drawn blank. This was 
the case in the early part of the present season 
here, one angler landing four very fine fish from 
the pool I have mentioned, while one fish only 
W’as taken on the leased waters. I mention this 
to show that it must not be inferred because a 
water is free that it is necessarily valueless, some¬ 
times certain conditions are in existence which 
prevent some cf the best waters being let—would 
that there were more of such conditions. 
Another and greater attraction is the splendid 
trout fishing to be obtained on Lough Derg, 
during the Green Drake season. This usually 
commences about the middle of May, and from 
then, on to the end of August, no finer free trout 
fishing is to be had. 
This lake is celebrated for the size and beauty 
of its trout, fish of 51b. and tilb. being very fre¬ 
quently taken, while a 10-pounder is by no means 
uncommon; indeed, I saw one which turned the 
scale at 2011b. During the drake season, these 
large fish rise freely to the fly, but later in the 
year, the Phantom or natural minnow are the 
most deadly baits. The river also contains large 
numbers of trout, and permission is often granted 
by the lessees of the salmon beats to fish for trout 
over their water, and not unfrequently a day 
with the salmon fly is granted. This is a privi¬ 
lege however, not to be looked forward to, but, 
when given, should be highly esteemed, and in 
either case the angler must be very careful to 
ascertain the boundaries of the particular water 
upon which he has permission to fish. 
For trout, however, the lough is undoubtedly 
the best. Here is an expanse of water, many miles 
in extent, teeming with fish, quite free, and close 
to the town; what can one want more? 
Pike of very large size abound in Lough Derg, 
and the angler properly prepared to cope with 
them would have a rare time, but his tackle must 
be strong to a degree, any theory he may possess 
of the *• fine and far ” order must be dispensed 
with, for these Irish lough pike fight like demons, 
and, however skilful he may be, they would prove 
one too many for him on fine tackle. 
A most deadly bait for these big fish is an 
8 -inch Brown’s Phantom, or a 6-inch spoon bait, 
trolled behind a boat, fishing about 10 or 12 feet 
deep. 
I have heard some anglers speak most dis¬ 
paragingly of pike fishing as a sport; but I 
cannot think that such anglers have hooked and 
played a 20-pound pike in an Irish lough. If 
they have, and do not call it sport, then I fail to 
comprehend the meaning of the word. 
And here a word of warning, whatever bait is 
used, whether spoon, Phantom, or spinner, avoid 
split rings. 
The angler visiting Killaloe will not fail to hear 
of, and indeed should make the acquaintance of, 
Mr. S. J. Hurley; no one has a better or more 
intimate knowledge of the river and lake than he, 
and the information he is able and always willing 
to impart to the angling stranger will prove 
most valuable. He has fitted up a most com¬ 
fortable home for visitors at Abbey View, and 
does all in his power to make their stay a 
pleasant one. In addition to the hotel I have 
mentioned, another very comfortable house is 
Hurley’s Royal Hotel. Situated close to the 
river, it is fitted up in every way experience can 
suggest to meet the requirements of anglers, 
and such little conveniences as racks for rods, 
drying apparatus for lines, <fcc., will no doubt be 
appreciated. 
Anglers may be sure of this, that, whatever 
time of the year they visit Killaloe, they will 
get plenty of fishing, and generally sport, but 
the summer months, from May onward, are 
decidedly^ the best. 
(To he continued.) 
It must, indeed, be dry elsewhere when our 
Knglish Lakes correspondent rejoices over one 
day’s rain. 
ilKMBERs of the Sussex Piscatorial Society have, 
during the week, secured two brace of trout from 
their new close water, Hassocks, one brace 
weighed 2pb., the other 21b. lOoz. They have 
recently turned into the lake about 700 Loch 
Leven fry, and into Plaskett Lake, Isfield, about 
1000. Some tench are to be placed in the 
Burgess Hill pond. 
A NEW WIRE GIMP, &c.', 
FROM MESSRS. S. ALLCOCK AND CO., 
OF REDDITCH. 
Messrs. S. Allcock ,^.sd Co. sends us some of 
their new patent wire gimp for salmon, trout, 
pike, and other fishing, where a fine strong trace 
is required. It is made of various thicknesses, 
and in our opinion is in every way preferable to 
gimp, being ten times as strong and infinitely 
more durable. This patent wire gimp appears 
to be made of strands of very fine steel wire 
bronzed and then woven or twisted together. 
We should certainly prefer it to any single wire 
trace or ordinary gimp trace. Good salmon gut 
is becoming so expensive that we foresee the time 
when this almost invisible wire will take the place 
of gut, not only for spinning or trolling, or 
prawning, but even for fly-lishing for salmon. 
The chief objection to wire traces is their stillness 
as compared with well soaked gut. 
Messrs. S. Allcock and Co. have also brought 
out and patented a paper pocket, or series of 
pockets, for holding Stewart tackle, so that a 
dozen tackles are all held in one little envelope, 
and yet each is separate, so there is no fear of 
tangle. The cost is, they inform us, very little 
more than the ordinary paper pocket of a dozen 
tackles. The tackles themselves are excellent, as 
also are their “ new perfect hooks for sea-fishing,” 
with the bayonet point, first recommended some 
years ago in our columns by Dr. Brunton. The 
books can, of course, also be used for fresh-water 
fishing. 
“ However ridiculous the bye-laws, it was his 
duty to enforce them. The case was a trivial one, 
and he regretted the costs were so high.” That 
was the commentary of Mr. Wethered, a magis¬ 
trate, at the Marlow Petty Sessions, when trying 
a man for fishing with four rods at one time in 
the Thames. It is usually an injudicious thing 
for a magistrate to indulge himself by giving 
expression to his private opinions on rhe cases 
which come before him, but when, as was evident 
in the case at Marlow, the magistrate knew little 
or nothing concerning fishery preservation in 
the Thames, the remarks made were not only 
injudicious but positively harmful, as tending to 
discredit the bye-laws (which have the force of an 
Act of Parliament) in the eyes of the public. 
The facts of the case were very simple. ]\Ir. 
Barnett, the tenant of the mill close to Hambleden 
Lock, was walking by the river when he came 
upon the defendant, a London tradesman named 
Csomer, fishing from the bank for jack with four 
rods, which were propped up on sticks. Hear at 
hand was George Keil, a Henley professional 
fisherman, who must be presumed to be well 
acquainted with the rules as to two rods. He, 
also, was fishing for pike, and several small fish 
had been taken. The only point in the defen¬ 
dant’s favour was that he was a foreigner, but it 
is hardly likely that Keil for his own sake would 
not have warned him against fishing with double 
the number of rods to which he was entitled. 
The case was perfectly clear, there was prac¬ 
tically no defence, and the magistrate inflicted 
a fine of 5s. The costs amounted to something 
over a sovereign, which Mr. Csomer had to pay. 
As he was a foreigner the fine was, perhaps, 
sufficient, but I cannot help taking exception to 
the remarks which fell from the bench. 
It is a free country, why should not a man 
fish with as many rods as he likes? That is 
perhaps a natural view for a person who was 
ignorant of fishery matters to take, but a 
moment’s reflection should show even an 
ignoramus that in rivers which are much fished 
and in which there is a difficulty in maintaining 
a stock of fish, it is absolutely necessary to limit 
either the numbers of fish which may be taken 
by one man on one day, or to place limitations 
on the means of taking fish, as by limiting tbe 
number of rods and by prohibiting methods 
which involve the wholesale destruction of fish, 
such as nets and night-lines. IE there was no 
limit placed on the number of rods which might 
be legally used, there would certain to be found 
persons who would place an array of twenty or 
more rods along the bank. In the good old 
days, when there was no fishing worth speaking 
about at Henley, I myself saw a man with twelve 
rods, each bearing a ledger. Possibly Mr. 
Wethered would have seen nothing ridiculous in 
allowing such things to continue. No fair aud 
sportsmanlike angler wishes to fish with more 
than two rods at a time in any river. To use 
more is to fish for the pot and not for sport. The 
suggestion to limit the number of rods came 
from Henley when the 1883 bye-laws were being 
drafted, and it is a curious thing that the first 
prosecution under the bye-law should be under¬ 
taken by the Henley Fishery Preservation 
Association. 
For some years IRr. Wheeldou has been 
hammering away in the Sportsman, &c., at the 
trout fishermen’s practice of using two rods from 
the weir-heads. Certainly it is an unsportsman¬ 
like and selfish thing to do. The weir-heads are 
limited in size, and on the weirs near London 
there is often only room for the anglers with 
one rod each. I have no doubt that was it 
not for the bye-law under which the conviction 
was obtained at Marlow, we should find anglers 
with three or even four rods. As it is they are 
limited to two, and the question has now been 
raised whether that two should not be, so far as 
weir-heads are concerned, changed to one. I am 
glad to see that the T. A. P. S. are taking up the 
question, for it is in their district far moi’e than 
in the Upper Thames that the practice of letting 
one rod fish itself is prevalent. I have fished the 
Thames for more than a quarter of a century, and 
never seen such a thing done from an Upper 
Thames weir-head. In this matter there is no 
occasion to agitate for an alteration in the fisherj’’ 
bye-laws. All that would be necessary would be 
for the conservators to make the use of one rod 
only one of the conditions of issuing tickets for 
fishing from the weirs. 
At the present time it is difficult to write an 
angling column without some reference to the 
weather. Of course the drought is in itself 
remarkable, there having been nothing like it for 
about half a century; but what is, if anything, 
more curious still to an angler, is that many of our 
southern rivers are, notwithstanding the drought, 
maintaining a good head of water. The Thames, 
for instance, is well up to head, and I hear that 
several of the Hampshire rivers are exceptionally 
full. Many of our southern rivers depend for 
their sjjring supply of water more on the rains 
and snows of winter than on the spring rainfall. 
After a dry winter, even though the spring is wet, 
the rivers will often be low. Sad and sorrowful 
are the anglers of the north and other places 
where the supply of water in the rivers depends 
on the rainfall. Some of the older readers of the 
Fishing Gazette may remember in this connection 
the picture of a certain angler who afeer travel¬ 
ling a vast distance to fish a well-])ufled, if not 
noted, trout stream, finds a nursemaid wheeling a 
perambulator down the bed of the stream, or, i 
should say, the bed of what used to be the stream. 
It made a pretty picture—the children playing 
among the dry rocks and boulders, the weary 
angler resting on a rustic bridge and mopping his 
forehead, while a swarm of gnats ])layed round 
his head, as gnats will when one is ho‘. 
I HOPE next week to be able to say something 
respecting the future government of the Thames. 
I hear that the Conservators are working heaven 
and earth to prevent the Ijondon County Coun¬ 
cillors being represented on the board. One can¬ 
not help asking, why should the Conservators 
oppose the measure? What difference would it 
make to them, individually or collectively ? If 
that part of the London County Council General 
Powers Bill is thrown out by the committee 
which is considering it, it is almost certain that 
next year an inquiry will be held into the consti¬ 
tution of the board, and at that inquiry London 
anglers ought to be well represented. 
TeM 1’L.\R. 
