Blacker's Art of Fly Making Part 8

My advise is, that my friends (I call every angler who reads this book a friend), should beware of the "mountain dew"[C] and goat's milk, sold by the damsels of Killarney, in the vicinity of Brickeen Bridge, and the Eagle's nest; they are harmless and cleanly creatures, but their importunity to taste their goat's milk is teasing--buy their goat's milk, but reject their "dew," gentle fishers.

The river "Lane," which issues out of the Lower Lake, as it is now preserved by the inn keepers, is a capital stream for salmon and sea trout fis.h.i.+ng; about four miles from Killarney, at the Bridge leading to "Dunloe Gap," is a good place to begin to fish, either up or down the river; the trout in both lakes and river are as yellow as gold when taken out of the water, they are spotted over with beautiful brown-red marks, and are very handsome to look at.

The Trout Flies in the list will be found excellent for the lakes and river. A grouse hackle, with orange silk body, and a little strip of grey partridge tail for wings--this with the ant brown, hare's ear, and amber fly; the red dun, caperer, wren and cuckoo hackle, and duns of various shades and size, ribbed with silver. The land-rail fly, brown-red hackle, and ash fox, an orange body with black hackle from the tail up, and starling wings. The silver dun, with grey mallard wings, mixed with the wing of the bunting lark, ribbed with silver, and tail of the hackle fibres, the body yellow dun--this is a great favourite made of sea-trout size for the river, and large for salmon in the lakes. The sand and cinnamon flies are also good, and the red spinner; the winged larva is an excellent fly below the Bridge, allowed to sink a little beneath the surface when fished with, grilse and sea-trout will take it.

The river Lane is remarkable for its firm footing along the banks, and no where obstructed by trees, it is the most pleasant place I ever saw for fis.h.i.+ng, combined with wild and fanciful scenery.

FOOTNOTE:

[Footnote C: Whiskey--Oh! whiskey, whiskey,--cruel whiskey, you are the cause of poor Pat's giant poverty, you have rushed in upon him like one armed. Oh! thou accursed evil spirit.]

LOUGH CURRAN, WATERVILLE.

The angler may proceed any morning he feels disposed, to Waterville river and lake, southwest of Killarney, in the County Kerry; there is a car from the Kenmare Arms Hotel about eight o'clock in the morning, pa.s.sing through Killorglan at the foot of the river Lane, which you have in view up to this place; Three miles farther on you come to the river "Corra," where there is an Inn, at the Bridge, for the accommodation of anglers, and where they may procure capital sea-trout and small grilse fis.h.i.+ng; the lake Carra, out of which the river flows, is seen to the left before reaching the river at the bridge. It would be worth while staying a few days at this place, as the sea-trout fis.h.i.+ng is beyond comparison, below the bridge to the sea, and above it as far as the lake, and also in the lake. The flies I have just named will kill well in the Carra, with a small black one, like a midge, ribbed with silver, with a honey dun fly made very small.

You reach "Cahirceveen" in about eight hours from Killarney, from whence you take a car eight miles further on to Waterville, where you arrive comfortably in the evening to rest and have a talk with Mr. Butler, the proprietor of the "cuts;" the angler will find him most civil and polite, and on asking you get instant permission to angle for salmon in the river, and "keep all you catch" which has been a general rule for a length of time; the lake is free for salmon and trout fis.h.i.+ng, it abounds with fine sea-trout, which appear to be continually running up between the bars of the "cruives." The river is very small, having but one pool in it close to the sea for salmon, the run of it is very short as the lake and sea almost meet, they are separated merely by a neck of land on which the bridge and "cuts" are erected, about three or four perches altogether. There is good sport to be had in the lake and river when it is flooded, and the angler will find every convenience with respect to men and boats; there are two inns in the place, at least when I was there in 1848, there were two.

The flies for Waterville are the same as those I have just given, except for salmon in the river, which should be very plain and sombre, they are brown bodies, with dark hackles over a roll or two of gold tinsel, and brown turkey wings of a reddish hue; small blue flies, with gaudy wings, ribbed with silver, and black heads, the hackle to be dyed blue, and floss silk body, hook No. 10 or C. CC. When the water is up they will take Nos. 3, 4, and 5 flies in the plates; and the fly No. 11 is most excellent. They use a good sized fly in the lake for trout, when I fished it my flies were of the smaller sort, and in the hot sun the trout took small amber flies best with me. The local flies were darker--say drake size, with brown bodies, black hackles, and turkey wings, nevertheless they take them in a windy day exceedingly quick, and in a very short time the fishermen in the boats catch a large dish of them, say in about a hour; the trout and grilse in this lake I must say are most delicious, "they almost melt in the mouth," says he.

The angler, when he gets tired here, may return to Killarney, and make head for the west and north, "and sure enough he may have another throw on the lakes, if he pleases, by way of bidding them good bye."

He might take a start before he goes across the hills to Kenmare, by car, and have a day or two on the river Blackwater, usually called "Kerry Blackwater;" it is about eight miles from Kenmare, on the south-west side of the estuary of that name, on the road to "Derrynane Beg," or Derrynane Abbey. There is an inn on the river as you cross the road, but no town. The angler might go to it for a day or so from Waterville, by hiring a car at the inn, there and back. He will have an opportunity of seeing the mansion of the late Mr. D. O'Connell, at Derrynane, as he pa.s.ses it to his right off the road, in a most healthy situation, sequestered amongst dwarf trees of the most fanciful appearance, close to a bay of the sea, or what is called "Kenmare River," the salt water of which is as clear as crystal.

The flies used on this prolific little river are brown bodies, three ribs of gold tinsel, black hackles, and grouse and mallard wings; but I would strongly advise the angler to have some of the small flies made smaller still for this river, than in the plates of flies. A very small blue jay, a silver grey or "hedgehog fly," with a small black one ribbed with silver, are all good for this stream.

The angler returns to old Killarney, and takes rail for Limerick, from thence by steam to Athlone, on the "Great Western;" there are fine Trout and Salmon here in summer. Go on from here to Galway, and fly fish Lough Carib (the river, I believe, is now broken up to facilitate the navigation between the bay and this grand expanse of fresh water). There are very large Trout to be met with in the Lough, and every accommodation respecting fishermen and boats at the town. The angler will find it very pleasant for a day or two's fish in the lake, with a ripple on the water and a grey cloud above.

CONNAMARA AND BALLYNAHINCH.

In this western region there are some beautiful lakes and rivers, once celebrated for the abundance of Salmon and Trout which they contained, but, alas! the "weirs" and nets have "wed" them all away, to the grief of the tourist angler, who might have enjoyed the "wild sports of the west." So he will yet, for there is a reformation to take place that will restore them to their pristine numbers both in lake and river. They are about to take down the "weirs," and net the bays, which will not only give the Salmon a free pa.s.sage up, but augment them a hundred-fold,--then, "hurrah for Connamara, the land of the west." Derry Clare Lake is a good one for the fly, so is Lough Inna, and above and below the "weirs." If the generous proprietors of the fishery would consult upon the subject, they would immediately put a stop to the obstructions, if not, it it is quite impossible that there can be good fis.h.i.+ng up to Lough Inna. Thirty gentlemen might fly fish these waters without the least inconvenience, were the Salmon allowed to go free.

The Salmon Flies for Connamara are rather small and plain; various brown, black, red, olive, and orange flies kill well, ribbed with gold and silver. Those Sea-Trout ones, described for Waterville, do also well, and orange floss silk, ribbed with gold, small topping for tail, jay round the head, and mallard mixed wings. Hook C or CC.

A small black fly, yellow tag, topping for tail, rib of silver, teal, and golden pheasant neck, breast feather of the peac.o.c.k wing, mixed, blue feelers of macaw, jay at the shoulder. Hook B, or No. 9. A green body, ribbed with gold, black red hackle, orange macaw, or c.o.c.k of the rock feather in the tail, short; a nice mixed gaudy wing, with a good deal of mallard and wood-duck prevailing, or silver pheasant wing, the hen bird is best. C, CC or B hook; vary the size for high and low water.

A small claret fly, and the three flies in the Plates, Nos. 3, 4, and 5, with No. 11, all made on small hooks, these are the sorts to kill. The Sea-Trout ones are very small black and red hackles, grouse and wren hackles, dun flies, and little brown ants, hare's ear and yellow, silver greys, and the small flies enumerated in the catalogue. Use a sixteen feet salmon rod, and single gut casting lines, with one or two twisted lengths next to the reel line, which should be plaited silk and hair. There are plenty of boats and boatmen to be had at Ballynahinch River and Lakes, all civil fellows, and if used with common kindness and decency, they will confess that "the English anglers are the best fellows in the whole world,--Good luck to their honors. Long life to their honors."

The scenery of this wild country is quite equal to any in Scotland, if the intelligent tourist angler would be at the pains of penetrating into the mountainous regions which surround Connamara. The islands in the bays are interesting and beautiful, as well as the stupendous hills standing up in order like giants, as it were, to bid defiance to the wild waves of the great Atlantic.

Ireland is proverbial for the finest breeding rivers in the world for Salmon and Trout, in no country can there be found such splendid rivers and lakes for Salmon; see, for instance, the rivers Shannon, Erin, Bann, and the stupendous lakes out of which they issue, and of which, it is sufficient to show, that at "Burn Cranna," two miles below Coleraine, with the cross nets, three tons of Salmon were caught in one day by the fishermen some years back. This will give an idea of what the rivers in Ireland, in general, can produce. The Bann is preserved in the right season for the fry to come to perfection in great shoals, and from March till August the nets and "cruives" are worked.

The flavour and quality of the Irish Salmon far exceed those of any other part of the United Kingdom, for when the fish are sent up from the north to the London markets they often lose their flavour, if not properly packed in the ice boxes; how can it be otherwise, when the distance is considered. The real Salmon of the Tweed, Tay, and Spay, are delicious, through the quickness of transit.

Above Ballynahinch are seen the "Twelve Pins," or rocky precipices of "Beanabola." On the right of this mountainous road, beyond Ballynahinch, opposite the beautiful island of "Ennisbofine," are seen green mountain heights of great elevation, with romantic winding vallies, rivers, and views, that strike the heart with admiration.

There is a large river in this neighbourhood, called the "Owen Rieve,"

which abounds with Salmon, and falls into the sea south of Clue Bay. At the head of the Bay, a short way up, there is a Salmon Fishery, but no inn.

BALLYNA.

The angler may now proceed to the river Moy, at Ballyna, in the County of Mayo, a celebrated place for ages for Salmon fis.h.i.+ng with the fly, and also a place where he may find every facility for insuring sport by the kind and obliging conduct of the renter of the "cruives," or cuts, who politely allows the angler to fish where he pleases, on condition that he gives up his fish save one per day, which he may freely reserve for himself, and as a trophy of his success, have the honor of "cutting it pink" by a good turf fire, tired after the day's sport, was.h.i.+ng it down with a smoking hot tumbler of "whiskey punch," drinking the health of the Queen, and success to the arms of our brave countrymen in the East.

Lough Con will be found also good, but the trout fis.h.i.+ng is best in it--fly fish the river for salmon. It is about ten miles up to the southwest, and in it may be caught with the fly, the gilla-roe trout that have gizzards, the same as in Lough Derg on the Shannon. From the town of Ballyna up to Foxford, eight miles distant, is all capital water for salmon; there are plenty of boats to be had, and those who do not like a boat may fish from the sh.o.r.e; the salmon will rise and take the fly in every part of this water, so that the angler cannot go astray.

The flies in use here are rather plain than gaudy, except in the spring, like all other rivers, they must be larger and more of a gaudy hue.

A claret body, claret hackle and gold rib, tail a small topping, an orange tag rather tapered to the shoulder, jay at head, mallard wings mixed with blue and yellow macaw, neck feather of the golden pheasant, a topping over all, guinea hen, teal, and blue macaw feelers each side with a kingfisher, hook CC, 9, or BB.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate of 7 Flies and Salmon.]

A fly, with a fiery brown floss silk body, black ostrich tag, hackle of the same colour as body, rib of gold, tail of topping, mallard, golden pheasant tail, neck, and red rump feathers mixed, a blue jay or small guinea hen feather at the shoulder, hook No. 9, or B in low water.

A blue body, blue jay over it, tag of orange floss, topping for tail, the hackle to be made full by another jay at the shoulder, under which roll a piece of orange pig-hair and pick it out well through the jay; the wings to be mixed ones with a topping in the centre; scarlet macaw feelers, and black head; hook No. 9 and B; rib the body with silver tinsel, and let it be the same colour as the jay.

These with Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5, in the plates of flies for salmon will be found excellent. No. 11 is a good one; and a fly made with black silk body ribbed with silver twist, a very small topping in the tail, mixed with a sprig or two of guinea hen and Ibis, a small guinea hen hackle over the body and cut slantingly underneath the body to be longer at the shoulder, and a black or peac.o.c.k head with a small blue jay round it; wings mixed with dark mallard, teal, neck feather, blue and yellow macaw, and a strip or two of wood-duck each side, and a fibre or two of peac.o.c.k neck and white spotted wing feather, hook CC, B. If these flies are attended to, they will kill when many others fail; do not lose your sport and time, keep to what I say.

BALLYSHANNON.

From Ballyna the angler may proceed to the Erne, at Ballyshannon, by coach, where he will find, on his arrival, a beautiful river, and every accommodation he requires; it is a short running river, with a deep and rapid current, about three or four miles in length; at the town of Bellick it flows out of the grand expanse of Lough Erne, fifty miles in length, and in some parts twelve in width.

The salmon leap of Ballyshannon, is a broad body of water falling over a perpendicular rock twelve feet high, up which the salmon run, showing their dark backs through the foaming water, and again falling back into the pool below after many attempts to surmount it; they seldom leap clean up out of the water, but in general I have seen them rus.h.i.+ng up through the falling current, which shows the extraordinary strength they possess. I have remarked that they always remain a day or two in the first pool they come to after their ascent, and in this they take the fly most greedily, generally at the head of the leap.

The fishermen sweep the river with nets below the leap, and the enormous quant.i.ties they take is most surprising, still there is abundance in the river; in summer in consequence of the netting, of course the salmon are not so plentiful up the river. The fish house stands on an island, which may be seen from the bridge of fourteen arches, and in the distance the sea views are grand.

There is capital fis.h.i.+ng below the bridge, and many fine salmon throws or haunts all the way up to Belleek; this town is finely situated on the north of Lough Erne, where it begins to discharge its waters into the channel which conveys them into the bay of Donnegal.

The river at this place has a fall of twenty feet, forming a beautiful scene, enriched by foliage and steep precipices. The trout fis.h.i.+ng here is good.

The river Erne has a long course, the source of which is "Lough Gonnagh," in the County Longford, a short way from "Lough Sheelin," and the celebrated Lakes of West Meath. It then enters "Lough Oughter," in the County Cavan, after a serpentine course of eighteen or twenty miles, although the distance between the lakes is only eight miles; after pa.s.sing through this lake, it takes another winding course of the same distance, pa.s.sing Belturbet, an ancient town on its banks, it then enters the upper Lough Erne, and falls into the sea at Ballyshannon.

Seeing the abundance of fish which these grand lakes, and clear running streams throughout the country produce, it is not at all to be wondered at the quant.i.ties taken at Ballyshannon.

The flies in use here are very gaudy, Nos. 1, 2, and 3, in the plates, will be found capital killers, and up to No. 11 in fine days in summer when the water is low.

There is another good killer which I will here describe:--body yellow brown mohair, ribbed with silver twist, puce tag, topping for tail with a little scarlet ibis mixed, a good dyed yellow hackle rolled over the body, and a scarlet hackle round the head; the wings are four toppings with strips of summer duck, a sprig or two of pheasant tail and neck, a strip of dyed white tipped turkey tail, and a sprig of guinea hen and glede or kite tail, the tail feather of the hen Hymalean pheasant is as good as what is called in Scotland "salmon tail glede," and the topping or crest of the c.o.c.k bird which is a transparent scarlet colour, and like a topping of the golden pheasant stands over all; blue kingfisher each side, and scarlet macaw feelers, black ostrich head, hook No. 9 or 8 in high water. This is a magnificent specimen of a salmon fly, and cannot be made properly at a small expense, either by the amateur himself who buys his foreign feathers, or by the fly-maker who gets his bread by it. The three flies in the plates Nos. 1, 2, and 3, will be found to do the work well. With this one, see the gaudy jointed fly in the plate, with "picker" at top.