Harry Druidale : fisherman from Manxland to England

Front matter

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Chapter I Fishing

The contemplative man’s recreation—The birds, their solicitude for their young—The chaffinch’s nest—Izaak Walton—Two classes of anglers —Competition—Lures for trout—The dry fly—Christgpher North, Stoddart, Henderson—The Shepherd and North—Some distinguished anglers—Fishing a fraud—Weeding out large trout—Sitting by the river ; F : : : ‘ : Pages 1-10

Chapter II How Druidale Became A Fisherman

Mona’s streams—First trout—Tickling—Loobing—Worm-fishing— Mining pollution of Neb—The Neb as it was—Manx witches—Slieu Whallin —Tynwald Hill—Rhenass—Good baskets— Anglers’ yarns—The seclusion of Mona’s glens—Lead-water and trout’s tails.

Chapter III The Wharfe, Kilnsey

Origin of club—Mr. J. R. Tennant—Journey to Kilnsey—Rylstone— Cracoe—Threshfield—N etherside Hall—Arrival at Kilnsey—Antiquity of Kilnsey—The club-room—Mr. Thompson—Mr. Gleadhall—Worm-fishing looked down upon—My first trout at Kilnsey—The farmhouse—Nutting A . ; : ‘ ‘ Pages 20-26 viii Flarry Druidale

Chapter IV The Druidale Fishing Excursion And Bivouac

A stable at Onchan—Camping out—The donkey—Start for Druidale— The Sulby river—Fishing near Injabreck—A halt for lunch—Fine trout—The donkey and cart up the hill—Snaefell—Beinn-y-Phott— Arrival—The tent piteched—Dinner—A night alarm—Breakfast— The carrion-crows’ nest—Mr. Brooke—Fishing—The hawk’s nest— Beauty of Druidale—Charlie’s fine trout—Execution of young crows —Cooking the dinner—A wonderful pudding—Donkey’s milk— Visitors to the camp—Fly and worm fishing—Midges—Tobacco— A glut of trout—Distinguished visitors—Last dinner in camp— Home . ; : ; A i ; ; : Pages 27-44

Chapter V The Maid Of Haddon

The Peacock, Rowsley—The Wye— Derwent—Rowsley meadows— The green drake—Haddon Hall—The guide—Isaak Walton’s milkmaid —-The maiden’s sarcasm—Haddon revisited—The maid’s niece —

Beauty of the Wye—The sparrow-hawk . : : Pages 45-51 CHAPTER VI WALES—CLWYD, ELWY, LLUGWY

Rhyl—Rhuddlan Castle—Clwyd—Elwy—Fair fishing—Bettws-y-Coed — Llugwy—Swallow Falls—Capel Curig— Lakes— Bull— Llanberis— Caernarvon—Clwyd again : : : : A Pages 52-56

Chapter XX An Evening At The Tennants’ Arms, Kilnsey

Dinner—Drinks—Bemoaning state of weather—The imitation stone-fly— The browndun—Duck and snipe—Enter Jerry—Good news—We “wet” the night—Sport at Kilnsey—Mr. Thompson—Mr. Gleadhall—Creels —Mr. Hawes—The Dale folk and gin—The Maid of Arncliffe—Isaak Walton—The stone-fly—The fly-minnow fisher—Club-room tales— Mr. Werfdale—Shooting—Migration of birds—A fresh arrival—Mr. Raneley —The bull and the mushrooms—The bull and the three anglers—The parson and the barmaid—The parson and the keeper— The vale terraces—Projected lake—An electric tramway up Whernside—Snowstorms—Mr. Ruskin and Aysgarth Falls—To bed.

CHAPTER XxXI

THE TWEED

Stoddart—Education of Tweed trout—St. Boswells—First cast—Fishless —Purdy —Lord Brougham —Fair sport--Merton Hall—Lord Polwarth — Dryburgh — Drowning of an angler—A field-day on Tweedside ‘ ; ‘ ~ : P : . Pages 183-191 xii flarry Druidale

Chapter XXII The Border Esk

The Esk and Liddel Association—Honour to poachers—Netherby Hall— Herling and sea-trout— Local opinion—Longtown—The Major’s escape—Bad sport—Chub—Wilkin’s Pool—Penton Lynns—The Esk in 1896—The Baronet and salmon fishing—The Major and his friend —Night fishing—Metal Bridge—Worm-fishing in Liddel—The landlady condoles—Scarcity of trout in lower Esk . . Pages 192-209

Chapter XXIII The Yorkshire Anglers’ Association

Mr. Pritt—Formation of association—Mr. Pritt’s speech— Monthly meetings—Tulip—The angling column—The ‘‘ Looker-on ”’—Coot, coot—Use of large flies—The Eden, Langwathby—The Eamont—The Lowther—Frenchfield—Naming the dubs—The Aire, Airton—Eden Hall—Presentation to Mr. Pritt—His works . . Pages 210-225

Chapter XXIV The Eden, Langwathby

Free water—Good sport in the Nunwick Hall water—-The Boat Pool— The Willows—Sport in Eden—Temple Sowerby—Weight of Eden trout 4 : ; F ; ‘ . Pages 226-231

Chapter XXV The Eamont

Brougham Bridge—The Lowther—Large fly-hooks—Good sport in early spring—Paley’s Walk—Swarms of iron-blue—The March brown—-Mr. Pritt and his friends—Lady anglers—Minnow and worm—Good sport —Fly-fishing in J une—Mrs. Armstrong—Heavy slaughter—Eamont

Contents xiii

Bridge—Brougham Hall—Lowther Castle—Thunderstorms— Weight of Eamont trout. ; . : ; ; . Pages 232-254

The Harrogate Angling Associations—Captain Greenwood’s liberality. Pages 272-275

Chapter XXIX The Sulby River

TROUT FISHING IN THE ISLE OF MAN

Streams of Mona—Snaefell—Beinn-y-Phot—Description of the river—Lost among the mountains—Fishing—The farmers and the law—Sulby Bridge—A day with the fly—Sulby Glen Hotel—A jubilee day with the worm—Thol-ty-Wull and the Manx fairies . Pages 276-285 xiv Flarry Druidale

Chapter XXX The Douglas River

The Dhoo—Braddan Bridge-—Union Mills—Two record days in the Dhoo —The Glass—Tromode--St. George’s Bridge—Sea-trout—Mr. Arthur —East Baldwin Stream—West Baldwin Stream—Injabreck—Sport.

Chapter XXXI The River Neb

Foxdale Mines—Description of the river—Quine’s Mill—Glen Mooar— Glen Helen—Rhenass Waterfall—Good sport with fly and worm— Peel the mouth of a mining sewer. : ; . Pages 295-301

Chapter XXXII The Lhen And Other Streams

Large trout—Mr. Bernard Brooke—Andreas Church—Charlie’s sport— The eels—Miss Florence Brooke’s advice—The spell—Mr. Kelly of Abbeyville—Largest trout—Silver Burn—Sir Walter Scott—Santon Burn—The Colby river—Glen Meay river—Glen Mooar—Glen Wyllin— Glen Dhoo—The Cornah river—Glen Roy—The Isle of Man Fresh- Water Fishery Act—Weight of trout in Mona.

Chapter XXXIII The Dry Fly

Mr. Dewar—Mr. Gedney—Walton and Cotton—Lord Lytton—Colonel Hawker—Conclusion : : ; : : . Pages 318-321

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

CONTEMPLATION. ; : , x : } Frontispiece RivER NEB AND SLIEU WHALLIN ‘ : ; : : rege ~ KILNSEY : : : ' ; ; : : . to face 20 DRUIDALE 28 ENTRANCE TO APPLEBY CASTLE . ; ; ; : P ee a NETHERSIDE . ; ‘ ’ ; ’ : . : ' er Ades CONISTONE BRIDGE . : ; f ‘ ; ; : fou EZ) BROKEN Brow . : ; , : ‘ , ; ; p.l22 MEETING OF THE WATERS . ; : : , ; oe eaG THE FALLs, KILNSEY . ; ‘ : : : ; . to face 132 SKIRFARE BRIDGE : : ; ; : : : ; . 186 WasH Dus . , ; , : ; : ; ; ; tyes gl KETTLEWELL BECK : A ‘ ; ‘ : ; ‘ nua doo KETTLEWELL BECK , ; . , : ; i yr we lSG ‘“THEY PUT THEIR RODS THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW” . -” "859 Hawkswick BripcE : ; nie) 4 : : > ; . 165 A LITTLE FIVE-YEAR-OLD (Port Sr. Mary) . to face 198 EAMONT BRIDGE . ‘ : : . ; : : ; cee aed FRENCHFIELD . ; ; ‘ ‘ ; ; Ao ALN 2a) WEIR Poor . ; : : : ; ; ; 4204

BrRouGHAM CASTLE : ; ’ : / ‘ : : . 237 xvi Flarry Druidale

PALEY’S WALK BROUGHAM BRIDGE

TuE ISLAND STREAM

Crown Hore.t, EAMONT BRIDGE .

Rep Scar STREAM

Ropson’s Rock

Rep Scar

THE Hut

Tur Roap To ELLAN VANNIN SuLBY GLEN AND SNAEFELL SuLBY GLEN .

GLEN HELEN

Port St. MARY

CoLBY GLEN .

CoLtpy FALLS

PAGE

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249 253

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307 309 311 312

Chapter I Fishing

You are to note that we anglers love one another: men of mild and sweet and peaceable spirits, as indeed most anglers are.—PIScATOR.

ANGLING is described by Izaak Walton as the contemplative man’s recreation, and aptly so, for the angler is much alone, and the mind of man cannot long remain inactive ; consequently he must think, and his mind is directed to think of the things he sees in the green meadows, or the wild uplands, and he will oft be inclined to think that the happiness of man in this world doth consist more in contemplation than in action.

The immediate object of angling, no doubt, is to capture fish, but after all, that is not the only object. Angling has a great advantage, it can be pursued when a man has become advanced in years. It may be compared to rowing in this respect, that a man may make the exercise either light or heavy. Angling appears to be particularly beneficial to persons who are compelled to pass most of their time indoors ; they have the advantage and the pleasure of being able to pass a long day in the open air, and enjoy their pastime without undue fatigue. Their attention is naturally directed

L to the surroundings. They note the arrival of the spring migrants, the sandpiper, the wagtails, the swallows, swilts, and cuckoo among others of the feathered tribe. Their ears are charmed by the music of the sweet songsters, such as the thrush, blackbird, and the lark, the last named soaring up until he is a mere speck in the blue sky, and singing the while. Then how interesting the sandpiper is, as he flits over the river, with his piping note, and the lapwing, as he circles in his flight with plaintive cries; how he suddenly comes to the ground, and runs along with one wing trailing as if wounded. We then know that we are in the neighbourhood of a nest, and that the bird is endeavouring to lure us from it. As we approach a bend in the river, a startled heron rises with heavy flight and hastens off, and we now and then come on to a couple of wild ducks with their brood of ducklings.

How tame the ducks are at this season, so different to a month or two hence! Their tender care for their young is the reason; they will not forsake them, even for fear of man. This must raise a beautiful thought in the angler’s breast, the natural affection of wild creatures for their young, quite as strong as that of the human parent. When a mere child an incident came under my notice.

At that time, as I was too young to climb a tree, I found a boy, who is mentioned in another chapter as Tommy, to climb for me. One day Tommy got me the nest of a chaffinch from a tree, and there were about four eggs in the nest. As I was carrying the nest the hen bird perched on my shoulder, and called “spink ! spink !” so plaintively, that I begged Tommy to replace the nest in the tree, but he would not do so. Ever since that time I have felt a great regard for the chaffinch.

In the course of a day’s fishing the angler often sees pretty

; fishing 5 bits of scenery which he would never see otherwise, such as grottos of ferns in out-of-the-way places, mosses of various hues, water dripping from rocks, and such like. The angler of the present day may be divided into two classes: (1) the man who fishes from a real love of the sport, and such a man is born, not made; or as our Father Izaak Says, “Angling is somewhat like poetry, men are to be born so”; and (2) the man who fishes for the sake of emulation, or because it is considered the right thing to bea fisherman. An angler of the former class likes to fish alone, to land his own fish and carry his own basket, to be alone with nature, to be left to his own thoughts. The angler of the latter class wants an Opponent, some one to fish against. His sole object is to beat the other man, and should he succeed in doing so, he crows over him, and should he not succeed, he is often morose. T’o my mind emulation in fishing is most objectionable. A true angler angles for his own pleasure, not for the sake of catching more than anybody else. When he has had _ fair sport he often reels up, when the fish are taking, because he has captured enough for one day. Then there are men who fish almost every day in the season, men who in effect make a business of it. These men fish from mere habit ; they cannot really enjoy it. Fishing is given us for recreation, not as the sole object of life.

If sport is followed to repletion it must become stale, it looses the recreative charm ; sport is made into a toil in the end. Ifa man is constantly intent on beating other men, an end of a day’s fishing is often bitterness of spirit; if he fishes having no thoughts of compétition, he is at peace with himself and with others, and he can act on the precept of our Father Izaak, that anglers should love one another. An angling contest is in my view very objectionable. Some men would fain measure sport by a monetary standard, as if money were everything, and the sport of angling of secondary importance ; such men are not true lovers of the art, they are not by nature fitted for contemplation and quietness. They are anxious for the prize at the end of their day’s fishing, and to be flattered for their day’s performance ; when the result is to a great extent accidental or fortuitous. <A prize is offered for the largest trout: one man catches a trout one ounce heavier than the rest and he gets the prize; pray, wherein lies the merit of the performance? Having had our fling at the mercenary angler, we will proceed to address the honest angler on the subject of fishing for trout.

The commonly recognised lures for trout are the artificial fly, worm, and minnow. Creeper and stone-fly fishing are so restricted, as to the place and opportunity, that they need no mention here. When a youth decides to become an angler, he has to consider whether he will be what is styled an all-round trout-fisher, or what branch of the art he will take up. There are men who confine themselves to fly, others to worm, and a few to the minnow, when minnow-fishing is at all practicable.

In my estimation worm-fishing (including up-stream worm) is the easiest branch of the art, the next fly-fishing, and the most difficult to acquire, the art of fishing with the up-stream minnow in low clear water. My advice to the would-be angler is to acquire all three of the arts, and I will proceed to give my reasons. In the first place, fly-fishing is certainly the nicest and most pleasant branch of the art; our Father Izaak says: “Is it not an art to deceive a trout with an artificial fly?” During the months of April and May the trout take the fly better than worm or minnow, as a rule, and the

I fishing 5 trout captured with fly in those months are in better condition, and more palatable, than those captured with worm or minnow.

Fly is the favourite and the most nourishing food for trout in the spring months, and fly feeding fish get sooner into condition than the minnow or worm feeding fish do, and under reasonably favourable conditions satisfactory baskets of trout may be secured with the fly in March, April, and May, and ~ well into June; but after June it is generally most difficult to have fair sport with the fly in the daytime, until about the middle of August, and that interregnum is the carnival of the worm and minnow fisher. But let him use these deadly lures with extreme moderation, unless he is one of the favoured few blessed with private waters, for nothing causes more friction in trout-fishing clubs than that man who is always plying the worm or minnow. In some cases special rules have to be framed to restrain this objectionable man in his practices. My advice is never to resort to worm or minnow when fair sport may be had with fly, and the angler will then be held in respect and esteem by his brothers of the angle. Even when trout are taking the up-stream worm well, it is a relief to vary the monotony of worm-fishing with the more artistic up-stream minnow, but it must be borne in mind that trout cannot be caught so quickly with the minnow as with the worm.

Then again with regard to the use of the worm, there are many streams in which worm-fishing only is practicable ; and what after all is more pleasant or health-giving than to wander by some mountain stream, rod in hand, the only care a few hooks on gut and a bag of worms, no bother about flies, far away from the busy haunts of man, alone with nature,

6 larry Druidatle CHAP.

yanking out a few trout here and there and an occasional herring-sized fish, which looks a veritable monster by the side of the wee anes. To enjoy such sport the angler may hie to the pretty glens of Mona’s Isle, and wander about to his heart’s content, disturbed by no jealous keeper.

The reader may inquire about the mysteries of the dry fly, fishing with the dry fly being considered a distinct branch of the art of fishing; it may here be stated that this book is written from a north country point of view. The so-called wet fly will never, in the northern parts of the kingdom, be extinguished by the dry fly. There is no doubt that the time will come when the dry fly will be more practised in the north than it is now, but so long as men may fish with worm and minnow, the attractions of the dry fly will not be great. Where trout exceed a pound on the average, as in a few south country rivers, it is well worth while to spend much time in endeavouring to allure them with the dry fly, but when in the north country the rising trout is about six ounces or under, the angler cannot afford the time necessary, should he wish to obtain a fair basket of fish.

It is all very well for the man of leisure to amuse himself with endeavouring to catch small trout with the dry fly, but when the business man has escaped from his office or counting-house for about three days, and has travelled thirty or forty miles to the river-side, he naturally wishes to have some material sport, and not to spend his time in experimental dry-fly fishing. If he knows what he is about, he can obtain sport with the worm or minnow.

The Wharfe, with its numerous flats of shallow water, is a fair specimen of many north country streams, and I should like to make the acquaintance of the man who could in

1 Fishing Z low water kill 10 lb. of trout with the dry fly in a day in a similar stream. Probably he might kill his three brace or so, as in the south country, but what a difference in weight !

In these days when a man is considered either a very good or very fortunate angler who can capture 10 Ib. of trout in a day in ordinary club waters, it is refreshing to turn over the pages of such renowned anglers as Professor Wilson (Christopher North), Stoddart, and Henderson, and to speculate how they managed to make their immense hauls of trout, and what they might do in Yorkshire rivers at the present time. If Professor Wilson had kept an angling diary it would have been exceedingly interesting. We are fortunately indebted to Mrs. Gordon, his daughter, in her Memoirs of Christopher North, for some interesting information as to his fishing exploits. We are informed that between the 25th of July and the 26th of August 1815 he killed in the Highlands 170 dozen of trout; one day 19 dozen; in Loch Awe, in three days, 76 lb. weight—all with fly.

What delightful reading the inimitable Voctes are even at this date! what ambrosial nights they were with the flowing bowl, and the words of wisdom and of wit emanating from the soul of the immortal Christopher! I commend the 36th Noctes for the angler’s refreshment, in which the Ettrick Shepherd credits himself, as the result of a day’s amusement, with 4 or 5 dozen trout and a 20 lb. salmon, caught with the fly, and 2 dozen trout caught with the otter, mounted with 150 hooks; and he winds up with 25 pike and 25 eels caught on night lines.

Taking leave of the romantic Christopher we turn to the pages of Mr. William Henderson’s most interesting work

(My Life as an Angler), and we find that Mr. Henderson, in June 1854, killed 27 lb. of trout in the Glen in four hours with worm; and assuming that the trout averaged a quarter of a pound each, as Mr. Henderson’s narrative indicates, he killed trout at the rate of 27 an hour, and that in four successive days in June 1859, in twenty-seven hours’ fishing, he killed 81 Ib. of trout with the worm. Mr. Henderson also records some large captures with the fly. Taking leave of Mr. Henderson we commend to the reader the veteran Mr. Stoddart’s Angler’s Rambles and Angler’s Songs, a most delightful book, for some wonderful captures of trout. He will read how Mr. John Wilson, the son of the Professor, killed 26 dozen trout in one day, and Mr. W. Macdonald, of Powderhall, killed in six hours in Teviot, in a part of the river which runs through a poaching district, 57 lb. of trout.

Well, I trow that a regular tiptop poacher would hardly beat this, so where, my brethren of the angle, is the line to be drawn between fair fishing and poaching? ‘The distinction appears to consist only in the mode of capture. The honest angler is supposed to capture fish by delusive means, the poacher by force.

After reading the exploits of anglers in the Noctes, An Angler's Rambles and Angler’s Songs, and My Life as an Angler, it is not to be wondered at that anglers are usually credited with exceedingly well-developed imaginations by the persons denominated scoffers, one of which class, no doubt, was Ben Jonson, who described an angler as a fool at one end of a rod, with a worm at the other. However, it is consolatory to feel that among the so-called fools there were and are many eminent men learned in the law and science, and divines,

1 Fishing ) 9 such as Sir J. W. Chitty, Sir Ford North, and the late Bishop of Wakefield, Sir Henry Manisty, Sir Humphry Davy, the Rey. Chas. Kingsley, Colonel Hawker, and many others. The pleasures of angling are exemplified when one thinks of the eagerness with which such eminent men rush off to endeavour to capture a few trout, and perchance a salmon; how such great cases as that of Bardell versus Pickwick sank into insignificance when my lord came to be engaged in the case of Judex v. Salmo fario—or more still, Judex v. Salmo salar.

What can be the great charm of fishing? Is it because the legitimate lures are steeped in fraud and concealment? ‘The artificial fly is the perfection of fraud. ‘The angler offers the trout a piquant fraud in the shape of a hook clothed with feathers and silk, whereby the poor trout is deceived. The worm-fisher conceals a hook with a worm. The minnow-fisher lures the trout with a minnow, apparently in difficulties as he wobbles down the stream. Fishing is undoubtedly a fine art, so is fraud. Can it be that the savage nature of man delights in fraud or violence, and is developed by the predatory instincts inherent in man?

De Quincey classed murder as one of the fine arts. Now the shooter, as compared with the angler, is an honourable man ; he brings down his quarry per vw et armis. He would think it iniquitous to bait a hook fora pheasant. Who can gauge the heart of man? At the best, what constitutes sport is custom or habit. Why should it not be considered sport to catch fish by any possible means, according to the fancy of the fisherman? Why should a man who catches about 30 trout with worm or minnow be classed as a kind of poacher, while he who captures 50 with fly is congratulated as an honest angler?

“Ohacun «son gout” should be the motto of the angler: live and let live. The minnow or worm fisher is entitled to as much consideration as the fly fisher. I write thus because I am aware that many persons, who confine themselves to the artificial fly, look down with contempt on anything which they do not themselves practise, and they appear to do so from a want of appreciation, a lack of sympathy with others.

I contend that worm and minnow fishing, practised to a reasonable extent, are beneficial to trout streams; thereby the overgrown trout, which have acquired the habit of feeding on their fellows, are weeded out, consequently the stock of fairsized trout is kept up. It is generally admitted that overgrown trout are seldom caught with the fly. With regard to most rivers, it would be beneficial to extract therefrom all trout of a pound weight or upwards. There is quite as much reason for weeding out voracious trout as the pike. With regard to the edible qualities of trout, so far as my experience goes a trout under half a pound is more toothsome than one of more than that weight; there is, therefore, no object to be gained in endeavouring to increase the size of trout in most northern streams. When a trout has got to a certain size and age, like man, he begins to deteriorate. This chapter cannot be better concluded than in the words of our Father Izaak, as an introduction to the next chapter—‘“I have found it to be a real truth, that the very sitting by the river-side is not only the quietest and fittest place for contemplation, but will invite an angler to it.”

Chapter II

HOW DRUIDALE BECAME A FISHERMAN It is an easy thing to scoff at any art or recreation.—PIscaTor.

MEmoRY carries me back to the time when, as a boy, I lived on the banks of the river Neb, one of the pure streams of Mona, dear little Ellan Vannin, with its green hills by the sea. From being a mere child it was my delight to wander on the banks of the river and watch the trout dart about; and I used to wonder whether I could ever succeed in catching them. I date my commencement as a fisherman from the following circumstance. When about seven years old, one fine summer day in the forties, in company with some other boys, I wandered along the bank of the river. A bathe was suggested and we all went in; I believe it was my first bathe. I was standing up to my knees in the water, afraid to dip my head, when a horrid boy threw me down and ducked me. This over, I felt brave. I spied something, which appeared to have life, in shallow water near the shelving shore. I approached cautiously, and with both hands chucked it on the shore; and oh, joy! it was a magnificent trout of two ounces—my first trout. Shortly afterwards I made the acquaintance of a boy called Tommy, who was an adept in tickling and loobing

LZ Fflarry Drurdale CHAP.

(Anglice snickling) trout, and he initiated me into the mysteries of both those arts, and I soon became a proficient. The modus operandi of loobing was thus. An ash wand about twelve feet in length was procured, and a double horsehair noose or loob attached to the end.

A hot sunny day was chosen, when the trout lay basking

RIVER NEB AND SLIEU WHALLIN.

in the sun. A trout is espied lying against a stone; the point of the rod is gently lowered, and the noose drawn over the head of the trout to about the middle of the body, and then the trout is yanked out on to the bank. If veterans think the operation easy, try it; throwing the fly is nothing to it. It requires the very best of sight, and the nerves must be in excellent order, otherwise the operator may bob the point of the rod against the trout, and he is off like a flash to seek shelter under the bank. In those happy days there was

II flow Druidale became a Fisherman ° 13 no one to find fault ; the streams were unpreserved, and were fished but little. There was then no daily service between Liverpool and the island; visitors did not flock to Mona’s shores in the thousands they do now. All visitors were called by the boys, ‘‘ Cotton Balls,” “ Manchester Weavers,” in derision ; in fact, the boys appeared to despise them, the why and the wherefore I cannot tell, but they were not above running after the cars and begging coppers.

I in due time discovered that loobing and tickling were not the best modes of catching trout ; when somewhat over ten or eleven years of age I became initiated into the mystery of capturing trout with the worm in clear water. I well remember my first day with rod and line—and such a rod it was too, an ash wand about eleven feet long ; a piece of thin wood ran through the rod near the foot, on which the line was wrapped and thence passed through a ring at the top. I sauntered down the river to a well-known dub called Quayle’s Dub, which lay near the road to Kirkpatrick. The weather was hot and bright, and the water like crystal. I was on the low shore, and opposite there was a high bank; I threw my worm into water about five feet deep, and ‘as it descended I saw a trout seize the worm; a mighty pull and the trout is lying Jumping on the shore. This is repeated three times more and I have four trout. I was too much delighted to fish any more that day. I must get some one to share the joy of my sport, so I hastened home and displayed my spoils. From that time | became an enthusiast in fishing, and I began to look down on loobing and tickling as beneath me. The true sportsman soon begins to appreciate the difference between taking fish by force and luring them to their own destruction by false pretences, for is not what is called fair fishing a

14 Hlarry Dru zaale CHAP.

system of the grossest fraud? and does not fishing with the net and similar modes savour of honesty 4

Shortly after my first success with the worm I commenced to catch trout by the dozen, and I always had the best sport when the weather was bright and hot and the water clear. One did not think of scoured worms in those days. The thing desired was to obtain plenty of them, which was sometimes no easy matter in dry weather. The Peel river, the Neb, was the usual scene of our operations; alas! the Neb, that once beautiful river, teeming with yellow trout, and the salmon and sea-trout in their season, the latter called by the Manx the white trout, but alas! what now—a lead-mine sewer; instead of water like crystal, the colour of milk; water instead of teeming with life being under the shadow of death; all the pools which formerly formed a refuge for the large trout and salmon being silted up with the deposits from the lead-washings ; but so long as the dividends are good what do the Foxdale Mining Company care? But away with sad thoughts, let us think of the river when it was pure and I was young.