Fishing:  The Royal Canal became a second home for me in my younger days. Entire summer holidays and most weekends were spent on the banks of the canal at Ashtown, close to the station lodge. In love with fishing since he was a tiddler, Derek Evans has seen its growth and problems

In those days my fishing tackle was very basic - bamboo stick, thread spool, cat gut, a cork and bent pin. Bait consisted of dough and bread flake. Yet for all that archaic gear, fishing was always magic. In the crystal clear, still waters I could account for a huge bag of perch and roach, and even the odd pike.

Pushing the boat out further, I began to progress to the nearby Tolka. A tactical change required a jam jar tied at the neck with string, and again plenty of dough. My target species was the minnow. The river was packed with them, some up to five inches in length.

Further progression brought me to the trout. First the worm, then the spinner and on to the fly (the only real way to catch a trout!). For me, the seed was sown. Today, I am as keen as ever and well versed in most of the different facets of angling.

The same principles of learning the joys of angling from an early age should still apply today. Educating and encouraging youngsters in the art of angling is vital if we are to have a resource for future generations, according to Peter O'Reilly, game angling officer with the Central Fisheries Board (CFB).

Learning to protect the environment, how to handle fish with respect, the need for barbless hooks and the commonsense to kill fish only for personal consumption are basic ground rules to learn from day one.

He says that while the resource may not be as good as in previous years, nevertheless it is still a top-class recreational facility that can hold its head high on the world stage.

Over the past seven years the Dublin Angling Initiative (DAI) has endeavoured to keep the youth policy alive by setting up fishing clubs and introducing thousands of young people to the sport.

Regular school visits to promote the benefits of angling and the need to conserve our aquatic environment form part of the work carried out by DAI co-ordinator Des Chew.

Junior seminars, casting instruction, competitions and the opportunity to represent Ireland at international level are initiatives also available.

Put-and-take trout fisheries provide ideal training grounds. There are at least 20 such facilities around the country, each stocked with rainbow trout and open all year round.

Rathbeggan Lakes, near Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, for example, is now well established as a premier fly-fishing venue and open daily from 9 a.m. till dusk.

At the opposite end of the scale, a worrying trend relates to the age profile of charter boat skippers. At present there are 120 charter boats situated in coastal ports within the 26 counties. "If the present trend continues soon there will be no skippers under the age of 50," according to Peter Green, sea angling officer with the CFB.

A recent investment of €30 million, as part of the National Development Plan, is an important milestone for the angling sector. Following closely on the heels of €24 million provided under the Tourism Angling Measure, this new investment will contribute to rural development over the period to 2006.

The measure will maximise the potential of the tourism and recreational product through promotion and marketing, in-stream rehabilitation work and improved access to fisheries. An assessment committee will evaluate applications and the scheme will be administered by the CFB and managed by the relevant regional assemblies.

Almost 200,000 anglers participate in some form of angling in Ireland on an annual basis. According to CFB director of marketing Cormac Healy, angling is a "self-renewing resource which last year generated in the region of £150 million and £200 million of expenditure into the economy".

The run of spring salmon this year was nothing short of disastrous, prompting the Galway Salmon Weir Fishery to describe it as the worst season on record.

With the exception of Lough Currane, sea trout fishing on the west coast remains in the doldrums. Stocks have never recovered to their former glory since the 1987 sea trout collapse in Galway and Mayo. In contrast, the river Boyne on the east coast continues to provide good sport.

Coarse and pike angling remain the most popular in terms of tourism angling. Ireland's natural environment is the envy of Europe. Bream, roach, rudd, perch, tench, dace and pike abound in most coarse waters, and carp can be found in selected lakes.

Water quality remains a major problem to inland fisheries. Last year, 26 fish kills were reported - 11 caused by agriculture and four by industry.

While the great western lakes remain largely pollution-free, loughs Sheelin, Arrow and Derg, for example, continue to have algae bloom and water-quality problems.

Fishing . . . I love it.