Angling Notes: The first salmon of the year has been caught in Co Donegal and weighed in at 7½lb. Billy Cathcart from Ballymena, Co Antrim, won the coveted title to net the first salmon of the new year from the River Drowes, writes Derek Evans
The salmon was caught on New Year's Day at 9.05 a.m. in the Upper Blackwater Pool on a black Flying "C" and verified as authentic by fisheries staff at the Lareen Fishery Office, Kinlough, Co Leitrim.
A short time later, at 11.20 a.m., Bernard McCullough, also from Ballymena, stepped up with the second fish of the season, a fine fresh-run salmon of 7¾lb from the Sandhole Pool, again on a black Flying "C". At close of play on opening day, the Drowes had yielded four salmon.
Fishing was brisk on the River Liffey with more than 50 anglers plying for the first salmon. The Islandbridge stretch, renowned for its New Year festivities, failed to produce a salmon on opening day.
According to Dublin Salmon Anglers' secretary Pat O'Molloy, water temperatures were too low at 2.6 degrees C. To have any chance of a salmon, 4 degrees C and upwards is required, he said.
The recent importation of live fish from the continent and their subsequent release into Irish freshwaters, is a reprehensible act of vandalism akin to illicit movement of sheep infected with foot and mouth, according to the Irish Specimen Fish Committee's (ISFC) report for 2003.
Non-native species, allegedly without proper veterinary clearance, have the potential to do irreversible ecological damage to Irish biota and must be dealt with severely, the report suggests.
Throughout the year, the ISFC ratified three new Irish records and 521 specimen claims. A total of 45 were rejected for non-compliance with the rules and a further 16 remain subject to verification. The committee also decided to raise the specimen weight for bluefin tuna from 150kg to 250kg from January 1, 2004.
Over the past decade the coalfish record tumbled on four occasions and 2003 was no exception. Roger Barham from Salisbury, England, enters the record books for an excellent coalfish of 15.1kg caught during August on shad bait, while boat fishing out of Castletownshend, Co Cork.
Kenmare Bay in Co Kerry produced all three greater spotted dogfish specimens. However, for Perry Dumay from Rembrandstraat 19, 2612 XL Delft, in the Netherlands, his fish of 23lb 13oz was special as it pipped the 10-year-old record by just 1oz.
Alan Glanville from Dunmore East, Co Waterford, is no stranger to big-game fish. In 2000, he achieved the distinction of catching the largest fish on rod and line in Irish waters and the first of the species off the Irish coast. Fishing out of Killybegs, Co Donegal, he caught a bluefin tuna of 240kg.
In September last, he set sail from Dingle, Co Kerry, this time with sights set on albacore tuna. Following three days of arduous fishing, Glanville caught up with his quarry to the south west of the Blasket Islands and successfully landed a new Irish record of 16.66kg.
Again, this was a first by an angler in Irish waters and shattered the weight of 12kg struck by the specimen committee.
Peter Oversteegan is the recipient of the Dr Went special award for juveniles. Peter, from 3910 Heerfelt, Belgium, qualified with a specimen coalfish of 20.5lb fishing on shad bait out of Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, in September.
The Minister's award for the best specimen (other than a new record) goes to John Beswick from Lancashire, England, for a torsk of 10.54lb caught at Downings, Co Donegal.
Presentation of awards will take place in the Doyle Burlington Hotel, Dublin, at 2.30 p.m. on Saturday, February 28th. All Irish anglers due for awards are invited to attend.
Seymour Monro has been appointed to succeed Jeremy Read as executive director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, taking over in March.
Monro, a native of Moray in Scotland,, is looking forward to the challenge of the Trust's drive to conserve, protect and improve the wild salmon and sea trout stocks in the north Atlantic Ocean.
Email: angling@irish-times.ie