Irish Angling Forum

bwlodge

Jan Persson from Denmark prepares to release the first springer of 2007 taken on fly.
March 26 on Blackwater Lodge Beat 16 – Ballygarrett.
Draft Irish Regulations for the 2008 Salmon Season.
The Irish Department of the Marine have just issued the draft regulations for next year.
These will be subject to a consultation period & then will be finalised in late December.
There is little change from last year - the only difference being an increase in the number of fish which can be taken in spring.

The draft regulations can be summarised as:

Season: 10 fish in total per licence

Spring Fishing: January 1 to May 11 - 3 fish per licence in total.
Summer Fishing: May 12 to August 31 - a daily bag limit of 3 fish.
Autumn Fishing: September - a daily bag limit of 1 fish

A full regulations on the Dept. of the Marine website can be found on:
http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/NR/rdonly...A48C/0/TaggingRegulations2008.doc

My Opinion

Spring: The increase to three fish for the spring is a cautiously welcome one, as unfortunately the one fish limit in 2007 for the same period definitely had an adverse effect on angling tourism. Notwithstanding, we actively encourage all visiting anglers to exercise restraint in the number of fish they keep. Catch and release is becoming the norm – over 60% of the fish caught (804 salmon & grilse) on the Blackwater Lodge fishery in 2007 were released alive.

Summer: I am still at a loss to understand why the Dept. of the Marine put the bag limit up to 3/day from mid-May until the end of August. The most damage done by the now-banned drift nets was to the grilse run, and this is the one that should be protected.

Autumn: Even more bizarre – especially on the Cork Blackwater – is the reduction to 1 fish/day in September.
Our autumn run has always been the most prolific, and it is the most popular month as a consequence.
It would make more sense to have a 1 fish/day limit from mid-May until the end of July, and then increase to 3/fish per day for August and September when the biggest runs come in.

Looking Forward to 2008
After the superb fishing we had in 2007 once we had reasonable water levels from late June on, we are looking forward to another great season in 2008. Hopefully, we will once again see a big increase in the number and size of salmon running, not only the Blackwater, but also the other Irish, UK & Continental salmon rivers.

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Ian is proprietor of the Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery on the Cork Blackwater with his wife Glenda - Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Champion & renowned casting instructor APGAI-IRL (Salmon & Trout).