From a very early age I have been fascinated with the prospect of catching an elusive Wild Atlantic Salmon and having some of the best fresh water salmon fisheries in Europe at my doorstep I kind of always knew I had to at some stage of my fishing career. I always messed around in the rivers in my locality not seriously, more of a bored teenager gathering with mates on summer days of school holidays. Fast forward to my late teens and I only fished the sea until mid-twenties. I caught Covid end of 2021- start of 2022 which had me isolating in a room for 10 days over the Christmas period. This isolation had me taking an unhealthy obsession with salmon videos which in turn I bought a fishing licence and a very basic fly rod set up. 2022 season proved disappointing as I had most of my fishing time depleted with business errands such as digging baits and tying rigs, I knew the 2023 season was going to be different.
Roll on 2023. My local river opens on the 1st of January and closes on the 30th September. The first 3 months of the year I spent targeting pike and hadn’t any notion of going for salmon, that was until a confirmed report of a fine springer caught in early March on the local river. Me and a good angler friend of mine spent a few early mornings on the same pool which resulted in me getting the first brown trout of the year, and a first on the fly for me ever. Also I caught a small salmon par which was a first for me as well as a few fine sea trout being caught.
Toward the end of the month of march after some lovely showers and the water being in lovely condition, another springer was taken from the pool. A fresh bar of silver.
The first week of April saw me gathering some fresh sand eels and, another first for me, targeting sea trout in the estuary. This session was fantastic. As dawn broke we were hitting personal best sea trout every cast for about an hour and a half and then… nothing the rest of the day. A very insightful session into feeding patterns and how sea trout generally work.
The weather had been fairly settled until around May with little rainfall. Next time I went out was second week of May looking for salmon. I tried all the pools upstream on the local river with no joy so I reverted back to a spot I known to produce. I casted a fly and bang, a fish had engulfed it on the surface! The fish fought like a champion on my 6wt single handed rod. The scrap It was putting up and the runs it was making had me thinking it was possibly a grilse, but once netted I soon realised it was my PB sea trout. About 2lb in weight, the fish had some battle wounds which prompted me to believe it had a run in with a seal. A quick photo and the fish was released to fight another day
In the height of June we were experiencing a heat wave with very little fresh water being produced. I fancied something different on a midweek outing on targeting sea trout on lures. The months prior I proved I could catch on bait and fly so I took it upon myself to tick off catching on the lure. The footage below shows how that went.
Start of July I went off on holidays which caused me to miss probably the best part of the season. Lots of rain fell in this period which I missed for a good reason. When home I went out again on the end of the month after great water levels. After extensive research and conferring with experienced salmon anglers I picked my mark. I also purchased a €50 ticket for the mark in question so there was a lot of pressure to get the fish I dreamed of. And thankfully I did. The fish I had wanted to catch for over 15 years and after a year and a half of trying properly I finally did.
Here below you can see my first ever salmon and an in-depth discussion and thoughts around tactics and locations. I was delighted with this especially after paying for my ticket and like all my river fish it was returned.
Once the salmon of the season had been caught I could relax a bit. I tried the Gweebarra River in August and September paying for tickets and only catching one 30cm sea trout on a spinner. I had lost 2 small salmon on this river on the fly unfortunately, but was great to see such an impressive fishery with great facilities such as walkways, board walks and styles. Also the Gweebarra is a very frustrating river to fish as you can see the fish jumping constantly but wont take, sometimes upwards of 15lb. I lost a further 2 salmon on later session using the flying c before I called it quits for the Gweebarra.
Last day of the season 30th of September we had chosen to fish the River Eany. This was an experience I will likely never see again in my life. We set up as dawn broke and within first light for an hour and a half a salmon leapt clear of the water every 20 seconds on average, good big fish from what looked like averaging 10lb. Another frustrating session as the fish here refused to take our lure and fly considering it had to be the healthiest river systems I’ve ever laid eyes on. Absolutely full of fish! Also an impressively maintained river system with clear walkways and access, likely the benefits of paying for a ticket! The final day of the season finished with a blank for me and a single sea trout for my angling counterpart.
Final thoughts!
Yes I am absolutely delighted to have partaken in the river salmon angling season for 2023 and I even ticked off a bucket list fish of a lifetime which I am forever grateful for. Also the adrenaline and buzz I achieved catching a 2lb sea trout, I highly doubt anything will come close to replicating that feeling I felt later in life. Sad, I know!
One of the main barriers to river angling is the cost associated. Between licences and tickets it’s a very costly ordeal and most rivers being “pay to play”. Amongst all the cost associated you are still not guaranteed a fish of a lifetime or a fish at all at that. My costs are as follows:
Licence: €100
Erne Licence €26
Finn Ticket: €50
Gwebarra Ticket: 2x €40
Eany Ticket €30
Total: €286
This is not factoring in rods, reels, equipment, lures, and flies either as well as fuel.
Certainly not the most economic method of pursuing your sport especially when you can throw a line into the sea for free. Would I pay it all again? Absolutely.
Goals for next season is to catch a salmon from my local river and also to catch one on the fly. I can’t wait!
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