I reckon Cats can spot a soft target and for a fact they tell their mates. It started here with a little kitten that appeared in the coal bunker, who could resist that ?. I’m now feeding multiples. I say multiples because i don’t know exactly, it changes daily, this morning it was four. Anyway, whether i’m soft or not, the poor things are hungry. At the moment in Foxford (7.20am) it is still with drizzle, the calm before the storm. The old fishermen watched the sky and looked to nature for signs of the weather. I remember as a younger man when i worked on the boats, the old Skippers would gather on the pier in the morning and discuss the sky. I can remember there was a particular light in the sky that was always deemed to be bad, “There’s badness in it Joe, i wouldn’t go out”. I saw that light yesterday evening and am predicting that we will get a hammering from storm Ava. Well its that and the fact that Mett Eireann have given the strongest warning possible for our coast. We took our boats off the loughs yesterday, just in time i would think.
Following yesterdays rain the river is already well up, now at 3.06m at Ballylahan bridge. It’s a good day to start sorting out the fishing gear and I have a fair amount of sorting to do.It is something I don’t do during the season. Most of my rods are left lying around with various rigs still attached, my jacket pockets are full, my waders are wet and my landing nets stink. It’s a bad habit but I have several bad habits and I don’t rate this as a worrying one. It does lead to a bit of mess and a lot of sorting , I will motivate myself later . Did I mention Procrastination is another bad habit 🤣.
2025 Season from Hell is over
As you know last Tuesday was the final day of the 2025 Salmon season on the Moy. We opened the tackle shop for three hours on Tuesday morning and I would have to say that it was the strangest last day I have ever witnessed. Our customers were bubbling with Joy; the atmosphere was jovial. They all knew the fishing was good but there was no rush to the river. They came and chatted, they brought gifts, Coffee, Coffee vouchers, wine. I was taking my wet fishing gear out of the car and an old customer gifted me a waterproof bag to keep my boat gear dry. We got tips, some of which were very generous. A customer offered us the use of his apartment next season if we want to fish his local river, amazing Overall, we have great customers, most of whom at this point we know for many years and they are friends. This was an outpouring of appreciation that I have not seen before. It was if someone dropped fairy dust over Foxford that morning. It was a nice few hours and it was affirmation that we are doing something right.
One Last Cast
P.J and I closed the shop at 11am and as planned we hoped in the car and headed for our “Secret location” to see if we could make contact with a trout on the last day. Leaving the shop, we knew that we would miss a bit of business but this was our treat to ourselves at the end of what was a very difficult season.
Difficult Season
We could sit here and debate the reasons for two hours and at the end we would all have different opinions as to why it was tough and different solutions to make it all better next season. As is normal, nature had a lot to do with it and I would like to see it as a blip rather than the future. It was not just the Moy and it was not just salmon angling that was difficult. It was across the board and the full way through the season, right up to the last fortnight. Having had the pleasure or misfortune of standing in a fishing tackle shop every day during the “Season from hell” I would say that it was “the perfect storm” of angling. Salmon numbers were down, the Mayfly hatch on certain Loughs was a disaster, the Mackerel did not appear in summer as they normally do and Algae bloomed dangerously as the water heated to levels we have never witnessed before. Inland Fisheries Ireland answer to it all , the above Traffic Lights. The only deterrent to poaching (Anglers on the river bank) were removed and the Ridge pool was handed over to the seals. I Kid you not, they got the wagons in a circle and formed “The Inland Fisheries Ireland Warm Water Protocol Scientific Working Group” who recommended traffic lights, it beggars belief.
Minister has his head in the sand
As bad as poor angling results were, the saddest events of the year were when we saw a massive fish Kill on Lough Sheelin and the river Blackwater destroyed by pollution while the state bodies done nothing. I said it earlier in the year that Minister Timmy Dooley has not got his eye on the ball and its obvious he has not. It’s time to wake up Minister.
We have the votes and we have the power
If there is one thing that this season has taught us, it is that we as anglers and I include myself in this, are guardians of a precious resource. We need to work together to preserve it for future generations and where necessary we need to exercise our right to demand that our government ministers and state bodies do the work they are paid to do. I could continue and at some point I will! but for now this is just a little Blog and I do not want to bore you.
Small steps in the right direction
While not the case along the entire river, the attitude of the River Moy anglers who visited us on Tuesday morning will help. The fishing was good; salmon were in the river in good numbers and were taking. There was no rush and no greed. Interestingly, a good number of the anglers who visited the shop were heading to Foxford Salmon Anglers Rinnanney fishery where this year a new water keeper called David Turner took on the challenge of restoring the fishery. David, a breath of fresh air, has led with a positive upbeat approach in which through his Facebook diary he shares the joy of Angling, Nature, Countryside, Peace, and Relaxation, not just catching. I believe myself that part of the reason for the kindness, joviality, and friendship we experienced on the last morning of the season was a result of Davids efforts. I hope that other fisheries will follow suit. It would be nice to see the Cloongee fishery restored to its former glory, as it was in the days of Mike McGowan. The mess it has become in the hands of the state run Moy Fisheries is nothing less than a disgrace.
Thank You all
On behalf of P.J and myself I want to sincerely thank you all for your custom and support in 2025. I also want to thank my daughter Irene who took on the unpaid job (although she does regularly refer to inheritance, whatever that is 😁) of managing our social media. She has done a great job and took a lot of pressure off us.
P.S We caught three beautiful trout on September 30th, a great end to the season
