Good, well I cant really say morning can I. Its not that I’ve gone totally lazy, todays blog is late because I have just managed to drag myself out of bed following a rough week. Not a rough week of drinking or anything decent like that, nope, a rough week of cold/flu. I’m no doctor but with the way I felt I’m saying Flu. It started with a runny nose and streaming eyes all day Monday and by Tuesday morning I felt like I had been run over. Anyway, I survived and I’m sure it has made me stronger. The weather ahs been very nasty, rain, strong wind and now heavy showers with hail. Not weather that would encourage anyone to head towards the river bank and I don’t expect to see anyone out for another while. The river is now at 1.5m at Ballylahan bridge and is brown.

I have said a few times that we plan to open the shop soon and had I not come down with the dose from hell we would be in there today. Tomorrow is D day. We plan to open from 8 am, It will be a phased re opening and somewhat subject to how busy we are. In honesty, with the uncertainty caused by a Ditherer of a minister being advised by a questionable organisation a whole community depending on tourism has been thrown into turmoil and none of us see the season blasting off. That been said, we cant live on fresh air so we have to try.

Once again, I have noticed that the practice of attacking fellow anglers on Facebook continues. Here is a little piece I wrote a few years ago in response to some Keyboard warriors. my opinion hasn’t changed so Ill share it again. Time for more Paracetamol.

In most cases it appears to me that we as anglers who enjoy the sport of angling in its many forms, share a love and respect for our quarry, nature, environment and future of our sport, have different points of view. Rather than have rational debate with sensible reasoning to find a Balance for the good of all, we tend to go on the “Solo Run”, the results of which, if we are honest, are unsuccessful.

One platform where this has become very obvious is Facebook. Here we see and hear the differing and unbalanced opinions on all subjects. The keyboard warriors let fly with all the ammo at their disposal to Air their opinions. In many cases without thought, annihilating innocent people. Earlier this season I had opportunity to take a picture of a Lady with one of the few salmon she kills in a season. She wanted the picture posted on our Facebook page so that a relative living far away could see it and perhaps share in her Joy. We both agreed it would also be a little bit of badly needed publicity for the locality. Within minutes of the picture appearing so did the comments, some very positive and congratulating, others were to say the least unbalanced. Among them “Catch and release” and “why kill”.  Neither of these comments were balanced, they were one sided opinions been expressed in the wrong place. Neither comment took the facts of the situation into account nor did neither comment achieve anything for conservation.  “Catch and release”, Yes if you want to catch and release, that’s fine. “Why kill”, well for a start, it’s not against the law, it’s where our sport evolved from and some people actually like to take a fish home to eat! The people who wrote these comments could achieve a lot more for conservation by acting in a more balanced manner. The Lady in question killed two salmon for the season. On a regular basis I see Flocks of Cormorants flying over my house, these same Cormorants have come from the Loughs and tributaries of the Moy catchment where they have spent their day “Fishing”. Now I’m no scientist but I think any Cormorant is responsible for the deaths of more than two salmonids in a season. The Moy estuary is full of seals, the amount of seal damaged fish turning up in the river is alarming and these are the fish that escape! How many are killed? This is not to mention, water quality, farming practices, Poaching, sea survival and probably ten other major factors which affect salmon. It’s very easy to hop on the “in fashion” popular trend and preach it to the multitudes in a holier than thou manner while ignoring the not so popular facts. The Lady who killed the two salmon is easier to attack that the seal that killed 100 salmon in the same period.

I’m not saying that we get together tomorrow and kill every seal in the estuary or every cormorant on Lough Conn. I am saying that we should have respect for each other and work together. Let’s not forget where our sport comes from and let’s teach future generations how to enjoy and care for it in a balanced manner