A wet morning in Foxford, its still dark. I’m heading off fishing for a couple of days so an early start. The 2026 Salmon season ended quietly, just a hand full of regular anglers for the last few days. Fish were taken and spirits were high. It has become a tradition for many of our regulars to drop into the shop for a chat before they head home on the last day. One customer who for many reason did not do any fishing this season drove all the way to Foxford just to have a look around the river and wish us well for the remainder of the year. The last farewells said we closed the shop at mid day and headed off for a few hours fishing ourselves. It is a strange feeling to close the shop knowing that we don’t have to worry about rushing back. We didn’t go Salmon fishing, instead we headed to one of our favourite trout spots. We have visited it many times this summer and fishing was poor. I am delighted to report that although late, the trout had arrived. We had good sport for a few hours and headed home feeling content.

The winter program now clicks in for us. A little less time behind the counter but still work to be done. We are not over flush with money and like everyone else, the bills keep arriving. Happily, we are reasonably healthy and have the ability to get by. Once again, a big thank you to everyone for their continued support.

There is a friend of mine (The guy who looks after this website, Declan Foley) on local radio at 9.05 this morning. He is going to discuss the Cormorant situation (see this link https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10176328969820131&set=a.219580195130) If possible please send a message of support or otherwise (depending on how you feel about the subject) to the station. It’s Midwest Radio, you will find details here and will also be able to listen in https://www.midwestradio.ie/audio-stream/

Next week we will have a look back on the season past.