The salmon is one of the slipperiest customers of all, but a little perseverance will pay dividends - especially if your backdrop is stunning Galway, writes Donal Byrne
'He comes in from the dark sway of the sea . . . a wanderer of the ocean, returning to spawn in the river of his birth. The Greeks made no mention of him . . . but he was leaping in the Thames when Caesar landed and in the wild Welsh streams when Agricola marched north. From the banks of so many rivers, the Romans glimpsed his flashing beauty and they named him Salmo - which means, The Leaper"
- Hugh Falkus, Salmon Fishing(Cassell Illustrated, £19.99)
SO, THE tourists who lean across the bridge by the cathedral in Galway are not the first to be fascinated by the wild Atlantic salmon (on a good day you can see them lying between and just above the arches) and its complex, often exhausting journey back from the ocean to its home river.
Few cities can provide such a bucolic backdrop to their centres as Galway does - in a rainbow of coloured spray you can often be rewarded with the sight of a salmon repeatedly beating into the spray of the weir in its efforts to get to its spawning grounds upriver.
Of course, where salmon gather, so too do anglers and the Galway fishery seldom has an empty beat during the spring and summer season. It has always been one of the most popular angling destinations in the country although, ironically, not for people who live within a stone's throw of it. People in Galway do not seem to share quite the same enthusiasm as those who drive through the night for a 6am start on the weir, or those who have flown from the other side of the world just to experience its challenging fishing.
One man, who lives near the weir and is seldom to be found far from it, is Ned Cusack, an energetic retired army officer who, at the age of 89, still holds the record for the biggest fish caught on the weir in recent times.
"It was in 1986, the year I retired from the fishery as manager. I caught it on a blue charm fly and it took 35 minutes to land it," he recalls. Such fish are seldom seen these days, but there are still big fish to be had in Galway.
The record fish is not Ned Cusack's only bond with the Galway fishery. It was he who negotiated the transition of the fishery from private ownership to public. "At the time poaching was out of control and one of the first things I did was to make sure local people got a licence to fish at the traps just below the bridge. It took some years to do what we wanted to do but we did it. There was never a great salmon fishing culture in the city of Galway but soon we had anglers coming from all over Ireland and Europe."
June and July are the best months on the weir. It is then that the grilse (fish that have spent one winter at sea) return, usually in large numbers. "This year we are seeing an increase in the size of the fish coming back and the weight is about five to five-and-a-half pounds. Also, this year we have not seen fish with net marks on them, as we were seeing before the drift net ban," says Seamus Hartigan, who has managed the fishery for the past 18 years.
As far back as 1653, Izaak Walton made much in his treatise on angling of the need for optimism on the part of the angler. Without a great deal of it, there was no point in even taking up the sport, he believed. The reality is that fishing for salmon is neither as relaxing nor as rewarding as many people assume. Salmon do not feed when they return to freshwater - their focus is on reproduction, so tempting them with an artificial fly can be a very frustrating exercise. Anglers can go for days with "complete blanks" but few ever give up fishing out of frustration.
"You just never know with salmon - when they will take or why. The best chance you have is when you know where they lie to rest and where they usually take a fly or shrimp. After that it is persistence, persistence, patience and a lot of time," says Cusack.
Those who might hope to emulate the success of Ned Cusack or the legendary Michael John Lydon from Galway's Bowling Green, who, in April 1941, spent six-and-a-half hours landing a 38lb fish on the weir, would do well to heed Paddy Glynn, who has been a fishery officer there for 30 years. "The best time for fishing is when you have a breeze from the south west and an overcast sky. A northerly is a sign to stay at home."
Those who have fished the weir will remember Jimmy Small's hut, where many a consolatory or celebratory drink was provided by the famous ghillie for anglers from all over the world, and have rued its passing - and Jimmy's. However, they can now restore their flagging spirits by watching a monitor in the new fishery building that shows the salmon when they rest in Jimmy's Pool just below the weir itself. People are transfixed by it and the PR benefit is that there is living proof that the fish are there - catching them is the tricky part.
• Donal Byrne is an RTÉ journalist
Galway Glory
The location of the Galway fishery takes some beating. Within minutes of leaving it you are back in the centre of the city, where there is a wide choice of accommodation, restaurants and bars. My own favourites are:
Hotel: The Radisson Hotel has a pool and leisure centre with free access for guests. Lough Atalia Road, Galway. Tel: 091-538 300 www.radissonhotelgalway.com
Restaurant: The Ard Bia restaurant (091-539 897, www.ardbia.com) near Nimmo's Pie offers a superior dining experience to that of several of its touristy competitors nearby.
Pub: Murphy's Bar in High Street (091 564589) is where city Galwegians meet and the atmosphere is authentic. Freeney's across the street is another option - and you can even get advice on fishing tackle.
Wade in out West
GAME FISHING for salmon and trout is not always easy, but it is one of the most pleasurable pastimes when conditions are right.
It has its mysteries, so anyone considering taking it up would be well advised to take a course.
In the west of Ireland, there are a number of places that run courses for would-be anglers and those wishing to improve their fishing technique and river craft.
Ballynahinch Castle and Delphi Lodge are in Connemara. Both run courses during the fishing season, which generally runs from February or March to the end of September. The courses are run by Peter O'Reilly, one of the few fishing instructors with advanced qualifications from the Association of Game Angling Instructors.
Those interested in brown trout fishing would do well to inquire at a good angling centre, such as Lakeland Angling Centre, near Oughterard.
• Ballynahinch (095-31066) Offers a fairly unique experience. The castle is a welcoming and luxurious place to stay and it is also a place of great tranquillity.
If you are lucky enough to catch a salmon, you can weigh it on the scales in the bar and have it cooked for you.
Under the stewardship of Simon Ashe, one of the youngest and most knowledgeable of fishery managers, the Ballynahinch system has improved greatly in recent years, both in terms of salmon and sea trout.
• Delphi Lodge (095-42222) Delphi Lodge is located in a magnificent setting of 1,000 wild acres. Its owner, Peter Mantle, who has revived the fishery very successfully in recent years, says it is "emphatically not a hotel". It is a luxury country lodge with an emphasis on fishing and the outdoors.
It has "no TV, no room service and no à la carte menus." The lodge is located in one of the more expensive locations to fish.
• Inagh Lodge (095-34706) Located in the Inagh Valley this is more modest but just as welcoming. It is a lovely and isolated house with 12 smart rooms to match the backdrop of the Twelve Bens mountain range.
It is at the top of the Ballynahinch system and has been enjoying good salmon and sea trout seasons of late.
• Lakeland Angling Centre (091- 552121) For lake fishing for brown trout Lakeland Angling Centre at Portacarron Bay, outside Oughterard, offers all you could need.
This family business offers a warm welcome, the services of local boatmen and advice for fishing on the expanse of Lough Corrib.
The mayfly season on the lake may be a contrary affair these days, but fishing a daddy long legs or a grasshopper in August and September can be just as rewarding.