ANGLING:SOUTHERN County Fishing Resort lived up to expectations as one of the finest rainbow fisheries in Ireland following last weekend's media angling outing to the 48-acre venue in Co Carlow.
Southern County is the brainchild of Pat Foley. “I worked in the steel industry all my life and now I have handed the business over to my sons. This resort is something I have always wanted to do, it’s a dream come true for me,” he said.
There is still a lot more to do but with support from his family and people like Prof Ken Whelan and Ken Dodd, steady progress is being made to fulfil his dream. “I want to turn Southern County into a place of excellence both on the European and home stage,” he said.
Paddy O’Flaherty and Larry Nixon from Northern Ireland arrived a day early and stayed in the state-of-the-art fishing bungalow. As Martina Foley explained: “We plan to build a further nine bungalows in the near future.” Against a strong westerly, the morning session on the big lake proved successful for some anglers. John Buckley of Total Fly Fishing got off to a great start (as usual) with six cracking rainbows. Michael Flanagan of Sunday World managed two escapee land-locked salmon along with his catch of three trout.
After a hearty lunch we took the custom-built train to the hatcheries. Here, up to 500,000 advanced fry are close to delivery to fish farms, and the salmon hatchery holds 2-4lb fish for despatch to salmon cages in Scotland. All rainbows in the three lakes are reared on-site and in remarkable condition – fully-finned, silver and full of energy. Southern County is the only fishery in Ireland to provide this service.
The group divided in the afternoon between the upper and lower lakes and again the rainbows provided fantastic sport. Nearly all 13 of the visiting scribes caught fish, some beauties too. Ken Whelan shared the longest fish at 58cm – about 4.5kg (10lb).
In all, more than 40 fish were caught and released with a further three up to 56cm and two at 57cm. John Buckley won the day with 11 fish followed by Michael Flanagan with six and Sean McManmon also on six.
The barbecue later was excellent and included smoked freshly caught rainbow trout and fine wine.
Southern County is recommended for the fly fisher – and the family. Rates are just €20 per day plus one fish to take home. See southerncounty.ie
** The inaugural meeting of the National Inland Fisheries Forum was held recently in Athlone, Co Westmeath, at which Derek Davis was installed as chairman following his appointment by the Minister.
The forum will provide advice on policy issues relevant to the fisheries service and will meet at least twice annually. Membership is voluntary and is made up of 60 people drawn from various stakeholder groups.
The first meeting dealt with seasonality and the important topic of climate change, a matter of interest to all involved in fisheries, angling, conservation, protection and development.
Dr Ciaran Byrne, chief executive of Inland Fisheries Ireland, said: “As members of the forum, you have the opportunity to advise on the future of fisheries in Ireland and IFI looks forward to your considered views.”
**The Loughs Agency and Institute of Fishery Management (IFM) in Northern Ireland are hosting a one-day information session on the issue of siltation from roads schemes on November 16th in the Four Seasons Hotel, Carlingford, Co Louth, starting at 9.30am.
This is a unique opportunity for fisheries and water scientists to review some of the issues and look at potential solutions. The IFM agm will take place during the day.
To secure a place, email: john.mccartney@loughs-agency.org