Moy has best week of season

A TALE of two rivers — despite a poor run of grilse to the Irish coast, the River Moy enjoyed its best week of the season with 626 salmon reported for last week bringing the season total, to date, to 3008, which is down 33% on last year catch.

The Munster River Blackwater was always classed as second to the Moy, due to its quality of salmon angling. However, this year has continued as last year, with little or no grilse in the river. Anglers and tourism interests blame the usual main suspect drift nets off the coast intercepting the salmon before they reach their home rivers to spawn.

An added complication on Munster's main river was the closing of the salmon catchery and hatchery some eight years ago on health and safety grounds. It's estimated that it takes approximately four years from fertilised ova to a grilse returning from the sea, therefore two four-year cycles have now been missed.