High waters not helping search for first Drowes salmon

Mervyn Bell from Boa Island, Co. Fermanagh casting his line on the River Drowes at Four Masters Bridge last week Photo: Thomas Gallagher

placeholder image — Mervyn Bell from Boa Island, Co. Fermanagh casting his line on the River Drowes at Four Masters Bridge last week Photo: Thomas Gallagher

High waters of recent days in the north west have made fishing conditions more challenging in trying to catch the first salmon on the Drowes River this year.

Shane Gallagher from the Drowes Salmon Fishery said today that the high waters created by the extensive rain over recent days had made conditions more challenging for the anglers, but that was not stopping some of the more enthusiastic anglers.

He said that since the start of the new season, there had been more that a hundred anglers fishing the Drowes, with the majority trying their luck for the prestigious salmon catch on the first day of the season

The first salmon of 2022, a 12 pounder, was landed nearly two weeks after the start of the traditional Drowes start and for now it looks like that wait be longer.

The January 13 2022 catch was from the Eel Weir pool on the Lareen stretch of the river Drowes.