The first salmon of the 2012 season has finally been landed in Galway. After 5 weeks of very high water, the OPW finally closed a number of gates on Friday the 9th, lowering the river level to a nice fishable level, with 4 sluice gates open. Local angler Sean O’Toole took full advantage, catching a nice silver fish to kickstart the season here. The fish was small for a springer, at 5.5lbs, but beautifully proportioned and gave a good account of itself. A couple of sea lice showed how fresh it was, probably just off the tide. Sean is a well-known supplier of shrimp to anglers in Galway, and used one of his own shrimps to tempt the fish.
Another fish was spotted in the top pool just 5 minutes after Sean landed his first fish, and with the water level remaining at 4 gates open, conditions are perfect for spring fishing. Weather conditions this week are also perfect, and hopefully we will have more Galway salmon to report soon.
