Wednesday, 18 May 2016: Shane Rolston: Game Angling in Omagh
Mr Rolston, a Fishery Officer with the Loughs’ Agency, explained that in Omagh anglers have access to have access to 27 miles of river bank and some of the best fishing in the UK by joining Omagh Angling Association. The agency has an Education Programme which promotes angling as a healthy outdoor sport and leisure activity. He had with him a selection of rods, reels, lures and flies which he used in conjunction with video clips to demonstrate popular methods of fishing for trout and salmon. A licence to fish and permit to trespass are required and management regulations govern when a fish may be taken home for the table and when catches must be released back into the river. Rainbow trout do not breed in Irish waters and are unwelcome in our rivers when they escape from fish farms because they compete with juvenile trout and salmon. “Sustainability” is the watchword of the Loughs’ Agency. This makes room for predators such as otters, herons, kingfishers and cormorants as these indicate a healthy ecosystem. Seals occasionally follow fish up river and recently one was spotted dining on a large salmon in the river Finn. Having taken many questions Mr Rolston was thanked for a fascinating talk by club member, Kenneth Collins, himself a keen angler.