ANGLERS CAN REST as the search to catch the first salmon in Ireland this year has ended, with Ronan O’Connor catching a 7lb fresh run salmon in Fermoy in Cork.

Ronan O'Connor holds aloft the 7lb salmon Inland Fisheries Ireland Inland Fisheries Ireland

O’Connor caught the fish last Wednesday, while the River Blackwater was high with around two foot visibility at 4pm.

Inland Fisheries Ireland confirmed today that O’Connor’s catch was the first salmon in Ireland to be caught in 2017.

The group’s CEO Ciaran Byrne said: “With over 273,600 domestic anglers in Ireland, Ronan O’Connor did extremely well to secure the title for catching the first fish of 2017.”

A spokesperson for Inland Fisheries Ireland told TheJournal.ie that to be the one to catch the first salmon of the year was a much sought-after title among the angling community.

“Most anglers out there would be searching for this one,” the spokesperson said.

“In this case, contact was made with us and we sent our fishery manager down in Cork to verify the catch.”

The first catch of the year wasn’t made until February, and the spokesperson explained that this was in line with recent years.

“It’s difficult to say why it takes so long,” they said. “It could be due to a variety of factors such as weather conditions and water temperature.

The day this salmon was caught was actually the first day that part of the river was open to anglers this year.

According to figures from Inland Fisheries Ireland, around 15,724 salmon were caught by anglers here in 2015.

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