Although the river is open this year, for catch and release
of salmon and sea trout, many beats will be virtually closed.
Even Tullow Anglers have voted to restrict fishing so that stocks
can replenish. Our beat will be closed for all fishing,
except to visiting tourists, who should abide by national regulations.
The Eastern
Region Fisheries Board has more information here.
For a bit of fun, here's a little video of mountain biking through the woods.
Mushrooms
abound in October. Before you eat them, make sure the're worth
it by checking in a few references. An image search on Yahoo
for one variety will probably produce a lot of differing images,
so watch out! If something has already eaten them, they are
more likely to be OK too.
In harvest (update July 2006): beetroot, potatoes (new), broad
beans, peas, swiss chard, artichoke, onion, garlic, strawberries
(few), raspberries, red and black currants, black gooseberries,
oregano, radish, rhubarb ...
Although
the weather seems to have been a month late and May seemed wetter
than usual, the blooms of bluebells and rhododendron have been
spectacular. Towards the end of May we also got a special
treat of seeing a couple of deer feeding at the edge of the woods
one evening ...
The
river opened
in March. Congratulations to Peter who landed the
first salmon on the opening weekend ...
And Peter reports that Sha Roe restaurant
recently opened in Clonegal is good value for money.
Tony,
the guide with a golden touch, also helped two friends land
their first salmon. Congratulations Will and Cahill ...
In the last three decades, the wild Atlantic salmon
population has been slashed by two-thirds. Fragile salmon stocks
are vanishing quickly in countries like Germany, France and
Spain, while in some U.S. and Canadian rivers, salmon are already
extinct. In just five years, from 1994-1999, the total run of
Atlantic salmon in North American rivers fell from 200,000 to
80,000.
Hazardous to Atlantic salmon are water pollution, dams and
predators, as well as aquaculture diseases, parasites and interbreeding
with farm "escapees," which weakens the wild salmon gene. But
the real enemy, says Vigfusson, is the rapacious commercial
drift-net fishing introduced in the 1960s, when traditional
hemp nets were replaced with merciless modern filament. ...
While the rest of Europe voluntarily attempts to protect wild
Atlantic salmon, Ireland's drift netting continues to kill more
than 200,000 salmon annually, greedily taking 51 percent of
Europe's total wild salmon catch.
New photos of the newly discovered
garden aqueduct
and garden paths, buried for decades and found by luck,
are in the gallery.
included are pictures of the overgrown Asian water garden
which is being reclaimed! Also pictures of the river in February
with bank clearing in progress to make access easy - many thanks
to Liam Townsend for his help.
Article by Melo Lennox-Conyngham
on Pierce
Butler and the US election, published in The Irish Times
13 December 2004.
Spring
salmon fishing 90 minutes from Dublin - opened 10th March with
silver on the bank!
Despite cold weather, blustery winds and low water the opening
days saw several salmon caught along the banks around Ballin
Temple. We pulled in an 8 lbs on day 1, 10 lbs on day 2 and
counting ... (fishing journal).
Ballin Temple Lodge, Cottages and Fishery is one of the Great
Fishing Houses of Ireland, the top 20 places to stay if
you wish to fish in Ireland. We also welcome non-anglers who
just want some peace and quiet!
During 2003 the Lodge received guests from America, Austria,
Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland and Switzerland. We enjoyed
good fishing and have very satisfied customers!
We look forward to extending a warm welcome to all our guests
in 2004.
*Peter O'Reilly
Fishing Course Photos: We were fortunate
to host a course led by Peter O'Reilly the renown sportsman
and author. Some photos are in the journal
here ...*
Ballin Temple has been looked after by the Butler family for over 250
years. It is now a small part of what was once a large farm , but the
beauty and natural variety is preserved. This website will give you
a peek at this jewel of nature, but it does not compare with the real
thing. Enjoy browsing the site and if you want to sample the treasure
please contact us. Slán.
in July 2006
... and 
Woods
in February can be wonderful because they are quiet and accessible
while briars are subdued.
Autumn
Colours and October Moon .
Harvest
of 
Spring
salmon fishing 90 minutes from Dublin - opened 10th March with
silver on the bank!
