Salmon fishing at Ballynahinch

While in Ireland recently with family, several of us spent a day of fishing on the Ballynahinch River in Galway.  The river is owned by the Ballynahinch castle estate which has catered to salmon anglers for generations. They take their salmon very seriously as evidenced by this notice posted in the castle pub.

The scenery was gorgeous and the river was the cleanest I have ever seen in my life, but we had not seen any evidence of salmon all day.  It was sunny that day which generally makes for poor salmon fishing. As we were talking to the guide with our backs to the water we heard a noise behind us which sounded like a cannonball being thrown into the water.  The guide got very excited and said it was a salmon.  I moved upstream of the pool where we believed the salmon to be and cast to the far side of the river, letting my silver badger fly swing downstream across the current.  After about ten swings over the same spot, my line tightened and I saw a long gleam of silver flash in the water.  I slowly worked the fish toward the bank but 30 seconds into the fight my line popped right back at me, hook and all and stuck me cleanly in the nose.  It was a bittersweet moment.  I sure would have loved to land that beautiful fish, but to simply dance with it for a moment in time was mysteriously satisfying.