15/3/14

Mr. Liam Ellis

15/3/14 Straight to the action, Mr. Liam Ellis of Waterville caught a fine 10 lbs Salmon this morning on the troll, then headed straight to the Bar for a good celebration on his capture of his Noble Salmon with the lads and watched the rugby, which led to a double celebration, and a good party was had by all. Wind NW light and overcast. I would like to finish today’s report on reflections of the past few days. I would to thank all the readers of the Blog for their kind words. I would like to put all of your comments on the Blog, but sadly it would take weeks of reading, so I have chosen one because it reflects the last 50 years, so I will let Murray have the last word on the past week. 

As a former resident of the area and someone who learned, as you did, fishing in Waterville from the Sullivan family, and Jack Sullivan in particular, I disagree with much of the criticism levelled at your Blog.  Although old Jack would maybe have thought the internet was a very peculiar thing, and some of his generation no doubt thought it the work of the devil, I greatly enjoy your picturesque descriptions of the events of the day in Waterville Lake and its surrounds.  After all, Ireland is the land of poetry and picturesque language, and the Irish language is very much that way if translated literally to English, although I add, I am no Irish language scholar.

If you choose to add a section on wind direction, speed, temperature, water level, etc., to please the technocrats, that is fine.  However, I think your Blog succeeds in conveying the sense of fun and character which has always pervaded fishing in Waterville, and was so beloved by the ghillies of old.  The first man I ever fished with on the lake, when I was only 15 years old, Mike Moriarty, was a character and a half, and the lake has been emptier without his sense of humour and turn of phrase, ever since he was called to fish on a higher plane.

However, I wax poetic myself.  Keep up the good work, so those of us who are fishing in distant lands can capture a sense of the good old days on Waterville Lake, and enjoy a taste of home.

Tight lines,

Murray T. Beatts