Da.Lax; Du. Zalm; Fr. Saumon; Ge. Lachs;
It. Salmone de Reno; No. Laks; Po. Salmão;
Sp. Salmón; Sw. Lax; We. Eog

The female Irish salmon digs a redd in up-river gravel, releasing spawn when her mate joins her to eject his milt. Three months later, the alevins emerge, grow to fry, then to parr. A year or two later the finger-length black-and-red spotted trout-like parr migrate to sea, changing to elegant silvery smolts as they go. A year and 2,000 nautical miles later, they come back again to the same river as grilse, weighing 2 to 10lb (1 to 4 kg). Or they may not return until later years as adult fish, 3 ft (1m) long. If they survive the Atlantic nets, the estuarial nets, the poacher and the rich angler, they spawn and mostly perish. A few survive as kelts. A fresh-run salmon is all blue and silver. At spawning the female is dull and leaden coloured, the male red-and-orange mottled with a hooked lower jaw. The Atlantic salmon is also caught in North American waters, and the Pacific has a number of separate species; cherry, chinook, chum, coho, pink and sockeye. Recent genetic research points to two Irish races - the celtic in the north west, the boreal in the south. One humpback salmon, Oncorhyncus gorbusca, has been recorded from the Moy.

Catch The great salmon rivers of Galway and Mayo, Donegal, Derry and Antrim are amongst Europe's best. You can fish the Corrib in the middle of Galway City, or at the great weir at Carnroe on the Bann, and catch fish you will never forget, on fly or shrimp, spinner or worm, according to local custom. A spinner whimsically referred to in Ireland as a 'flying condom' is almost too deadly to be sporting. Afresh wind, scattered cloud, water rising after rain and a delayed strike make for more fish taken. River spring-runs start, for some, on 1 January; the last in October for others. There are the great lakes, Corrib and Melvin, amongst many.

Cook A taste of the wild will spoil your enjoyment of much of the farmed. Poach whole fish in a court-bouillon. Serve hot or cold with new potatoes. Grill steaks. Make gravlax.

Why not try the recipe for Baked Salmon from A Little Irish Cookbook by John Murphy?