Dodder is stocked with brown trout for start of new season

THE RIVER Dodder was stocked with brown trout last Thursday and Friday.

“We stocked the river yesterday [March 14] and today [March 15], we are just finished stocking at Milltown today,” said Jim Keeshan, who is a member of the committee of the Dodder Anglers Association.

The Dodder has been restocked from Tallaght to Milltown as far as the Clonskeagh bridge.

“They are all nice fish, a pound and a quarter to a pound and a half,” said Jim.

The new fishing season began last Sunday, March 17 and runs until September 30.

As the spawning season occurs in December and January, it is prohibited to fish for the rest of the year.

“It’s not a good idea to catch fish after they have spawned as they would be in a very poor condition,” said Jim.

The Dodder Anglers Association has 1,100 members. “The biggest in Europe, I believe,” said Jim.

The Association uses the membership fees it collects from its members to purchase the fish they use for restocking from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI).

“The IFI have a fish farm in Roscrea (Tipperary), they transport the fish up to the river and we stock the fish,” said Jim.

Membership of the Dodder Anglers Association is €10 for adults and €5 for juniors.

Its members enter several competitions during the year.

“The first [competition] is for the juniors, which is on March 24, it starts at the Dropping Well at 11 am and finishes at 4 pm,” said Jim.

Jim, who was brought up in Rathmines, had an interest in fishing from an early age. “As kids, when we were five or six years old, we would go down to the Dodder to catch minnow.

“I progressed on to fly fishing and teaching people to fish,” said Jim.

The Dodder Anglers Association also provides teaching on how to fish.

“We teach the youth, on Sunday week [March 24] before the competition, maybe down along the waterfall in Rathfarnham at 9 am.

“It’s free for all our junior members and for any of our adult members who wish to improve their fishing skills,” said Jim.

The Dodder is “very clean”, according to Jim.

If any members of the public wish to report illegal fishing and pollution there is a phone number for the IFI on the Dodder Anglers Facebook page that they can ring.

If you spot anyone fishing out of season you can contact Inland Fisheries Ireland on 0818347424 and report such activity, according to the Dodder Anglers Facebook page.