Robin becomes ‘Silver Swanny’ in fly move!

He explained: “During the very pro-active campaign, the No to Salmon Nets (NSN) received support from all the major political parties.

“This support was greatly appreciated and been invaluable for the group. To show its thanks for my help and guidance given during the campaign, the committee wanted to formally recognise my work as an MLA in particular.

“The NSN said I went out of my way to offer advice and assistance along our journey so far. I thank the NSN committee for its kind words.

“After some deliberation among the committee, it decided to design one of two salmon flies which would be named after myself and Sinn Fein MLA Oliver McMullan.”

The flies were kindly designed and tied by NSN Committee member and Fly Fishing Instructor Paddy Keenan.

The ‘Ollie’s Gold’ and ‘Silver Swanny’ have been put through their paces in field tests over the past few months by NSN members and they were very pleased with the results.

On Sunday, September 23, Paddy Keenan landed a 6.5lb Salmon on the River Moy using the Ollie’s Gold Fly.

Not to be outdone, NSN Chairman Seamus Donnelly soon followed this up, landing a fine 10lb Salmon on the River Mourne using the Silver Swanny.

“Both fish were safely returned to the river, where they can hopefully play their part in ensuring the survival of this iconic species,” said Mr Swann.

An NSN spokesman said of Assemblyman Swann’s contribution: “We now have a winning team of flies - a team that is tried, tested and proven to deliver the goods.

“In this way we believe they reflect both the character of the public representatives they are named after and the character of No to Salmon Nets.

“We hope that by working together we can continue to deliver a winning formula, that protects and safeguards our salmon, for this and future generations.”