#Angling - Anglers on both sides of the border will be looking forward to a salmon bonanza on Lough Melvin when it opens for fishing on Friday 1 February, according to the Impartial Reporter.

The Fermanagh lake has been bucking the trend of declining fish stocks in Northern Ireland's inland waterways, which have prompted concerns that the species has been reduced to 'dodo levels'.

Despite the news last October that just three out of every 100 wild salmon returned to Northern Ireland's rivers in 2011, fishery experts believe that Lough Melvin and the River Downes that connects it to the sea have a surplus of salmon - providing valuable sport (and dinner) for angling locals and tourists alike.

Even so, anglers in both jurisdictions of the border-straddling fishery will have to abide by their respective legislation, which provides for a strict tagging and recording system.

On the Northern Ireland side, anglers are issued one tag at a time up to a total of three for the first three months of the season, with a maximum of 10 issued for any single angler on Lough Melvin by the close of fishing on 30 September.

The Impartial Reporter has much more on the story HERE.