When the rural development leaders in Co Laois decided to promote angling they faced a problem which few counties in Ireland could imagine. For the LEADER-backed promotion, "The Lakes of Laois Project", will involve creating new lakes and restoring others which have been filled in or were neglected for years.
Details of the £500,000 project have been announced by the rural development organisation, which saw the potential in developing angling-based tourism.
As Tom O'Brien, the LEADER tourism officer, explains, of Laois's total of 12 lakes only four can be fished at present.
"Realising that we must use our own natural resources to develop tourism in the county, I began to research just how many lakes there are and discovered that some of them had actually disappeared."
One of these, he says, was Stradbally Lake. It was completely drained when someone damaged the sluice gates in the 1950s while looking for a lost fountain pen.
Other lakes had simply silted over. An example is Emo Lake, which once covered 24 acres, in the grounds of Emo House, now managed by Duchas.
"There was also Kellyville lake, near Stradbally, which was also silted over and was once the most successful duck decoy lake in Ireland . . . They used to lure the ducks in there and trap them and sell them commercially, and there is a report from 1891 of there being 6,000 to 7,000 ducks on the lake in that year."
It will be restored to its former dimensions and managed by the local development association and angling clubs.
Another lake which had almost vanished was within the nature reserve of Derries Wood, between Monasterevin and Portlaoise. Owned by Coillte, it will be managed by the Belin Anglers' Association as a coarse fishing lake.
Other lakes more or less forgotten by local people but now added to the list include Kilcavan Lake, just off the main Mountmellick/Geashill Road, which was probably a carp lake in the 17th-century.
Mr O'Brien found that a new lake was being developed by Bord na Mona on a 12-acre site on the Derryounce Bog, close to Portarlington. This too will be managed by the local development association.
Gill's Pond, which is partly within the grounds of Heywood Estate with its wonderful gardens, is also on the list.
Having found his lakes, Tom had to convince those who owned them to allow them to be developed.
"It has taken time but there has been a tremendous amount of support from groups like the fisheries boards, Bord na Mona, Duchas and Coillte, as well as private individuals."
An additional 400 angling spaces will be provided which "will give us in Laois a share of the angling tourism market which was worth £73 million in 1995.
"We have a major advantage because at least four of the lakes we are developing are within 45 miles of Dublin . . .
"We are now working with the local development organisations and the fishing clubs to build up the expertise to run the new lakes properly and we intend to launch a marketing drive to sell the facilities.
"The lakes will fit in very well with the other activities like walking in the area and there will, of course, be facilities for disabled anglers at the various sites.
"While we can never compete with the Cavans and the Monaghans in terms of lakes, we will be providing a wide range of fishing in an area close to the largest major centre of population in the country."