The carnival of fishing in the Midlands which marks the arrival of the mayfly got under way this week and will continue for most of next week here in the Midlands.
Visitors from all over the country and from Europe descended on Lough Ennell for the annual "rise" of the mayfly which started with the arrival of summer weather last weekend.
Since Monday hundreds of fishermen and women have been on the lake, which is one of only 14 worldwide where wild brown trout can be caught.
Shannon Regional Fisheries Board Inspector Matt Nolan is fiercely proud of the 4,000-acre lake, with its clear water, which holds the record for the largest brown trout caught in Ireland.
That fish was 26 lb 2 oz, and while it is unlikely that such monsters lurk in the shallow waters of the lake today, there are still fine trout there.
"This lake is the largest one of its kind close to the east coast, especially Dublin, and we get a large influx of anglers from there each year.
"They are down in large numbers for the mayfly this year, but there are also fishing people from abroad who have dropped everything and hurried here when told the mayfly was rising," he said.
Out on the lake, fishing companionably were two of Mullingar's best-known fishermen, Michael Tyrrell and Peter Delaney, whose pride in the lake is matched only by their determination to catch fish.
"It's great to see the mayfly come. It's really good sport, and this is a lovely lake to fish. Its shores are hospitable. "You can beach anywhere without fear of damaging the boat," said Michael.
In another boat was Michael Flanagan, Lough Ennell's best-known gillie, who brings fishing people on to the Ennell and the other lakes in the region.
He was in a boat with Pat McDonnell, the fisheries officer who looks after the lake and who found mayfly hanging on trees along the shoreline for Pat Langan to photograph.
"They come out of their larvae after two years, triggered by the heat, and come to the surface. "They fly to the trees on the shore and breed there, coming back in the evening to lay eggs, which will mature in two years," he explained .
He and Matt said a board study had estimated that the lake can release as many as four million mayfly in a single day's hatch. Such profusion makes for really good fishing.
The board is hoping to make fishing on the lakes it controls even more accessible, especially to the young. On July 11th it will hold an open day for anglers and young people under 18 on Lough Sheelin.
"We will teach young people how to fish, tie flies, explain the equipment they will need and give them the opportunity to try fishing before they invest," said Matt.
"We want to get new blood, young blood out on the lakes to enjoy the fishing and to learn the skills involved."