How lucky do you have to be to catch Ireland’s first salmon of the year? How lucky do you have to be to do it twice, most recently in the midst of a pandemic? Joe Broderick knows the answer. He caught Ireland’s first salmon of the year from the River Drowes back in 2003, long before any of us could even have dreamt of Covid-19 in our worst nightmare. And now he has done it again, this time under the severe restrictions that have confined most of us to our homes. Joe is one of only a handful of anglers to have been able to fish the Drowes since it opened on New Year’s Day.