During a visit to Co Antrim for the launch of the Great Game Fairs of Ireland last week at Clotworthy House on the banks of the sixmilewater I had the chance to meet and speak with many of enthusiastic anglers such as Michael Martin and Mark Tierney and other club members who were attending the event. These anglers regularly fish the rivers and streams around the mighty Lough Neagh and as expected the conversation turned to fishing and big fish. Top in the conversation was the “Dollaghan”, a brown trout native to Lough Neagh that runs the feeder rivers and streams to spawn. With mobile phones produced I was shown large numbers of these big fish that had been caught on the Sixmilewater and River Maine in previous seasons.
I was told that these trout can be caught during the day but equally can be taken at night. The secret is fishing as deep as possible so that the fly is regularly touching the stones on the bed of the river. I was assured that this technique brings the best success. The effectiveness of the technique was evidenced by photos below supplied to me of some nice fish taken in previous seasons. According to the lads, the run of Dollaghan provides fantastic sport with the chance of the fish of a lifetime. Perhaps you may consider targeting one of these fantastic fish this season?
Information on fishing on the sixmilewater can be found at http://www.sixmilewater.co.uk/index.html
Information on fishing on the River Maine http://www.maineriverstrust.org/fishingclubs.php
