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11.30 am
The foyle looked very choppy this morning with soapy surf spraying of the top of the huge waves ............that sounds good don't it . well what the heck .

Thanks for the good luck on www.foylefisheries.com site ........I see our famous local fly casting instructor stuck a best wish in there on the guest book also ........good man gerard . must point a few students your way , myself being one {LOL] we still have plenty to do on it and its also going to be a user friendly site with intensions to help all .
SO if you have short video clips just forward them to us and we will get them on .
The site can be seen on your drop down bar {http address at the top of your computer } spider man hasn't picked it up yet , but i see ask jeeves has .

7.40 am
The morning is dry with broken cloud .   yesterday wasn't wet after all , the odd shower or three but that was really all , some during the night also .

It certainally is going to be a late start , and even when we do get the water that will surley come at some stage , the question is ? will there be anything there .!!

had a full days session in big johns pub in sion mills on wed past , the crack was mighty and every horse let me down on my placespot. ....the head is just coming round now and its river walk time ...so sorry if the reports seemed like " NONE " yesterday .

7.50 am
A dull morning and more heavier rain forcast for later.

10.20
Dry at least ...cloudy .
The fishing is not good men , i don't have to tell you that .
The best time for springers was when the buds came on the hawthorn bush i was told as a lad , and its true .
We might get a bit of rain at the weekend hopefully .
For tourists or visitors { not good to come here right now , the water is summer time level , or lower }

enjoy the days holiday and don't get to drunk .

9.20pm
If you want to see how the new site is coming along then just put in www.foylefisheries.com in your drop down bar at the top of your computer  at address
The htp.


7.30 am
We had a little rain earlier but just enough to bath a bird .

The tides are getting the odd fish up here now , two seen at lifford bridge yesterday , and the main subject all along the river yesterday was " whats happening at sion " well i don't know what the story is myself , im hearing liskey wood has gone . im also hearing existing members can pick up their permits for £40 from this morning ..........so who knows .

Urney church grounds and pathway down to yorks corner on the river finn are showered with snow-drops. and looking spectacular ....i fish it down to the port but didn't care if i caught anything as the birds were singing and the weather was just fine .

20.15  Omagh area   dp1066@hotmail.co.uk  
The rivers up here are at Summer-low levels and badly need a lot of rain. Our season doesn't kick off 'til April, but we'd like the see levels rise a good bit to get the water in good order for early trout-fishing. The weather will dictate methods and indeed whether to fish at all. I've spent many April days on the riverbank standing braced against biting winds, my cheeks burning from the effects of snow and sleet hitting me sideways, and my hands raw and numb. I'd have been better off at home, but such is the grip the river often has on an angler. I'm older now and (not) much wiser, I tend to sit by the fire on days like that.
I took a walk in the Centtal Sperrins yesterday. It was a good day for a walk. On the way home, approaching Gortin, I passed a young(ish) man dandering out from the village carrying a fully-armed fly-rod! Maybe he was going to practise his casting in nearby fields. Innocent 'til proven guilty, eh?

7.45 am
A damp start to the morning but looks to be on the clearing side ....We need fresh water this weekend to ensure at least a few springers get up to level two .{ past the counter} But it's not looking good for that by the sounds of things on the forcast .
The weather is playing up all across Europe this morning again , We have a ft of snow in places all over france and germany plus spain .
The baeleric Islands {ibiza .majorca etc } have a lare of snow on the sandy beaches this morning .
Sounds a bit like the controversial storm at sion on the river mourne here in Northern Ireland .........Everyone knows theres something wrong , but if we just bury all the heads in the sand the storm will go away and the horse can get back to the life style it is acustom to .L Out very Loud at this time of the morning .
{ advice} cut the weight from the badly damaged over crowded rowing boat ?

6.45pm
ITS Not worth traveling here for salmon fishing right now , so please don't waste either your money nor your time just now ......hopefully things will get better next week on the tidal reaches , and that is only and maybe ..just ? .

We will have a fresh soon , but do not expect anything major .
Our winter has been unusually long so that might explain the prolonged good weather . but it will break !! and thats for sure , plus tempretures are slowly rising now and that will bring around some light rain.
We are still not out of the woods yet, so a touch of frost and ice could hit some places and remember the winds have still to come  .
At least we are not getting the mad earthquakes caused by the earths techtonic plates at the minute in both eastren and far south american continents......worse to come i predict .
I'm going to stock up with cup of soups and tins off  for 2 years and a desalter just incase...plus a boat  .LOL .
Marty oil mc daid will supply the heat cos hes not much good at the fishin ...well ..he likes the odd kipper .

The key hole in space will line with all the other key holes in 2012 , so grab your rods lads .
Just messing .

7.35am
A milder morning for a change and a possible light mizzle but unfortunitly nothing substantial .
Our New moon tides are building now and i have faith  from sun on .....remember !!  The finn used to never open until the 14th of march .

The faughan men are going to have trouble parking this year due to the new road getting built down there ....or up there if your speaking geographically , its just that we in tyrone and donegal are up in the mountains .
[ don't forget to pick up your faughan permits this morning ]  tues/ thurs.

3.pm
at the finn all day , the water is very low .
And id like to thank those that voted me into the finn anglers ...thanks men .

new site in 48 hours



7.30 am
Frosty again.
No catch reports .
Water is low and life in general is getting that bit better.

My new web-site [ foylefisheries.com } is on the verge of going live after putting in the new name server and ip address ......so this week sometime folks .
And don't be laughing at it when it comes on , cos i did it myself and must be the cheapest web-site in the world .
Everyone will have a web-site of there own in two years time , it will be like mobile phones now. so my advice is !! grab a good domain now .

Away to the city now and will cross the old three rivers around 8 am . back later if theres any news

4.20 pm
Theres not much happening anywhere here , the finn looked good when i took a walk and a quick throw at lunch time .
I also got talking to a farmer who was cutting whin bushes and cleaning up the river bank , and he said he came across some very rusty anchors in the bushes along with ropes when he was cutting . but i think they must have been there for years and the guys that probibly used them could themselves be very rusty or worse .

I'll not say anything about anglers having to go back into a certain shop { cough } to get the fishing permit distributor to change the year to 2010 .
The usual suspect of course .

7.40 am
Good morning gentlemen .. I see theres 10 on at this frosty bright time of the morning .
We have a little suprise for you all later on today , or whatever time it takes pointers of the world wide web to activate certain things .

WE hopefully will get off to a fresh clean start this early season to try and point visitors this direction without spoiling everyones little special fishing spot .

If you have any stories please let us know [ 07763191232]

reinforcments are on the way .

7.40 am
An Normal frosty morning and cloudless . The story so far on this day 8 into the new salmon season .
                          Definitely no more than three fish landed . This time last year there was 21 .
J Mc Cartney reports an increase in poaching activities down the foyle and is constantly on the protection ball and practically lives along the river bank .

The bailiffs know or should i say " Knew " that poaching anglers were fishing the river mourne but reckon its only a matter of time before a result .....its all down to timing .
If anyone needs a finn fishery permit , please get one during week days as you will find it difficult to purchase on sundays .

And i hear Liskey wood has been leased privitely .........or is this another rumour

Any reports phone .........07763191232  info@foylefishing.com.

11.50 am
Partick mc guigan our local dentist has just landed a fish on the fly at lifford bridge .{ 7.5lbs }photo soon.
Patrick was the first to land a fish on the opening day of the mourne last year .

And here is a letter from the loughs agency when i ask them for help 5 years ago when i was trying to sell licences for tourists here ....i even thought it was funny

10 20 am
Another cracker morning and im going down for a through .

Here is another good one ..........theres a crowd of visitors standing looking for day tickets and permits here and not a place to buy them , the whole shabang is closed . not a shop near hand open on a sunday , now are we behind times or what .
Lifford is the county town of donegal and not a permit or licence in it .. A big sign at lifford bridge of licence and permit distributors in a 5 mile radious would go down a treat .
None in newtownstewart either ....sion shops are closed , strabane country sports were never sen't the foyle or finn fishery permits ............what a lose in revenue .
We need a good kick up the rear Here .

There is 56 fish through the counter at killygordon on the finn and 19 through the final frontier counter at sion mills on the mourne .
New moon tides are next weekend .......rain might not be here until May or june ...joking ........................................................mid april

10.20 am
There is 8 men at lifford bridge just now , and not a fish showing .
At the same time , there is a seal reported down around porthall .
Not looking good so far .

The weather is fine and we had a skift of rain earlier ....mild also.

If any of you have short video clips of local fishing catches or even blunders ...send them to us At info@foylefishing.com or hunter66@btinternet.com or dannyhunter1@live.co.uk text for info 07763191232

4.pm
The lower finn is also fishing bad , i fished below clady bridge after lunch and seen nothing  showing .
Perhaps April will be better or even the next tides { we'll not give up yet }A superb day also.

7.30 am
dry with a light frost ..generally a good morning  .

And i was keeping this news for this morning and i know that every man in sion knows this by now as it was the main topic yesterday in the local just outside the village ....3 springers were caught in the woodhole during the week .

And getting back to the first fish ..or second or whatever .........The counter in Country sports got presented with a scaley springer slap bang down as the books bounced up in the air ...and the staff told " Is that proof enough " LOL

Good man Steven ! You show them all boy . .......steven caught the latest fish on a copper toby up above doneloop close to castlefinn .
And according to the weather report its going to be a lower finn weekend and possibly for a while longer .
These are the producing side of the tides now and i bet the mourne is holding some big fish even though its not open yet .
If all reports are correct , there has been 6 springers taken from the mourne to date this year .
Also ......another reminder for the 700 faughan members to collect their permits.

11.am
It has turned out quite a nice cloudless morning after a misty frosty start .

The tidal section of the finn will not fish until lunch time today , and a message from faughan anglers here .

{{{  Would all the Members of the Faughan Anglers Club please collect their permits now .
The office is open on tuesday and thursday mornings .
Membership will lapse if not collected before the 31st of march .}}}}

5.40 pm
Where else would you get a story like this one

Anglers had there doubts about the first fish getting caught , so i texted the lad to tell him the crack and wished that he catches 20 this spring ....he said " don't worry Dan im just after landing another fish 2 minutes ago , plus it was me that lost the one yesterday " come take a photo or two he said , I replied " no problem "  so ........for real .....photos coming up of todays catch .......a fish about 12 i think ..

Sorry ,,,i just have to correct a statement i made earlier ....now i really didn't know this myself .
Strabane/lifford anglers waters start at flushtown ....thats the first time i knew that ...i was going by william keys the farmer who owns the land thats all .
So there you are ..you learn something new everyday .
But you still have the far side of yorks and parts of doneloop that are out of fishery control .

And for the catch record .....Im still not sure if the first fish has been caught yet . nothing has been confirmed ...A photo is good but there was a crowd of men at killpaddies on the opening day but claim to have seen nothing .....so what does a man do .?
This time last year 21 springers were caught on the first week of the new season .


1.35A good run out from todays tide , but we seen nothing  showing. and as i left the car park at urney , two cars were in a bad accident at the old gate house , one brand new red car belonging to an asda employee will never be on the road again and thats for sure ....they are still at the scene .


10.am
{phones calls inform me that Bailiffs are out early this morning checking licences at lifford and also cheaking pools around flushtown on the finn for nets .
Well !! I suggest go up 200 yards from the flushtown , thats where some strange goings on were in progress yesterday .  plus jacks above yorks where men were on both sides of the river .. below the ramp also.
{ perfect relations ..What ! }

7.30 am
Frost free this morning for a change . at least it will be a little more pleasent when at the river .
I might get away for an hour or two myself today on the lower side ....you must remember that the tidal reaches are not all permit controled .
From flushtown down is free , so are other areas .
Get permission from the farmer though , and don't leave litter behind you or that will be the end of that .

A text message informing me that a fish was lost just before landing her .
And a photo of a 13lb fish with date on it is being sent to me ...Steven Devine said he got her near castlefinn yesterday { killpaddies } i did see cars parked there alright .

4 pm
A bit of activity on the finn today { lower }if i can park my vehicle and walk down for 15 minutes along the river bank near flushtown and notice 4 different men doing 4 different things except for fishing with a rod that is !! well ...what the hell is going on the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of the day ......i have photos here .
But a photo of an angler first  trying the fly below clady bridge this evening .
.........................................................
Sorry omagh ..im just back from the finn .
Wait until you see this for the second day on the main beats of the finn .....this is shocking : but warnings were given about the leap at cloghan and above to protect and close the beds .{photos now }

{{{{{9.50 am   Omagh area:}}}}}}
Finn Anglers, I can tell you ... the Loughs Agency "has yet to make the decision" whether the Finn will be restricted to Catch and Release only This Season. This was confirmed to me just a few minutes ago!


8.am
Frosty this morning again , and still waiting for the first catch/release photo for country sports prize .

We are getting reports of moving tackle shops for sion tickets this year , it would be advised to let the locals know what the story is .....soon

7.15pm
The old finn fished bad today then ...The conditions were ok to a point , a full moon and plenty of men out , but by saying that .. i seen more anglers out in the first day .
Of course we're getting reports of a fish caught at glenmore and a fish caught at killpaddies and a fish caught at ballybofey we still haven't had the proof .

but remember ..the prize this year is for the first released fish and that is from country sports in strabane , Andy patton from sion has a shield for the first caught and landed .

If Foylefishing had being giving prizes for the first caught , it wouldn't actually have to be the first taken from the river , but the first lucky angler to phone in and confirm and then a photo taken by someone of us .
But we aren't giving prizes this season cos we're poor , and think that a catch and release prize is the future anyway.

The mourne seems to be the spring fish river now ..but lets live in hope and see what the tides drop off on the lower finn and foyle tomorrow .
The local Strabane anglers give  lifford bridge the works today , they could click early tomorrow morning .
Dee mc colgan is giving it his best , so is kevin mc crory and martin mc daid , Alban Norby is of course still the favourite.


4.pm
Everyone has more or less gone home from the liscooley section of the finn ..no joy .
a report of some sort of fish caught at glenmore , but nothing confirmed .

The odd nasty shower between the sunny spells .

1.10pm
Reports of the odd kelt caught and returned , but nothing about any springers caught .
Two reports of seeing springers jumping though , but i think these men have been in the desert to long and the pressure is to much ..

10am
This is like waiting outside a maternity ward .

plenty of phone calls asking the same thing , but no joy yet .


7.20 am
A frosty morning for the first day and its going to be a tight stand at the finn river side for all out early .
remember ....country sports of strabane have a good prize for the first catch and release .

10.00 Omagh area:

Good luck to all you Anglers who will face the Finn tomorrow, I hope you enjoy the day. A lot of anglers from this part of the world fish there, I used to do a bit myself with my Father. All I can say is watch out for kippers and if you don't really enjoy eating salmon (like me), then don't kill them.

Some photos coming up on the gallery .
This is what we need along the mourne from sion to strabane .

8.pm
The prize for the first catch and release fish of the season is a landing net worth £70 from country sports in strabane .
A photo and a witness is required .

Also a trophy for the first fish caught ....Alban norby might get to keep it for another year if hes lucky


12.30 afternoon
the water is in good shape for fish to move in   simple as that .
it would make a perfect fishing day up around killygordon or even glenmore .
And if you want affordable tickets this year , go to glenmore just above ballybofey on the glenties road ...roughly 3/4 miles on right ..


A dry morning , and the sun was reported out an hour ago .....i don't know though ....rumours these days !

big water of course .

im going to ask a simple question ...if we give a hugh prize for the first fish to be released .
how could one tell if it was released fairly .,,,info@foylefishing.com..dannyhunter1@live.co.uk

8.30 pm
flood on the way .

Ballybofey.
Raining heavy for two hours now . it looks like a full day of it .

7.30 am
3 degrees C outside
Overcast this morning again , but the snow has all gone . The weather woman reckons we in the northwest are in for another blanket of snow sometime later today .
Reports im getting in from anglers all around the northwest suggest that there is a total meltdown in renewed membership this year , prices have come down in quite a few clubs already .
Suppose anglers want to get value for money which by the way they are not getting .
The finn being the worst off over the last few years .......Its sad to think that this was the best spring fish river in the whole of europe , and as a result of over fishing the spawning beds above the leap at cloghan , and the leap itself i must add : the old finn has lowered its head in the form of defeat .
We all hope monday will give give us a clue to the true health of the river and i'm not even going to bother about a prize this year because 50% cried about catch and release last year , but the same men would hit their dog over the head never talk about a fish ...and at the end of the day the first fish will be killed anyway !!
Its not worth the hassel either...Angling in the northwest is so cut throat .

Well ..thats my rant for the morning .....if im at you on this ,remember  im leaving someone else alone .

It

Omagh area:
Omagh Anglers' Association AGM takes place this evening at 7.30 in Omagh Library, Spillar's Place. All members welcome.

7.30 am
Looking up towards finn valley at this time of the morning i can see that all the snow has gone , it is also overcast and damp .....full moon on the 28th i think .

Ans also ............I like to read the emails in the morning , and im just reading one now from a lad in derry .
He has sent me a news clip of the first fish from the moy , but im reading the rest of the news and other clippings , and boy do they know how to sell their country and river system down there .
They state that they get visitors from 32 countries from around the world , and that the total rod catch every year is 6.000 salmon.
Prosper is their second name by the looks of it  .......so what the hell are our managers on the foyle doing. .
The Ulster angler mag team leader even phoned the loughs agency for help with the magazine , and the main female employee showed no interest at all , and didn't even bother to return the phone calls , and all because i said bold things about them in the past .{ she said] but they have to remember that they are public servants and they must know that they will have to answer to higher authorities when a complaint goes in .
And thank gods theres more than one fishery in ULSTER ..........A Foyle reports mag would never take off because local people will never help local businesses....its just the human way ....it happens all over the world .
If a person from africa were to start a kangaroo mag in derry , it would be a total success because all the local authorities would wade in and help .......its strange isn't it !!!!

There is a little shop just below the iceland store in strabane , and forgive me james because ive forgot the name of it , but they are having a closing down sale anyway and all the outdoor garmets and hunting jackets are at a reduced price ....items start from £15 ...........haggle with this guy ...and show him the money if all else fails , this with put him into a trance.

7.30 am
Not a nice morning here in strabane , the snow is back and this winter has to be the longest in my life time anyway .
Miserable.
A good holiday in the sun would go down well and could be on the cards very very shortly .
 

Winter is on the way for the forth time we're told , it give a bad end to the week , infact from tomorrow on .
Bring it on ..............i know where i'm going anyway .

Photos are on in 5 minutes .

Oh .........and yes ...those really were lads putting on a net on the finn near the new boat ramp .
And you can't expect a bailiffs boat to be out on  nights like these , even a brass monkey wouldn't survive .

6.20 pm
I took a walk to the lower finn this evening ...there seems to be a slight run out from the melting of snow further up in the cloghan mountains in donegal but not to bad .
There was also a bit of strange activity up from where i walked , a guy and a black dog were down by the water , a friend or associate lurked in the bushes on the state bank .
I'm not saying exactly what is going down but when i traveled to the glebe i noticed the blue bailiff patrol vehicle heading down to the clady urney area , there has to be a run in.


10.am
Its a very dangerous foggy morning , the road to st johnston was serious earlier this morning .
cars with no lights , and sheep roaming along the river road , so lets be careful out there .
The photos i promised are coming up shortly .

a good day over in the northeast today , couldn't get parked at stranmillis because of the boat race , but i got some nice shots from the opposite bank , now i know how the seal got up .

and thanks Warren for the email .....tried to return the message but they kept coming back .

6.pm
The forum battle for sion has just started .....careful with the lingo as you know who is watching ......take a usuername to yourself and get in if your interested , its free tonight .
remember your password and have your say but don't expect to get in for 30 odd minutes cos i only go to the inner panell so often..

8.50 am
Winter is definitely back again , take a look at this photo coming up , and here is the 4x4 of the foylefisheries up at urney grave yard 30 minutes ago, so im told . ...keeping an eye of course along the river finn.    [ a blanket of snow this morning ]

full moon on the 28th .

3.45 pm
A springer seen going up along the wall at sion plus plenty of kelts showing .
And i've been told that if you kill a kelt you may receive a fine , so be careful .

If you want to get on the forum without giving your identity this weekend , put your username in and i'll put it through when i get to the forum again ......we seem to have jedward aboard .
And please don't say any bad things about me as i'm easly offended and can at times get into a wild state and eventually breakdown and cry .....the wife taught me that .

10.am
A great morning even with a touch of frost . Some kippers about the mourne i hear .[ local's here call kelt's kippers , so just for the record]
And talking about kippers ..Marty McLaughlin would like to remind anglers at the start of the season  not mistake them for springers , especially marty mc daid  .

i'll show you how easy it is with a blanked out face of an angler with two .

2.10.pm
Someone thinks this is the bailiffs wagon patroling strabane 20 minutes ago ...im not sure but here is the sent photo .
Its very misty this evening also.

9.45 am
There is nothing like a good rest to put you in form for another battle ! Sorry ...another day .

Anyway ...winter seem's to be back again for a spell and a tight frost along with it .-10 in scotland .
11 days left to the start of the finn .

10.20pm
Sorry ...busy all day ..........will get a walk out tomorrow for a break .

Irespective of what people think , i know absolutely nothing about whats going on at the mourne river .
Rumours are serious , even the 13lb fish has grown to 17lbs ..and i hear more fish have been caught .
But im also hearing thats its just a yarn to tease the fishery .and just to get them running up and down .

My sole aim is to try and get tourists to come here , well ..thats the way i set out 6 years ago ,and yes ....its bussiness on my part , but i have to sell the country first .
I'm thankful to clubs like strabane and omagh for support ...im lucky to have a new peace of water myself { i think}?

Every single inch ive traveled has been like hacking through a jungle full of vipers .and the well needed bit of help ive received from the few has been very much welcome .
I'm going to keep going anyway and try to get you all reports and photos this year , and im not expecting any reward at the end of this or even richness , but what i'd do for a couple of days in the sun now just to unwind.

Omagh area ( dp1066@hotmail.co.uk )
I took a dander along the Strule this afternoon behind the Ulster-American Folk Park. The river's lovely there, worth a look. It divides around an island at one point and is very good fishing-water. It's controlled by the Castletown Syndicate. I've put up a photo on the Gallery.

10 am
raining very heavy at this moment in time ...we need it though.

10 .30 pm
I know now why there is no salmon in the lagan river . wait until you see these photos i took today . 
You will ask yourself this question as i did " how is it possible to climb 20 ft ". the photos will explain this remark ......there is a drop from the gates you see .


A fine day is today and all is well ...I would like to thank all the men for making a months work turn into just a two day job by coming along and clearing the bankings and completing it all yesto erday ...thanks lads .

A letter has been forwarded to me and i'm awaiting instructions before forwarding it to higher authorities .
Also a letter from the house of commons will have a blinding impact of other certain parties .

7.40am
A small touch of frost this morning again , not as bad as yesterday though .

Only two weeks and two days away before the grande opening of the finn and foyle .
My bets for the first  fish to be caught and where lay at liscooley bridge of course ...Alban Norby is Evens Fav .....His side kick David Molloy is 2/1 and thats only because hes on albans back every throw hoping luck will rub off  ..Martin shop mc daid is 3/1 .......Dee Mc Colgan 4/1 .....Graham Turner is a certain 5/1 with a chance of joint fav at the off only if im along with him ...Marty Oil mc daid is 20/1 ..and Marty Mc laughlin might as well stay at home and cut a few blocks .
Aidan langan could score on the lower finn ................16/1 Aidan , thats the best i can do ...sorry .
Chris steele could be a modest 10/1 only if martin mc daid puppy walks him ...so thats the forcast for the first of march folks .

7.40 am
An icy start to the morning but will turn out brillant later when the sun gets up .

Country sports have got their new stock in now ...phone 71 883021

And whilst out walking the river finn yesterday i noticed a serious amount of otters about .
Its nice to see such animals about , but ...im beginning to think they are doing a lot of serious damage to the fish stocks ...........could i be wrong ?  i thought so until i seen an otter with a fresh fish about 7lbs in its mouth in the middle of the mourne some time ago .
Please don't be shooting the otter .. im just making that clear , it has more right to the water than we have .

15.30 Omagh area:
I had an early walk along a stretch of the Camowen this morning in bright sunlight. It was stunning. I've added a couple of pics on the Gallery.

7.55am
The morning is dry at the moment ...yesterday was a cracker so i spent more time cutting and chopping along the river banks , i even came across a hugh cock fish dead , obvously pulled out by an otter , i seen a fish turning also , a kelt ...im not sure if you need to see a photo of this magestic monster as its very gruesome and sad in a way .
But i'll tell you this for nothing , Im not used to the hard work from the winter , im aching all over , but its like all new hard working tasks i've tackled in the past , even gathering spuds .  The first week or two is the worst , then you get used to it .
Back later.

22.25, Omagh area ( dp1066@hotmail.co.uk )
Speaking of cutting bushes along the river ... I was talking to a crew from the Rivers Agency this morning. They were decked out in waders and some were carrying chain-saws. They were about to attempt to remove a couple of fairly big trees that had fallen into the River Camowen. They were in good spirits, fair play to them. I didn't fancy their job on such a cold morning in an icy river! No central-heating for those guys, they just get on with it.


9.40 am
Its a good day for cutting a few bushes along the river here today .

I noticed the foyle rescue 4x4 going biserk over derry bridge 30 minutes ago , The young guy wearing glasses driving the thing seemed to have a rotating head on as he manoeuvred the jeep through traffic with all lights blazing .

The loughs agency car park seems empty this morning also .. i'm just nosey i guess and hungry for a story .

The day is so calm and it looks even better than the first day on the finn in march .

12 noon
The rivers look superb this week , but Marty moore the wee spud man over beside the river mourne at the border crossing between strabane and lifford told me he seen a seal going up and down the river , he said he counted 8 kippers the seal had killed during the time it was there .{kelts]

7.45 am
A clear morning with the clouds moving up from the south...its better than New York anyway .

People still keep asking me what the story is at sion this year , well i still don't know anything at all . we might have have a bit of slagging on the forum over the past few weeks but really i know nothing at the end of the day
.
There is that many rumours going around , i'm hearing that an office could be set up inside the old mill , i'm hearing that a new panel of people will take up office , im hearing that the old club is still in power and tickets are still £20 or so , I'm hearing liskey is gone , i'm hearing paddys bigh is gone .
But as i say " i still don't know "
But what i do know is ! time is still running out ...there is danger lurking in the back ground  ?

I think Elvis was right after all , he said life was a stage and i personally think theres one hell of a panto going on here at the moment and we are all in it , but i do beleive we did it all  before , so perhaps we can call these rehersals and suppose that explains the  psychic experiences we all claim to have . im just wondering when the main show goes out .
At least Elvis had the financial backing behind him to quench his Theory of life  after effects , i'm stuck with a pint of Guinness and a paracetamol .but perhaps thats not a bad thing { yes men , i'm going mad }

Still ....we have to move on ..........as i said yesterday , take a look at what a good man with talent can do , photos on gallery .
Jim hamilton liked the odd salmon to survive on years ago , but what an artist he turned out to be .

10 am
A  hazey type O a day , and a touch augh the owl spring in the air .

can't get out fir a walk the day cos its the airport again i fear , but i hay some quear photos or pantins or whatever they are from Our local famous clady man mr Jim Hamilton [ photographer ..painter ...outdoors man ] wait till ye see these photos of clady street and the river finn at doneloop ....give me 30

9.am
A wet morning and my day ahead will be focused on the Antrim coat area again , i might take a different direction on the Antrim map today , theres bound to be some clean inhabitable streams for trout in the belfast surrounding areas.

19.00 Omagh area (dp1066@hotmail.co.uk)
I took a walk early this morning along a stretch of the Camowen. It was a little chilly, but calm and sunny. There was plenty of water in the river and it was lovely to be out and on the right side of the grass. It minded me of Spring, just a few weeks away. But tonight's Weather Forecast from the BBC promised a few blips between now and then. Ah well, we can hack that with the fishing-season looming! Bring it on.

{ spot the difference}
Photos of springers and a late mourne fish on gallery now , two will leave scales on your hand if you lift them , the other won't .
Plus a real springer will make it over the weir first time , this late runner simply couldn't even make it halfway and even i could have lifted it up out of the water , it was totally exhausted.

7.45 am
A calm morning so far , but anything can happen here .
Only 23 days to go before the salmon fishing starts , it would be nice to know how many fish are over the counter on the river finn from Dec 20th until now .

There has been a lot of fish over the weir at sion on the river mourne at christmas and the start of the new year , but i said to the loughs agency that they were not spring fish and were very late runners from last year , i explained the way they looked and that they were not the same quality as the true springer even though they were silver .... ive got a photo of one or two and ill put them on when i come back from derry .

9.30 am
Nothing like a good rest for a change . 

Well its a more milder morning here in the old northwest of Ireland anyway And i notice an interest with visitors from Norway and surrounding regions on the map hitting the site this week . The video section is very busy so its definitely of some interest to somebody .
A good stretch to the evenings also i notice .

A bit of a frost but not to bad .

I just want to make a little history here this morning .....{ i am declaring that i am the first to introduce catch and release of wild atlantic salmon here on the foyle system .}  it might be only a mile of water , but someone has to start somewhere .
The loughs agency had the same idea but the politicians couldn't agree .

im making it from 31 august every year ........now tell me if im wrong and some club on the foyle system has it already done.

7.50 am
A serious wet night and it was even thumping it down at 4 am 5 am , it  has eased now .
back shortly

our concerned canadian friend has his letter posted on the letters section of the forum...dated sat  30 th

7.30 am
A frosty and cold start to the week and to the new month of feb .

We have kelts settling in the dam at sion mills now , and some good one's at that . they can be seen dipping just above the edge of the weir .

And after watching a programme on RTE just after 6 am this morning i noticed my predictions regarding the down tread of tourism to the south of Ireland has come true .
Nearly everything is treble the price the more south you go in this land ...for instance .
I love the beach house in greystones co wicklow or the Orchard and love to lap up a pint or three with the locals there when i get down . but a pint is 5 euro .
Here in the nothwest of ireland it costs £2.40 and in some cases less ....in a country pub yesterday i had a greedy 5 pints of stout for a £10 note....they over stocked at christamass and are selling it all for £2 a pint .

So getting to angling here , ......you won't get a bargain like it anywhere in the western world ...accommodation along with it . you will also find the shopping well below prices anywhere else in the british isles.

And please don't be put of by my video of salmon getting slaughtered , its just my way of protesting .
But some day it will end , and it still goes on because some people must think the system is really healthy , so who am i to argue .

but my advice to anyone looking for a fishing trip  " GET BOOKING " even if its not with us , but get in here .
you will save hundreds , donegal  just across the border here is also still reasonably priced for fishing and accommodation so it to can be a good holiday destination .[ superb scenery]

Omagh area  ( dp1066@hotmail.co.uk )

I spent a couple of hours yesterday in the hills above Drumquin, with gun in hand. It was the last day of the shooting season.
I got one half-hearted shot off at a snipe and missed. I was happy enough. For one reason and another yesterday was also my first day out shooting this season. I've a long wait 'til the fishing-season starts here on April Fool's Day. How apt in my case!
But it was great to be in good company and in beautiful countryside. I pity those people who spend their time watching TV or going shopping or just lying in bed 'til dinner-time. They miss so much. Every Angler, Shooter, Walker, Climber out there will know what I mean.
Bring it on.
Couple of boring photos on the Gallery.


10.30 am
Another layer of snowy snow this morning , it was pretty heavy during the night .

There was nothing at all over in the east coast yesterday where i got lost in a forrest called Belvour park forrest ..3 hours walking around in circles . what a plonker but 21 km under the belt .

I.ve recieved a letter from our friend Clarke Reid from canada and europe ...on the forum now ...well two minutes .

9.30 am
A layer of snow here this morning , but i think it will be a short stay .

you do know that the loughs are having the angling venue at newtowstewart playing fields this april .

5.30 pm
A quick progress report on the new mag , it will actually be white woven to start and maybe a gloss front ...good class anyway .
At the moment we have Lough neagh trails and north of ireland sea fishing , we have 3 writers and a possible one more before monday .
We have some adds and promised local ulster river reports .
We have a hill walking report from A famous Ulster Walker .
Loads of contact numbers have been f orwarded to us to get in touch ..other activities like clay shooting , cycling etc will also take up 10 pages , but fishing is of course the highlight ....the name " ULSTER ANGLER " and of course " outdoors pursuits .
Not bad from a meeting on tues past ....but it has been on the plate for 2 years...remember this though " The potential is here in the 9 counties , it only takes someone to bring it together by introduction of the proper mix of bussinesses people .
Its simple really .
Also .
I know of possible changes to local waters here this year ,but i just can't jump in to quick yet by giving you all the facts .

8.am
A wet morning and a serious storm late last night , a huge flood is definitely forcast for this morning .

And after speaking to some {lets say} important individuals on A Northern ireland Fishery board here , they stated to me that " The Duke would need to hurry up with decissions " and what is keeping a reform .
They made it all sound that time was running out which i couldn't understand , but in this country you have to read the nods and winks that people in authority throw at you because that keeps them free from making any kind of verbal statment .
Im off ...in a rush and late , but what the heck ..its friday .

9.20 pm
This is for you guys that don't understand the irish wit ..........yes some lad had a 13lb springer from the mourne up near the mill  on tues .


4.pm
Over 50 kelts noticed in small pools around the fintona river above omagh  ..a
 good sign of recovery there anyway.

And i recieved an email from one of our canadian visitors ......both the email and reply are on the forum .


7.40am
Not to bad of a morning .. spring like ... and what a night i had last night , i had a dream that  i went up the mourne before the season opened [ this week] and caught a belting fresh spring fish of around 13lb on a flying C .
Dream on says you ...............but little birds are talking in my ear ?

12 noon
some infomation that some of you wanted to know ............the tidal finn will fish the same as last year , but after a meeting in mid march it could be catch and release.
And Some areas like the bears burn at sion on the mourne as you know will be closed this year , both sides of omagh fish counter on the strule also .

And out in the papers tomorrow .........the same pig farmer that got fined for pollution on the mourne three weeks ago has been fined another £2500 .

7.45
A frost free morning and just with the very odd light shower ......not to bad .

And i would just like to add that .. this new mag is not all about angling ....it will report on Hill walking By M mc Guigian ......surfing from bundoran co donegal ...pheasent raring around the 9 counties .... clay pigion shooting ....canoeing ......trout fisheries ect and much much more .. it also gives young up and coming enthusiastic outdoor writers a chance to put out a page or two every second month .
And the good news is !!! foylefishing will have absolutely nothing to do with it , but you never know , i might get a story in at some stage of the game .

___________________NEWS____________
{an added message at bottom }
I have been instructed to send out an SOS for writers and contributors to a new local outdoors and angling magazine ..or if you have a new or old outdoor bussiness that would be an interest to the public then perhaps a piece could be done on it with photos , i suggest get in early and snap up your page , it can only be good for your bussiness if you want it to flourish this coming spring .. phone the strabane herald on 028 71886759 or phone myself on 07763191232  or...info@foylefishing.com  ..you can also contact Omagh reports on dp1066@hotmail.co.uk
So If you live anywhere from Antrim To Donegal or Fermanagh to any other North /Northwest county you must have a local outdoors pursuit story to highlight , and after all  " these are trying times "...so try this for a change because you can only gain at the end of the day and it costs nothing only your time .

So get in touch now and we will give you all the low down ....local professional writers are also welcome .
YOU can even send your story with photos if you can to strabaneherald@btconnect.com or again anyone of the other emal addresses .
or even my home at hunter66@btinternet.com .
We need all sorts like " course fishing in lough Erne ....lough neagh ...lough foyle ....Game fishing ..sea fishing...fly tying ....boats etc , and thats just fishing .

we have 100s of ideas and will be on the ball by contacting as many departments over the next few weeks
This mag can only go one of two ways , and the more involved the more chance it will succeed .
So ask yourself this question for a sec " what if its a success and your not on board " ?   

Employment { sales reps also wanted for new project }phone herald 028 71886759 from 9.am to 4pm.

____________________NEWS____________
{an added message at bottom }
I have been instructed to send out an SOS for writers and contributors to a new local outdoors and angling magazine ..or if you have a new or old outdoor bussiness that would be an interest to the public then perhaps a piece could be done on it with photos , i suggest get in early and snap up your page , it can only be good for your bussiness if you want it to flourish this coming spring .. phone the strabane herald on 028 71886759 or phone myself on 07763191232  or...info@foylefishing.com  ..you can also contact Omagh reports on dp1066@hotmail.co.uk
So If you live anywhere from Antrim To Donegal or Fermanagh to any other North /Northwest county you must have a local outdoors pursuit story to highlight , and after all  " these are trying times "...so try this for a change because you can only gain at the end of the day and it costs nothing only your time .

So get in touch now and we will give you all the low down ....local professional writers are also welcome .
YOU can even send your story with photos if you can to strabaneherald@btconnect.com or again anyone of the other emal addresses .
or even my home at hunter66@btinternet.com .
We need all sorts like " course fishing in lough Erne ....lough neagh ...lough foyle ....Game fishing ..sea fishing...fly tying ....boats etc , and thats just fishing .

we have 100s of ideas and will be on the ball by contacting as many departments over the next few weeks
This mag can only go one of two ways , and the more involved the more chance it will succeed .
So ask yourself this question for a sec " what if its a success and your not on board " ?   

Employment { sales reps also wanted for new project }phone herald 028 71886759 from 9.am to 4pm.


7.40 am
We still have the dark mornings here at this time and there seems to be no let up , its like watching a kettle come to the boil , its taking so long .

We are in between moons at the minute with little tides . but we do have the full moon on the 30th of jan .
A very small run of big blue back springers at this time remember ....i would even suspect the odd boy in the mourne , but nothing like what the counter at sion used to report , those must have been otters

No frost this morning , unlike yesterday morning when a school bus almost slid into my car at stumpies brae as it actually came all the way down from the top sliding sideways .
Thank god for the narrow side road to porthall , cos that got me clear ......so its not over yet .....be careful out there !!!

9.pm
A couple of photos on the gallery now of the doneloop section of the finn .
This area was a hot spot for poaching in the 70s , and because it was on the border edge and checkpoints just around the corner , incidents obvously occured and the situation was played upon and netting could have been carried out during the day-light  hours without challenge by any authority.



4 30 pm
I took a walk up the finn today so i'll give you an idea what the conditions are like shortly in way of photos .
Plus..I've been sent a photo of pike being slaughtered in lough Erne , And a concerned angler has just come off the phone after telling me that 21 big pike have just been hit over the head at castle archdale area of lough Erne ...They were caught by a 50 yard net with a number 66 on it .......This can't be legal he added .
{ do any of you out there know what the laws are in that direction}

7.45 am
A frosty start to the morning and a deICEing process is in motion at the minute out in the driveway ....other words ......2 kettles of warm water and 10 minutes each of heater and fan opperation before take off .

Look on the bright side today , january is near the end and feb is a month of recovery , and with that little bit of brightness every evening we should all perk up a bit .
A good walk out today on the finn should go down a treat .
 
A photo of  doneloop pool coming up as soon as i take it this morning .

8.30 pm
A very late report but an important one none the less ..............A 40 yard net on doneloop pool last night on the lower finn . one 15lb springer taken by the teenage poachers...apparently it was on for 18 hours.
Take it from me ...these lads don't care if there was never a fish in any river , if they get a turn of a pound to keep them on the high stool they'll take it no mater what .
This was local knowledge around here today so im about the 20th person to hear about it .
I personally feel theres going to be an increase in poaching this year , and it has nothing to do with the fact that a new batch of chinese cheap netting has landed on the scene and selling.....put it like this ! there not destined for the bath.

A walk in that direction tomorrow i think ................and if your out and about and notice anything in relation to pollution / gravel / bags of stones etc , let us know as soon as possible . text or phone 07763191232 email info@foylefishing.com

 

misty but clearing slowly .
 
A report later ....and a bit of a fly tying session tonight with the usual squad

10.15 am
A grand morning for a change .

The Northern ireland water pollution control authority phoned me yesterday and said they visited the polluted  area of the upper faughan ....they say its not a major spillage and the farmer intends to get it cleaned up fast ...its caused by silage seepage at his yard at the top of the field that runs down to the river .....the snow and ice were a hindrance .

This next subject is actually to do with lough Erne by the looks of things ..........it reads .

someone needs to look into the nets on lough erne , a couple of my mates came accross 5 nets on wed all contained pike up to 18lb weight , 3 were dead and there was a 4lb trout in it also ...on reporting it they were told these nets were legal ...so what we want to know is ! were does the rules of size stop and the netting of trout out of season come to be legal . if i come accross them i'll make sure a whale will never get caught in them ....disgusted pike angler and member of longford angling group .

And i'm serious when i tell you ... If you have a concern river or angling related or come accross some unnatural accurrance on our waterways ,  Email or text us .

We will get to the bottom of it .....a picture paints a thousand words remember ....info@foylefishing.com ..or dannyhunter1@live.co.uk  07763191232

7.40 am
A windy morning , but without the heavy rain they predicted .

A couple of new photos on the gallery this morning ......One is of a local casting  instructor G mc Aleer out with ghille and guide S Hamilton . both were fishing the river mourne .
I also have a photo of mr bushy tail squirrel along the river mourne , you might think to yourself " BIG DEAL "  well the fact is...we never had these squirrels up until lately , but they have obviously come out of somewhere .....i got this chappy up in mulvin wood last year .

And just a we note to inform those that are not from this reigon ......salmon fishing doesn't start until 1st march .
And what we need this year is guest houses near rivers .. i'm getting inquiries of suitable accommodation this season .

12.30 afternoon
I think i have some nice photos of the middle finn here now ..give me 20 minutes ...the water is in great order .

7.45 am
We had a very wet and windy night last night and i'm sure mr flood is on the way today at some stage ....a rise anyway of some sort .

What about a walk around killygordon today as the bear has taken over the chores for a change , but i have a sneeking suspicion its got something to do with hair and not the favour.
 So what i'll do is take a photo or 6 of the counter at the cross and knock it up on the gallery as soon as i get back .

And if you have any reports at all , even if you see a sod turned the wrong way at the river or a pint of milk poured into a stream please let us know ....or if you have something for sale in the fishing line , just send us the details to info@foylefishing.com or dannyhunter1@live.co.uk or 07763191232 .....you can even contact the omagh reports back down the blog page ........i see someones looking for a whisker rod in the [for sale] section of the forum..

I'll go get your fix at killygordon after 10 am anyway .

I'm just back from a section of the river finn and the water looks good with that really springy clean look , i also noticed a lot of activity in the water , wether it was kelts or spring fish playing about i don't rightly know , but they were leaving plenty of big Vs on the surface and even broke the surface itself a few times ......put it like this ......They were of the salmon family  and that is all that maters .[ a sign of health even with the decline ]

7.45 am
This dark morning seems fine and definitely a walk has to be on the agenda cos this middle age spread is getting out of control big time .

The loughs agency have given the dates out for the angling fair .....18th april weekend .{ warmer at least]

_____________BIG SALE _________
Take a trip to country sports outdoors in strabane tomorrow ....All fishing equipment ..tackle ...you name it ...the lot , is 50% off ....yes ..50% off ...so get in there or even phone and tell one of the staff to hold something you fancy untill you get there ... its going to be one hell of a clearance sale to make way for the new years stock

STRABANE 028713021

_____________BIG SALE _________
Take a trip to country sports outdoors in strabane tomorrow ....All fishing equipment ..tackle ...you name it ...the lot , is 50% off ....yes ..50% off ...so get in there or even phone and tell one of the staff to hold something you fancy untill you get there ... its going to be one hell of a clearance sale to make way for the new years stock .
.phone ...028 71883021  ...its going to last the week , but you know it makes sense to get in there early.
11.am
Not A bad morning , and i've got to get up the finn or somewhere today because im about to go crazy in the head due to the starvation of river walks , and my brownie points should now be well built up after a week of driving , but i did walk the lagan yesterday just to take the edge off my cravings whilst it was in flood , ive some nice photos so i'll put one or two up on the gallery today at some stage. I have also got photos of the same spot last sat whilst it was in the frozen  state .....it looks like im in for a lagan experience every week for the next God only knows how long ..........Can anyone tell me if the salmon regeneration programme is working on that river at all . It would be interesting to know .

10 .20am
A mild type of a day so far , big water in all the rivers .

7.45 am
A damp morning to start , but we are heading in the right direction for milder weather.

17.00 Omagh area
I noticed some fresh water in the Strule this morning ... coming off the thaw I'd say.
I've added a photo on the Gallery. It was sent to me by a friend who lives in the state of Iowa, in America's Mid-West. We only think we have snow here! I've had to reduce the photo greatly to get it on and it doesn't do justice to the original. If anyone wants a copy, drop me an e-mail and I'll forward it on.
  dp1066@hotmail.co.uk


1.20pm
There is nice clean fresh water in our rivers at this moment in time and those birds that you always hear singing in the spring time are out giving it the full blast ....all but one that is !! shes in doing the crosswords of the mail and mirror .

7.45 am
A Simple typical january morning now but without the snow thankfully .

A water Authority of northern Ireland has contacted me with interest to some photos of pollution on our gallery , i of course give them the proper info , but they give me a number for future similar situations and its 0800 807060

And i would just like to take this second before i go off on my penance paying missions .
We all agree that this web-site is very much popular weather we like it or weather we don't .
And when i put out information i believe it to be true , or we can spectulate a bit and try to get as close to the truth as we can .....So for everyones sake plus a better place , if you have a good interesting true breaking story please let us know .
It benefits all at the end of the day and its far better than faulse rumours ....info@foylefishing.com 07763191232 ....02871383666

Keep tuned in on this blog over the next couple of days .....some interesting news might be forwarded to us to put out .

We are also getting lots of interest in the salmon fishing here this year .....inquiries are coming in every other day with today being the busiest .
We had also enquires regarding course fishing .

5.pm
A sion mills pig farmer was fined £1,000 at strabane court this week so far.....He was found guilty on two counts of pollution and fined £500 on each .

7.30 am
Its funny you only hear whats happening at the river drowes on the first day and up until the first fish is caught and then nothing for the rest of the season .
At least we have a story to tell on the foyle system nearly every day or week and this week is no exception ...for instance...this week  is a full week of pollution cases being heard in our local courts ....and the rest .

The weather is increasenly mending even if this means lots of rain , but you can never trust it ...you never know when its going to " BUCKAROO" again.

17.46 Omagh area:
It's turned a bit slabbery up here, the thaw's on ... for now anyway ... though there's been heavy snow today in the Drumquin direction. It'll be good to see the back of this storm, it's going on a long time.

7.45 am
A bit of a temperature rise this morning with some rain and no rush out with a kettle of luke warm water for the old screen .
This winter was certainly an experience but its good to see a move in the right direction , i just hope the decisions made for sion angling this season is also in the right direction and tourist friendly ..irespective of who controls it ... A good honest panel to start would be a welcome by everyone , members included.

Take a look at our river mourne on the gallery now. ..photo by ronnie quigley

11.am
This winter is definitely going to be the hardest for a long long many of years , and these next couple of winters could be simmilar ...I think it has all to do with the alignment in 2012 and tuning the old planet back into its proper position in our solar system .. I just hope we are not the new North-pole .

Seals seen in the foyle and sitting up on the ice , i believe they are taking the odd kelt .

7.30 pm
Its like living in a deep freezer here , but if the russians can do it every winter - we can but only "Adapt"
Here are two cool photos .. one of the river finn at urney today and one of the little church just yards from the river .
You want to see these church grounds in the spring , it has more daffodils and snow-drops than any other place on earth .
{photos on gallery}

17.00 Omagh area  (dp1066@hotmail.co.uk)
Please ... KEEP OFF THE ICE!
No let-up in weather-conditions here.
We walked the lower Camowen yesterday, but saw no signs of work beginning on the new Hydro-Scheme there.
This morning I was out before dawn and saw the local rivers freezing up again. I took a few photos later today and put some on the Gallery. They may be of interest to any anglers / tourists thinking of  visiting the area.

10.am
I met a young man in country sports yesterday , he was actually having withdrawal symptoms and badly needs to get back to the river quick before he hasn't a finger left to tie a knot on a flying C .
We are all pretty much frozen in and the rivers and lakes are the same , i personally have experienced this a good few times in my life time and even had to break my way out of my bed whilst living a tough life in a caravan with snow drifts up to the window and no heat ....I also  came across a rat scratching to get out rather than trying to get in [true] 

Take a walk along the river today if your bored.

10.30 am
Brighter  at least .........................A photo by Aidan langan on the galley now , it is the state of the river finn at the moment and it is of yorks corner at urney about 1 mile down stream of clady bridge .

11.30 am
Back home again , and its like winter all over again with fresh falls of snow and bad country roads.
The south is just as bad in places even around dublin , but bray head seems to protect the southside and greystones to wicklow town because its like spring ...The mountains everywhere are all snow coated but looking spectacular .
I honestly feel we need this good hard winter to appreciate the spring when it eventually comes around , The salmon fishing is then worth waiting for even if march is hail stoneing and bitterly cold , but sometimes we get a mild start ..Its just the simple way the weather dice falls at that time of the year ........i'm expecting very strong winds before that though , im getting strong vibes ...laughing of course ...well i have to say that to keep the men with the white coats calling .
[any news or stories} phone or text 07763191232 .....email ... info@foylefishing.com or dannyhunter1@live.co.uk

10.30 am
I don't really know what the weather is like back home in the north of Ireland , but here is what its like here ......and now ....it would also blow the head of ones shoulders .
I know people have been trying to get in contact but im affraid my finances don't allow me to answer the god darn phone .
photo or two now ...........and here is what type of signs they put up here along rivers .

12.15 afternoon .
Country sports have just launched a massive SALE...there is 50% off most rods o and plenty of bargains ....so get in there today and next week .

Looks like a thaw today .
And i hear that the river at lough Esk near harveys point is stuffed with salmon just spawning .

1.pm
A hard frost .
Now the story from killygordon yesterday .......After walking up and around the counter at the cross bridge and into the wood where i took plenty of nice snap-shots of the river finn i turned around and thought  " Hey.. that old road bridge must be hunderds of years old " and now that the foot bridge runs along side it i might be able to get some nice unusual photos as if i had wings .

S

photo of first caught fish coming up also .

7.pm
Here is a photo of john mc cartney with a net he got at the river finn tonight ...it was dusk actually but my camera has an night light which makes you think its a clear day .
After listening to some disgrunted sion members earlier along the mourne telling me that they have given up hope about new management of the sion club head ..they will get away with murder they said and us members will never know whats going on until its to late .
Every AGM starts with ........" Hi ...If anyone wants to see the books ,,feel free to contact me some day at the office "
They never do in fear off .
One elderly man at last years meeting was told he had no say as he had a drink earlier ....and was warned off or else .
I was also told that no one goes to the meetings now because " whats the point " we get no satisfaction and quick silly answers .
I was also told about the crazy member applications that work only in mysterious ways .....for instance " how were the concrete road blocks received from the old camp in omagh ......instant membership there-after ...but what were these huge concrete blocks used for { oh yes ..the river } Wrong ..........a home face lift i would add ?
Jump in now people and take control or you will all go down in history as being the most Naive people on this planet ...its your call ... and i know who i would call , and it definitely wouldn't be ghost busters ... put a peak cap on them and then we'll talk

Anyway ..after the discussion at the river i headed in the direction of home , but a little bird called me and said " GO TO THE FINN DANNY QUICK " so i braved the icy back roads and actually sliped all the way down the back rd to urney church beside Yorks along the finn .
There i met john mc Cartney who was actually coming up from the river with a net ..a very fine net at that ... A really distructive piece of material and i know ...the finer the better for springers ..  and it was its fineness that was the result of its ceasure because a little bird got tangled up in it and made a bit of a flutter as certain folks were passing ......here is the pic anyway. 2 secs


6.45pm

 The first salmon of the 2010 season was caught at 1.15pm today by Enniskillen angler Brian Mc Evoy. The 10lbs fish was taken on a yellow belly devon minnow from the Two Islands Pool below the Four Masters Bridge.

Net got at the finn tonight ...report now




1.pm
A hard frost .
Now the story from killygordon yesterday .......After walking up and around the counter at the cross bridge and into the wood where i took plenty of nice snap-shots of the river finn i turned around and thought  " Hey.. that old road bridge must be hunderds of years old " and now that the foot bridge runs along side it i might be able to get some nice unusual photos as if i had wings .

So off i go back down the path towards the bridge and get on the footbridge and walk over to the centre where i took plenty of snaps , i then took a breather and enjoyed the scenery and turned my head towards the pool at a distance down-stream from where i stood , and God almighty what did i see !!
A poacher in a boat rowing across the pool at the far away bend down river and he was so cheeky by wearing a white aran wool pullover and it broad day light as if to say " who cares if im seen or not " I also noticed two human figures moving on the river bank , so i got on to the phone right away by sending a text.to the loughs agency ........in the mean time i thought id sneak down and get a good photo of the poaching preformance in opperation , so off i go again and sometimes on my stomach and knees and by crawling as far as i could without any notice or noise and struggling over drains trying to keep my cameras dry and dirt free .
And then when i finally got to the bend in the river .. An elderly gentleman and his wife said " Hallo Dear !! Are you out taking photos of wildlife " Well i was gob-Smacked .......These old folks were out for a walk with their two little Terrior dogs .
And as i looked out to see the poacher in the boat , This huge big white swan started to come towards us , it was one of three ..the other two were down around the corner and the old folks were feeding them .
Just then .
           The loughs agency response unit were on the phone and i started to scream inwardly to myself ...." What will i do ...will tell them their to late ..will i tell them the poachers seen me and scarpard and took boat and all along with them " BOY was i in a sticker or what .
Anyway ....The voise of John Mc Cartney came on the blower and he said the flying squad were on the way ....don't panic Dan ...stay right where you are ..don't move !
AHHHHHHHHHH i thought ......but something said " what the Feck " and john Mc Cartney always talks as if he is in a bush right behind you even at 200 miles away . So i had to conceed and tell the truth before they got there .
So ....im so so sorry ...and i had to crawl back past the old folks who thought i was having a stroke .
I can still hear Mc Cartneys laugh and last night was a nightmare.
Its true what they say .........What goes around comes around , so i have to confess that this was also a carry-on film { carry-on up the swanny }
Photos this evening

Midnight 2009: Brussels / Omagh area 1066@hotmail.co.uk
Have a lovely New Year and enjoy the next season ............. anybody facing the Bun Drowes in the morning? Please send me reports and photos. Thanks.

10 .45 pm
 2010 regulation - that will be welcomed by most - is that which prohibits the killing of coarse fish (including eels).

 

 

As a summary (with effect from 1^st January) -

 

Coarse fish. It is prohibited to kill coarse fish (however, see regulation on pike, below) in the Foyle and Carlingford areas waters.

 

Eels. It is prohibited to kill eels in the Foyle and Carlingford areas.

 

All such coarse fish and eels caught, must be carefully handled and returned alive and unharmed to the water. 

 

Pike. There is a bag limit of 2 pike weighing 4 kg or less, on any one day. Pike of 4kg or more must be returned unharmed to the water. There is an exception for specimen pike with a bag limit of 1 specimen pike in any one day (a specimen pike in a river is 9 kg or more; a specimen pike in a lake is 13.6 kg or more).

 

Live bait. Live fish cannot be used as bait in fresh waters in the Foyle and Carlingford areas.

8.pm
I have to apologize for attacking the loughs agency in that mamer today .....it has been explained to me clearly that certain proceedures are in motion .
Also up the river finn today ........i made a blunder when i phoned the fishery ..will tell later ...doooh'
This is a cracker and it was all my stupid fault

11.20 am
A bleek day with sleet , rain and possibly more show later on .........i did say on this blog page this time last year that this year would even be worse ...just a guess of course !

A group of foriegn Would be visitors phoned me to book an outdoor trip here in northwest of Ireland for a week in jan ...i had to apologise and inform them that the fishing we cater for starts in march ....but guess where i sent them !  That right ...The Dukes Castle and i think Pike fishing .... they seemed happy with that all the same and it suits me just fine .

12.30 pm
Still plenty of ice and snow about , more on the way also ......im taking a trip down to the finn .

11.40 pm
I was speaking to the land owner that the new boat ramp has been built on the river finn .
Mr Gallon said he was told a jetty for DLA Anglers are promised along his land beside the river finn . there will also be a counter under water plus new trees planted on the banking.
The money was given to the loughs Agency to enhance the finn as it is in deep trouble he said.
So after mr gallon hearing this from officers of the loughs agency , he decided to sell the land next to the river .
He also added that they said they could not use concrete for conservation or pollution or whatever reasons ....i then told him where the problems really lay { spawning beds } he knew that was a fact already and wondered why they were spending the cash in the wrong place ...but hey he said .. let them spend spend spend .
If its european money and they have to get shot of it fast ...why not rip off the funders .
If they're that stupid to give it away , they deserve to be robbed .

3.10 pm
Freezing once more .....and did you hear this one . It was presented to me today along an not so busy street in the centre of strabane town .
HI DAN " DID YOU HEAR about the fishery sending 3 inspectors and two managers over to Austraila to buy a protection vessel worth one million quid ....they got her as far as Edinburgh in Scotland were she calved { broke down} The engine was coput ....finished ....DONE ....they then realised they were sold a dud Boat and had to fit her with a new engine worth another £350.000 .
I REPLIED ... NO I DIDN'T .

11.50 am ...just about .
Frosty but a clear sunny sky here in the northwest of Ireland .

Friday is the opening day on the drowes river in co donegal and the chance to be famous for that first springer even if you release the fish back into the system again .
The drowes is not the only river that holds fish on the first day of the year , the lennon is another early river here in Ireland , but sadly it is closed because of past neglect .

The river finn is another early river for the big deep purple back springers ....I mentioned this before on the old blog .... I actually seen a sion mills man { J fitzharris } landing a 14lb deep fish at yorks corner on the 3rd of January one year .
Of course the river is not legally open untill march , but i'm talking about a time in the middle of the troubles along the border ....a bailiff wouldn't actually hide out along the river in bushes in those days just incase of being mistaken for someone else if you catch my meaning .
But there was one inspector who never actually lay down and kept pounding the poachers and even slept out in mountains away up in cloghan above ballybofey....he eventually went mad and his men under him either went beserk themselves or went on the DLA and never returned to the job .

I could tell you some stories about the man , he was a fair man though .....give him cheek and he was out to lay on you ......say nothing and treat him with respect , he walked past you in the wee small hours of the dark mornings along the bank .
{I actually got on very well with packie .]

 

12.45 pm
The show and ice are gradually moving away , but it is a slow process . but the clear skies forcasted this coming week could mean more frost .

There is still a disscussion going on in the forum with local sion anglers and other anglers  , but i personally feel that you should give the duke a chance , I am told that he is a fair man with intensions to try and help all .....I don't know the man personally but im sure what ever happens it can only be for the best for Northern Ireland and the west .
WE need people to come here and spend spend spend ......good for shops ...hotels.....B/Bs .....Golf Courses .....Employment ....Angling .. AIrports ..everything and everyone really .
But not to spoil it at the same time .....................good managment is just what the doctor has perscribed .
Take cash in but pay it back out again on Maintainance and enhancing the waterways and new fresh growth of young trees plus much much more . 
WE only live in hope !

The bears burn is closed this year so watch your rods and its not worth a fine .
And im just after coming down off the high celebration stool after a week , so if i have been emailing some certain people from the loughs agency .........take no heed ..I do Apologise .

10 am
Just before i head off to a day at the races and a few beavys , i'd like to congradulate the people that were involved in the closing of the bears burn for taking the mass of fish there every season ......totally out of control .
Personally i don't care one way or another who owns or controls the grevenue because a tourist will never be welcome there anyway and i as a tour guide would not take the chance of taking a foreign visitor anywhere near the place for now anyway .
This is of course my own opinion ......you also have your opinions and there are forums to paste them unto , but unfortunately most anglers don't bother expressing their concerns therefore the inevitable happens and then they complain .
Sion was a bomb ready to explode and every single individual had the knowledge to dismantle it .
And even if a good sion committee is now formed .....there has been massive rules layed down by the abercorn estate .

We have a melt-down this morning ,and you can tell your wives that the shops are open today again and the crazy build up food and 20 ltr of milk and 40 loaves were not necessary



I also like the idea of catch and release in the spring and Autumn ....superb idea , i'll definitely shake the hand of the person that thought of that one .

13.15, Omagh.
The River Strule's frozen over in parts. Quite lovely to see. The last time I saw this was 1963!
I've added a few photos on the Gallery.

11.30am
I think its 5 or 6 below cos my Brass  monkey statues in the garden are each missing certain parts.
I was sent a document regarding sion mills angling , its on the DCAL section of the forum .
How correct it is i'm not sure ...here it is anyway.
And it looks like we are going to get updates live from the river bank after opening my pressie this morning .
Have a good one .

Omagh, 1066@hotmail.co.uk :
Wishing all you Anglers, your family and friends, a Happy and Peaceful Christmas.

8.45 am
More snow overnight
.My  memories of fishing the mourne when i was a lad are engraved in my mind . All i had to do was to buy my ministry Permit and fish the grevenue ..woodhole ..and sandy beds .
Foyle bailiffs looked after the management of it ......no bother , no hassel , no cares .
Sion Anglers had their own waters .......simple days .
NOW here is a letter from DCAL

The Department currently holds a Management Agreement with the Sion Mills Angling Club for the River Mourne but do not own the fishing rights for the River.
The Department lease the fishing rights for the River Mourne directly from the owners, Abercorn Estates and the current lease expires on the 31st December 2009.
It has been confirmed by the Abercorn Estate that it is their intention not to renew the current lease with the Department.

I hope you find this information useful.

Many Thanks
Deirdre Simpson
DCAL
Inland Fisheries Group

1.pm
The weather is still on the horrible stage ...but we might see a thaw ......................around may 2010.

9.45 am
Snow and more snow on the way by the sounds of things .
                                   Don't know about your plans but i'm getting the flock out of here soon for a week to regenerate the old batteries in a more pleasent climate .
I will still be able to do reports from the programmes in my emails though .
And cheers Big A for the photos from the finn down in clady .

Reports from poachers that silver fish are getting taken from the lower finn , but i personally think its a diversion from sion .

photo of clady bridge on the river finn now up on gallery .
2.30pm
Sion mills club are to take complete charge of the dcal water next year im told ...hope the bankings clean up ..No seriously i think all the arguing could be at an end  ..they can now have the dot net and co.uk .

and i hear below lifford bridge could be open to local members { hopefully}
And i finally got a 3/4 mile stretch of good clean water myself .......so there you are ...all is well that ends well .

10.30 am
Its seems that DCAL have not got the river mourne next season ...they have made a small statement on their information site .

A good lare of snow has just landed in the province with a tight frost to make sure it stays .
I have taken a few photos of the newly revamped counter at sion mills that some anglers say " is not in use "
Note also the picture of salmon scales all around the bottom of the counter on the rocks ....some type of creature is taking a good few salmon according to the state of the rocks near the burn .
A two legged one i would suspect .[ photos taken sat 19/12/09]

A photo of the new boat ramp to the finn near urney clady on gallery now . .
Im hearing more about changes but i need the facts.
10 am
A good tight morning yet again ....im walking near lough derg today .
And have you heard about the boundry changes at sion mills ...can anyone now tell me the new regulations , only in plain simple english if you can please

The bears are in trouble thats for sure , but whats the 64 metres on the west bank , is that the grevenue ?

11.pm
The new web-site www.foylefisheries.com site is being worked on at the minute . our aim is advertising plus individual club reports from all the foyles rivers .
each club will report on their own river without our interuption .
If a club has a problem they can protest from each downloaded programme on their own loaded computer .
Its up to each and every club ....have your own reports ...catches ....etc.

im getting hasseled here with nurses and friends at the minute ..there coming in from all sorts ...talk later .

What ive done today ...walked an area above the disputed bridge on the faughan ..big treesand pools .
Im going to the top of the derg tomorrow men ...call me at 12 ...07763191232 ...ill meet you at victoria bridge .....im gone .

19.45, Omagh area:
I had another dander up the Sperrins today, with much the same result. I saw movement in one pool which I reckon was salmon. They don't hang about and leave a nice V in their wake. I'll put up a couple more photos shortly.
As well as the streams up there, there is a host of interesting things to be seen ... stone-circles, standing-stones, tombs, etc. And a few miles away there are clear signs of our Ice-Age ... drumlins, eskers, alluvial deposits. And right down along the Omagh-Cookstown road you can see a Meltwater Channel, carved out by torrents of water melting off the snout of a Glacier 10 or 11, ooo years ago. It's a wonderful part of the world. It's sore on my 'oul bones, mind!



7.45 am.
A tight frost this early morning , and thankfully thats all compared to the rest of europe .

Some nice wild country photos from the omagh reports last night ...class work M.

And did you all see the programme on Tnag last night , it was showing us how caged farmed salmon were destroying the coast line around chile .

An norweigan farm salmon company are taking advantage of the laxy daisey laws of the chilien government and flooding its coast with salmon farms  with the result of serious pollution on the sea beds and the suffocation of native fish stocks .

They also report that it takes 4 kilos of dried sardine pellets to grow 1 kilo of farm salmon . this in turn has sent the sardine fishing well over the edge ...plus the small local fishermen are going bilistic and are starting to chew the bitt furiously .
Soon there'll be trouble at mill i think !

A photo of John Mclaughlin from lough swilly tackle on the gallery now with a nice fresh run fish , but from where says you ?
Which reminds me ....Salmon fishing starts in two weeks time here in Ireland on the republic side ...yes its nearly around again .
John says .. if you need a christmas gift for a friend or family member , head for lough swilly tackle in letterkenny co donegal ..email jmclswillyflies@eircom.net.
Thats ok Johnny , i'll be down for my christmas gift ....cough cough .

Im also not sure about prizes this year for the first caught salmon , i could indeed get more and more prizes , even double from last year ..but do i need the hassel with so many anglers camera shy because of their situations . I was blessed last spring because the angler that caught the first finn salmon was a good healthy retired  gentleman .
But what are the chances of a similar character doing the same next season anyway ......i think i would get 1000/1 from the bookies.
Anyway It might all be catch and release on that river next season so who knows . Who cares says you .
It won't  be a shock if it is , thats the word on the street .
Here is a taste of spring to come on the gallery now anyway .

Omagh area, 20.45
I spent a good part of daylight up in the Sperrins, where some of the spawning-grounds are no wider than sheughs. I saw fish-movement in one pool which I think was salmon, but can't be 100% certain. It's a wonderful part of the world up there, but more of that later. I took some photos, I'll put a couple on the Gallery shortly.


2.pm
A good mild day after a frosty morning ...the weekend gives snow .

A digger has moved up into the old fish pass at sion mills and it looks as if its being either filled in or revamped .....must take a look later .

10.50 am
Omagh area:
just back from a quick tour of the burns approaching Carrickmore, but saw no sign of any spawning salmon. Up into the headwaters in the hills tomorrow and/or Friday, camera at the ready.

7.45am
The morning is not to bad but frost on the way in the next few days .

Regarding yesterdays report .   I am not attacking any one body in particular , but if you would take a look at just one of my discovered polluted locations for yourself i will give you the directions now .
WALK down from the new type bridge { 3rd from claudy} 400 yards ..and on the right bank looking downs-stream you will notice the complete area seeping slurry .
walk then up-stream from the bridge and go into the mountains ...take water samples .

And thanks for the photos sent to me via the phone of gravel being extracted from some spawning beds  .. all i need to know now is how to take them off  and put them on the computer .....i will do it though .

If you have any reports of pollution anywhere on the foyle system , please take a photo and send it to us .
If we can build up a complete dossier with plenty of photos , we can then present it to the proper authorities in europe for inspection .

I'm off to another river today ..then we have tomorrow and the complete weekend ..all in different directions .

And if you get to that bridge to far above claudy , that a look at the small shallow stream above the bridge itself ...you will find a lonesome fish .

1.45 pm
I did a serious amount of walking today up along the river faughan , and i have to inform you on this ladies and gentlemen ..." that river is in a serious situation "

Not only can you see the contamanation but you can smell it also ..... I have photos and plenty of them to show you , and i'm even thinking of sending some to a national paper .
I parked my vehicle at the next bridge above claudy bridge and walked right up into the mountains zig zagging across the river in my wellington boots everytime  i came across an obstacle ,   so that can tell you how deep it is at the minute .

I never seen a redd at all but i did stumble upon a very lonely cock fish around the 4lb mark .
There was no marks or tracks to suggest that anyone else has walked it over a long time .
As i say .......i have plenty of photos , and i don't know where to start ..perhaps with the raw sewage first .
Faughan anglers will be sent most of the photos i have , but i strongly advise that something will have to be done on  what used to be a wonderful well naturally stocked wee river .
Not only did i not see a redd ... i never seen so much as a trout or a minnow , infact everything seemed lifeless ....plus i only noticed one very poor looking grey heron bird for the 5 miles i walked .
I'm very very sorry to be the bringer of bad tiddings but its all a fact ....wait until you see this for starters .
Im going to have a break first , but i'll be back later .



7.45 am
You might think i'm crazy when i tell you i'm off to walk the faughan above claudy at this time of the morning , but what else does a man do when he has 3 hours to waste rather than make two long school trips ......exams .

Anyway...im going to make the most of it and see whats happening on the western front ....anglers have been saying that the faughan is just as bad as the river finn now . Well ...I'll tell you this evening when i gather the News today .

1.20pm
Due to other responsibilities i had to undertake today  i never got near the spawning beds yet again .......suppose its called christmas , but i did get a skip out to drumahoe and along the faughan.
got a nice photo of a pool beside an old mill pub ....but it says privite grounds at the river and no trespassing .......something not right there .

And wait until you hear this for news .
                                             I got a message informing me that the complete finn was catch and release next season ...but on the loughs site it says different ...it states !  " catch and release on all the tidal reaches including the foyle and that must take in lifford bridge "
These are silver salmon just fresh in off the tide that you would be catching and dripping in sea lice....but  ..wait for it ....wait for it !!

This means anyone can still go up to the very top end of the river finn and kill brown and dark coloured salmon until the cows come home .

What kind of people are they !! they might seem like they know what they are talking about on television when they are doing the Bio and science award winning act .
but when it comes to common scense for the survival of your spring and summer fish on the finn  there aint much grey matter left upstairs for the thinking , and when they are bombarded with questions from the public and inundated with phone calls of concern from around the UK and Ireland , their  heads will get light and their eyesight gets fuzzy and they will start to bump into each other at around the offices at prehen ...just  like bumper cars at a carnival , this then will send off a chain reaction which will affect the zimmer frame 5 who have been in hibernation for the last 2 years ...or 10
                                      They in turn will start to hicup and choke and move about at high uncontrolable speeds of up to 3 miles per hour until their wee hearts give up and burst .
And all because they don't know their backsides from their elbows , even some of the protection bailiffs are so embarrassed for the managers .

And its good to see that i am some kind of inspiration to them when it comes to taking a leaf or 10 out of my book , like putting the show back to a warmer time of the season for the family to enjoy , plus using the river itself as an area for casting instead of hiring in huge rubber pools ...i give them that a few years back ....and then the loughs agency signs for the sides of the vehicles , they realised that was a must ...and of course the web-site , they had to follow suit on that one .
SO please men ...don't thank me to much....i couldn't handle the praise .

 And wait until i show you a letter i received from the loughs agency when i was starting out and asking them for help ....its laughable but i won't show the persons name when i put it up as it would get them into trouble ..

Now ...back to reports .
Gravel being extracted from the river above cranagh on the glenelly ....that was a text this morning .
And big brown fish getting caught at sion early in the mornings .

7.50 am
Mild and thankfully without the frost .
                                                 Didn't get to the beds yesterday because of the bad roads and fog plus i needed to watch the RTE programme on the foyle ...or was that carlingford .....the loughs agency employees seemed to be from carlingford anyway .
Perhaps they were called in for that day or two of filming because they could speak that bit more clearly  in the english language...who knows .
                                     And I did notice the border fox there without the spare tyres .
        Laughing here .

15.30 
Omagh area (dp1066@hotmail.co.uk ):
It looks like the weather for the coming week or so should be very suitable for spawning fish. It's now just a matter of finding them! Back up into the hills over the next few days.

12.noon
Frosty or what ..........and did you see the loughs agency on TV this morning , I have to say though it was interesting to watch .

Glenmore fishery are moving closer to a better estate on the finn and hopefully will succeed in their long battle with cloghan ..who by the way have only destroyed the system in the past with up to 140 salmon taken a day from the leap .....now look at it .
Glenmore will at least help build the finn back to health.

The whole lot could have been resolved if the judge had have just done the right thing and give the rights holder the power that they already hold .

Cloghan don't have any rights by the looks of it .

          Good Luck men

11.30 am
A nice morning with a touch of sun for a change .
Definitely going for a walk tomorrow and monday on the great spawning expedition....07763191232.

And a sneeky email from a viewer to the site informing me that Stalin was more spiritual than you Hunter.
Well .......If you were wide awake and paralysed in your bed10 times a year and at 6am in the morning with someone sitting next to you that you can't see and a bloody monkey running about at your feet , you'd be spiritual also .
EITHER that or theres a circus in town 10 times a year !!!!.......all in a life time i say .....sure wouldn't life be boring if there was nothing to look forward to and all the mighty crack in this one.


Anyway ...as i said ...heading for salmon spiritual grounds tomorrow and your very welcome to tag along ...and even if you head out on your own ,take a camera

Late news.
A genuine inspector taking over the finn next year ..and no messing ..congradulations shey and well done .....and genuine means...true ..real ..sincere ..without pretence or dishonesty ....well so it says in this dictionary anyway .
met the man at the omagh show last spring ....a good man

10pm
I've just been informed of changes on the finn next season ...it would be enough to send certain people WILD .


5.pm
I forgot to mention earlier that the fish i seen yesterday still hadn't spawned so this week coming is the time i think .
And yes i will be taking the odd person out but its getting everyone out on the prime time .
I will make contact to those that have emailed .

Bailiffs out today also .....plus NASCO have been in contact regarding the spawning beds , and they say that the loughs agency will be informed with local concerns .
Here is a snip of the correspondence

Dear Mr Hunter

 

Apologies for the delay and thank you for your e-mail of 19 November with the information on the situation in the Foyle.  If you would be willing I would like to forward your e-mail to our contacts in the Loughs Agency.  Please advise.

 

Best regards,

 

Malcolm Windsor

Secretary 

 

APR68.760

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: info@foylefishing.com [mailto:info@foylefishing.com]

Sent: 19 November 2009 23:01

To: NASCO [hq@nasco.int]

Subject: foyle salmon

You have to admit though that its ridiculous to have a quota of 5 rod caught spring fish up until the 1st of june on the upper beats and then kill 20 of them thereafter from the spawning beds ...you   simply have to look after the goose that lays the golden egg .
And its crazy to put a catch and release on the tidal sections and turn it into a free netting area for net poachers as the angler are the eyes and ears .

There is a simple explaination for all this nonsence..........the loughs agency don't have any legal control of the system and that is that .

The mourne at sion mills is another problem ...is it going to be another slaughter house at the grevenue next season with just money in mind .....I will give a superb prize to anyone that can tell me how much money was taken from the grevenue last season along with how many salmon were killed ......all ordinary members can apply simply because they will never ever know .
That particular area has to be controled by one good honest body ...remember this !! two negitives don't make a positive.
But there is good members in that club that could make it top class and a gem to be desired , but they have to have it as a strong committee.


7.40 am
A slightly damp morning this morning , but at least its to get better later in the day .

I'm definitely a 150% without a doubt  great believer in the spiritual world , and thats only because i have seen strange things in my time and have felt some good and bad presences along this mad but very important journey called life , but yesterday brought me to an area where  man can't get much closer to whatevers on the other side .
Even the nearest farmer hasn't walked it .......superb .

11.pm
some of todays photos now up

4.20 pm
It was my turn to walk the long walk today , and i didn't see any fish for the first mile or so . but as soon as i reached a bend in the river , there they were .
lines and lines of Vs .
But i had to really find out how many fish were in there so i used a little simple method to find out { sorry ..can't say}
But about 13 fish showed and my camera got wrapped around my blasted neck and i couldn't get it sorted until it was to late .
I had to laugh at myself though .

I took a photo of a digger working in the middle of the river with gravel on the spawning beds ....coming up soon along with more photos .
a break first .

7.40 am
A good touch of frost this morning which means the roads are most likely to be skating rings and a possible pile up of cars this year again like the 20 car smash down along the donegal side of the foyle last winter . everyone loves brakes , but unfortunatly they don't work on skating rings , but tell that to a speeding 18 year old .
where today i wonder .?

Omagh area: dp1066@hotmail.co.uk
I took a drive up into the Central Sperrins today to have a look at some spawning-grounds. The water's still a bit high for good observation, but I still enjoyed the run. I just love that part of the world.  I took photos of course and I'll put a few up over the next hour or two. Many of you will recognise some the places I was in, but these are for those of you who haven't been up there much. I'll be back up in the next day or two, looking for spawning fish, but even higher upstream.

Danny .......
Anyone having trouble activating forum membership ...email info@foylefishing.com and i will put you straight through ...i have also activated around 20 without checking .

4.30pm
Wait till you see this photo of the bailiffs taking their boat out for a run behind the 4x4 this evening ............i carry my camera everywhere .
And i can't understand where the hell these guys were coming from going through sion and strabane and why were they heading accross lifford bridge .
Just a show to the locals that they are present i suppose , i would probibly have done the same myself .
Here are the photos coming up anyway . 

12.noon
some photos of the faughan coming up that i took just under an hour ago ...I also ran into a trout fishery owner and quarry owner at the disputed bridge just past drumahoe and he directed me to some nice spots along the faughan .
He also informed me that he will be opening a course fish fishery here soon ...a great idea i thought for the winter time .
Anyway ...here are the photos , and i also seen another fish turning at this slow bend above the old faughan mill.

7.45am
Dry this morning for a change and looking promising for the next week or more even if we do get snow ......a white christmas could be worth a bet .

We will surely get you a batch of interesting photos by the weekend , so keep in touch .
And what i did see yesterday when coming over the by pass bridge in strabane was a fish leaping striaght up out of the water...late or what .

Omagh area  (dp1066@hotmail.co.uk) :
I took a run to the upper Glennelly and Owenkillew today. Anybody out there thinking of visiting NI could do worse than come here. The scenery is magnificent ... even on a bleak day like today. The drive through Gortin, Rouskey, Plumbridge and up into the hills above Greencastle is something else. I've added a photo on the Gallery that I took when I was out and about. I took it from the top of the Gortin Glens, looking down over the village of Gortin and with the Owenkillew included. I intend to go into Barne's Gap in the very near future and hope to get a pic or two of that area ... wow!
7.50am
A damp start to the week but it looks like dry but frosty weather is on the way .
So perhaps we might not be to late for some kind of activity along the banks of our waterways here .
And after reading omagh reports , I also heard about the hydro dam operation two years ago ..infact there is more than one going to be built and there is nothing anyone can do about it because energy is more important than a few old salmon running a river ...so as long as they can pass the obstacle safely and then return to the SEA there should be no problem .
But i heard there was going to be a massive one built just below Newtownstewart on the river mourne ....well ....whatever happens we the public can be 100% sure we will be the last people to know ..this is why one has to be on the ball all the time if you want to at least have a bit of a protest .

Omagh area   (dp1066@hotmail.co.uk):
I read this week that the Hydro-Electric scheme on the River Camowen is to go ahead early in the New Year. This should be of concern to all anglers as the Camowen is a very prolific salmon-river and holds great spawning-grounds in its upper reaches. The whole world and its mother knows that any salmon-river should be left with as few obstructions as possible, but it seems that anything goes over here. I say it again ... imagine the furore if such a thing was suggested for a salmon-river in Alaska!
The Omagh Anglers Association have been in heavy negotations regarding this scheme and have managed to get some technical changes made on it. Fair play to them, they work hard on behalf of angling in this area.
I'll try to keep up to pace with the work when it starts and will take photos of the operation as it progresses. It seems this Scheme is being built to produce electricity for Omagh's Leisure Complex. Very eco-friendly, I'm sure, but I wonder how eco-friendly it will be for the Camowen.


afternoon
What a night of rain .every stream is back up again.

Im just recovering from a late night quiz for Donegal pet rescue held at the cricket club in strabane .........the two ronnies ...sorry Martys where also there .complete nutters .
Im away for a mountain short walk .

Fri 4th dec
7.45 am .
Sorry ....we are still on thurs........raining though.
-----------------------------------
10.20 pm
What about this one for a cracker ........The need for greed will ultimately destroy our  river finn ..................you think poaching is bad , take a look at this one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/8393821.stm

if this doesn't open for you go to the forum ..new topic

.
7.20pm
If you want to get on the forum , it would be better and quicker if you sent an email to info@foylefishing.com and give the username you intend to use .
The reason why we had to put on a barrier was to weed hundreds of faulse Eastern european spam .

More local stuff .
A new phone network has hit Northern Ireland and will put Talktalk and Bt out of bussiness if they succeed .....and its looking good for the consumer.
£13.99 a month ...and thats line rental and all your calls to anywhere in the world free for an hour at a time...all calls are the same.
The built in live video on the office or home phone is superb and cheap .
Donald Trump has Endorsed it ...and the yanks have had it for years ......more info give me a call ...07763191232 .

The BBC had a report on poaching at 6.45 this evening .....nets are being put on around the co down coast and salmon and trout are getting slaughtered .
They also finished by saying if you have any reports or similar news , please contact us at   bbc.co.uk/newsline .
Well .........what are you waiting for !!  wait until they get a taste of the foyle .

3.55 pm
The rivers are falling nicely and coming into order ....i have some photos coming up soon but i have to go to omagh .
And a report in about Bailiffs checking a stream at urney Brae's ...must be a pollution spill or something .
I must check it out because i know the farmer .

7.45 am
Same conditions this morning as yesterday . 
                               Going up waters today because yesterday needed some time for most tributaries to subside and tomorrow plus the weekend gives it bad .... we seriously need a touch of frost or a good drying wind .

7.45pm
May the good lord be praised for my weather checker back yard outer light on these cold miserable dark mornings .
It's damp but not raining , and the winds have calmed.

The glenelly river away above the sperin heritage centre is on the gallery now, but i didn't walk it yesterday because it was cruel out there .. you wouldn't send your worst enemy out in it ......................................well ....mybe a couple .
 
Don't forget ........any old angling photos of your friends or family can be sen't to the
strabaneherald@btconnect.com   or info@foylefishing.com  please add a short editorial .
or if you have a letter of great concern relating to our rivers here ...get in touch .

back later

8.pm
What a day ...seen nothing but obstacles in my way all day today ....weather ....technical problems ..all sorts .
A picture of the very top of the glenelly river might satisfy your hunger for the present outdoor conditions here .
coming up .

We are finally taking the step towards not so much as a magizine but a paper doing foylefishing reports with a 19000 local distribution coverage on both sides of the border here .
Could all of you out there please get involved by sending in old photos of perhaps your Father or uncle or any member of your family fishing here years ago along the foyle ..mourne finn ..strule..owenkillew etc  [upper areas for now.]
Perhaps a little editorial along with them and even if the photos date back 100 years or more ..it doesn't mater .
Our angling pages will be in the monthly edition of the Strabane Herald each and every single month until we grow wings and fly out on our own , so please be a part of it .
The herald covers St Johnston in co .donegal  ...castlefinn ..ballybofey ...killygordon...lifford ....raphoe.....porthall.
Ballindrate ..convoy ..liscooley...and many more donegal towns . It also covers ..strabane ...plumbridge ..donemana..sionmills ....clady ..castlederg .
.newtownstewart and many more on the Tyrone side .

Please be a part of this venture and help get this started and make your old family photos come back to life ..why were they taken in the first place anyway .

ALSO ...stories and pictures of your later day angling events will be welcome ...send anything you think that will make a story each month ...have your say on the debate column ..post your leters of concern ..get involved ..get in there .

The last time i tried this was 6 years ago before the foylefishing web-site came to life , and a family contacted us from newtownstewart to praise us for putting a photo of their father { the late Mr Duddy }fishing a section of the river at newtownstewart on ...they also requested a copy of the old photo ..the family said it was actually strange because it came out on their fathers birthday and a friend phoned them about the photo in the paper so they rushed out and got it .
I hadn't a notion , i was just given it .

SO THERE....in more ways than one ..................Its good for all  !!!

This is just but a beginning , so send it all to strabaneherald@btconnect.com or phone the Herald on 02871886759 for  information .
And if you want an add on the section my advice is to haggle with the herald HA!!
They will bend at the end .

 The Next Edition is out on January coming with us in it  ......SALES.time .. so get on board and fill your life with colour on these black and white winter nights .
The usual Herald of course is out tomorrow for this month .

7.45 am
A bitter start to the morning but lots of rain on the way with high winds ...well so they say anyway .
back later with news that hasn't happened yet ...........i'm going to scout out a few isolated locations today where i know salmon should be . after which i'll be able to take a couple of friends out and show them the reproduction cycle of our wild atlantic salmon without the long search .

11.am
A bit of ice on the roads this morning .
I'm not going to get away today for another trip up the spawning streams  so i'll put up two photos on the gallery where i was yesterday ....and even though it gives lots of rain for tomorrow , im off again ................its fantastic to watch and not a human being in sight , even the phone doesn't work .

7.45am
Not to bad of a morning even though its still dark .
                                                     I'm looking through these photos that i took yesterday to see if i actually captured anything on them ... i'll tell you one thing though . " very happy with the amount of Vs going up little pools on the river i walked " so much so infact that i'm staying stun and not saying to much incase it attracts all sorts of human Bears ........plus i intend to make many more trips to the same place this and next week .

7.30 pm
Well i seen plenty of activity along the river ......several reds but the water is still high ........The fish are just getting to know each other .
I cant understand why hard core anglers say that fish pair in august in lower rivers .
For instance .
             I am a cock salmon on the mourne .. i lay along with a hen salmon for say 4 weeks .........but we are destined for different tributaries .....whats the story there .
The way i seen things today , salmon were just getting to know each other after the 4 weeks constant high water .

10.45 am
I.m Off for a long long spawning bed walk today on one of our rivers ..hopefully plenty of photos when i get back .
The dry weather seems to be holding .....this week is so important .

 8.pm
The loughs agency are having their fair in April next season for a first .....fantastic .
The later the better to make a pleasant day out  for all i think ...may-day would be superb but at least its a start.
The ideal area away from traffic would be Sion mills , and that would cover all coming from all arts and parts of the Island and the rest of the UK...but you never know.
I hope some day we can all work together and sell northern ireland as a good destination for visiting anglers to enjoy together .
 
Marty Mc Laughlin went into the new heatons sports shop in strabane today , and after spending 30 minutes looking for the fishing tackle section he resorted to  asking the girl behind the counter for 5lb fishing line ........she nearly choked.

7.40
Hopefully a drying out period now for a bit of a walk along all the spawning beds .

And i have to mention Seans Rowes Anniversary that occured just over a week ago .[20th] sean was a dedicated river watcher .
Some requested photos have been sent to his family from our photo files . If anyone has any old photos could they please send them to amandarowe8@hotmail.com or forward them to us at info@foylefishing.com.

Superb photos by omagh on yesterdays blog

Omagh reporter: dp1066@hotmail.co.uk
I've added a few photos I took earlier today en-route from Sligo. Some of you may be interested in them.

11.10 am
A couple of photos now on gallery ...im away to get Chris Steeles big one .

8.am
Definitely a morning for the sun bed or some bright lights if you suffer from that seasonal disorder or what ever you call it .... i'm strongly thinking of abandoning ship and heading for Lanzarote for 10 days .
Anyway .
           A rough wet morning and wintery looking . I'm hearing word that if the local angling clubs and local fisheries want the nets off next season , they will have to all CLUB in and pay the compensation ......suppose thats fair enough , but you will find that only half the clubs will pay .

Also some photos when i come back ..one a 20lber

7.50 am
The foyle looks very high coming over the bridge there , the bulk of it coming out of the mourne . the fiinn doesn't seem to bad but its still dark and i can't see to far up . .
The winds have settled from last nights storm and there is plenty of surface water so watch out .
Good dry days ahead ...that the Lord.

7.50 am
The foyle looks very high coming over the bridge there , the bulk of it coming out of the mourne . the fiinn doesn't seem to bad but its still dark and you can't see fully up its channel .
The winds have settled from last nights storm and there is plenty of surface water so watch out .
Good dry days ahead ...thank the Lord.
And in most petrol stations on the donegal side of the border this morning , They give you 21.80 for your £20 sterling ......just a bit of usless info ........its cheaper now i think to get your fuel in the north  .

10.45 am
After watching a fishing programme on TV last night i notice the Yanks Have a saying when they hook a salmon or any fish , they shout "" FISH ON ""
Here we also have a Saying in the process of hooking a fish , we shout  "" I'M INNER ""

Still wet and stormy ..........Just recieved our weekly google hit report .....last week we where visited by 26 countries in the world ...not to bad

7.45 am
Guess what ....its wet .......and after saying it was the wet'est month on record the weather lady on breakfast TV said this morning " well at least there is some good news , Its warmer for this time of the year "
Someone tell her for God's sake that this is the problem .

5 weeks left until the spring fishing starts on the drowes river in donegal , so at least there is something on the horizon .
Any second hand tackle or gear for sale .......send the information to info@foylefishing.com or privite dannyhunter1@live.co.uk  07763191232 .

The rivers are big still so i have to get out and up along the river banks  ..you alway see something to take a snap..............................shot . ..you could easly misinterpret that .

9.pm
A photo of Dee Mc Colgan on the gallery ....Dee and friends got into this Helicopter and as soon as the pilot got her heated up to taking off stage ,  the rotar blades took off on their own and landed some two hills away ..NO problem to Dee though .........He got a Nut with good threads on it and screwed her back on again using  his Swiss Army knife .
Only joking Dee ........I'll get on her anyday.....we are just having the crack here....Marty Mc Laughlin says the helicopter and marty Oil Mc Daid have something in common ... " their both full of Air " and married to two owl blades !

7.45 am
The bad weather  has calmed now , but more nasty wet and stormy stuff  is due tomorrow night and wed ...its getting worse every year , i think nature is slightly upset  with man and his behaviour on this little planet ...and rightly so  .

The only thing that concerns me is the water suiting in time for the spawning to take place , its not good to have constant flood waters for that purpose .

Rivers are back up from last night .

Nearly 12 noon
And we are taking a serious pounding today weather wise . More massive flooding on the way with possible trees down during the mad dangerous gusts that can get up to high speeds .  Only go out if you have to .

Some photos on gallery now..........I 'll tell you this for nothing .. Never under estimate the power of nature .  just standing 2 ft from this torrant made my hair stand up on my Hea ..............Back  .

11.am
Wet wet wet again only accompanied by strong gusty winds this time and heading north east to all parts and the rest of the uk and Ireland

Omagh area:
There's floodwater everywhere up here. I've added a couple of photos of the Strule in the centre of Omagh that I took this morning. Omagh town centre has been transformed in recent years and is now quite an attractive place to visit. The river runs straight through it and the local Council are trying to make the most of this natural feature by creating walkways along it and so on. There are a number of good cafes and restaurants and a wealth of good bars, as well as a couple of Nite-Clubs. The Strule Arts Centre presents an array of shows ... music, plays, comedy, films, etc., and is always worth a visit. As for shops ... the place is coming down with them, including Anderson's excellent Fishing-tackle and Shooting-equipment Shop. 
That's my bit for Tourism!

10.15am
A rest bite after the long constant rain fall........I'm wondering if those sheep are still there this morning . plus we had more rain during the night .

Last year was something similar i think , it should be on this blog dating back .

Omagh area report:
I've stuck a photo of Bell's Bridge in the centre of Omagh that I took a while ago. Please remember I'm not a Photographer, but I hope it gives some idea of how much water is going through the town. I think Danny has other Omagh pix to add.

7.pm
I'm just back from omagh and the strule is coming out onto the fields , There is also about 15 or more sheep standing in a small island at the meetings of the waters at newtownstewart . if the water rises anymore they won't be there in the morning .
I took a photo of the counter in omagh that has vanished completely



3.10pm.
photos taken of the mourne at 2.45 pm this evening now up on gallery .

10.30 am
What a spell of serious weather we are getting right now ....a photo of the mourne conditions have to be taken this morning .....i'll be back with it later on .

Omagh area:
I've added a couple of photos to show different parts of the Omagh waters. Mind you, they all look similar when they're in flood.
A word on the Omagh Anglers' Association: this is a very, very well-run organisation and has been so for many years. I joined the Anglers' when I was lad of  8 and have been a member since, except for a few wayward years. I'll not say how long that has been! The Assoc. controls nearly 50 k. of water, much of it excellent and the rest good to very good. It was set up to look after the interests of anglers from the Omagh and Newtownstewart areas, and, boy, has it done that! It has acquired and held on to its waters and managed to keep the annual subscription affordable to the ordinary working/non-working man and woman since its inception. For visitors, the day-ticket is very reasonable and the Assoc. has even set aside a special Tourist Stretch of a couple of miles on the Strule just downstream of Omagh. Have a look at their web-site. I'd maintain they're one of the best angling-clubs in the country.

8am
Damp an depressing ..........a new photo on until i get back.

7.45 am
What a spell of wet weather we are getting here , if this keeps up for much longer people will be throwing themselves of cliffs like lemmings.
Keep the head into the wind and get through it .... we are all invited out on lough ERNE for a days pike fishing , that takes place next week and the crack should be good with plenty of photos at the end of it .in the meantime i'll keep firing up the odd local photo .

The morning is mirky and it gives to get blustery ..........dry with bright hot spells later .............................................................June 2010

8.pm
A Dog box on wheels is wanted at a reasonable price if you have one ...for a springer .
Text 07763191232


11.20 am
Here are some photos of the finn well above ballybofey co .donegal ....one of these photos was on the old foylefishing site ..........and thanks for some encouraging emails of support ...cheers .
800 hits on our front page from this time yesterday , not bad for the winter time .
The day is getting showery and the rivers are massive , and good time to take a holiday in the SUN !

7.45am
A calm morning but i can see a red linning along the horizon in the east  and west and north .. infact it red all around , I think we are going to get a battering from nature again but this time we could get a tree or two down .
So prepare to button down the hatches and stock up and keep vehicles away from the front or back of your home just in case of the old flying slate or two . 
This is not a silly carry on prediction by myself but by the weather forcast itself.

Some photos  of a springer leaping up out of the river finn later today .

Omagh area:
I've added a photo of Cranny Burn that I took earlier today. This stream is a well-known spawning-ground for salmon, though today it looked more like a raging torrent.

2.pm
A huge banker in all our rivers at this minute in time , plus its still lashing .

If you have any second hand angling  items for sale , please let us know and we'll put it on the blog .
info@foylefishing.com /  dannyhunter1@live.co.uk  / hunter66@btinternet.com 07763101232 .

7.50 am
What a morning . Not a nice start to the week anyway, but hang on there a minute !  I've just put some photos on the gallery that will make you giggle a bit and its been put on with a light hearted attitude because i know its pointless getting high blood preasure over .
One of these comedy shows in the US or UK would love to get their hands on this one ....have a look .
And its not all about Spawning ....Note ..............." THE RIVER " on the notice board ...........It does not indicate A particular river !!  .................What The power of the Dollar can Do ?

7.30 am
Not a great start to the week weather relating but i hope these latest 3 or 4 photos make you laugh slightly , a good one to send to one of those Amercian or Uk comedy shows .
And take this on board . " its not all about spawning "  note the line on the notice board .... Gravel from  "" THE RIVER ! "" which does not mean that particular river.

Some photos of the owenkillew upper yesterday , you can also see where a fish has just turned .
all free salmon fishing but with one simple snag ,,,,salmon don't run this particular section until the end of oct and november and our season closes on the 20th oct  ....some nice brown trout from july though..
Q....WHY can grilse or springers not be re introduced back to these waters ....is there a problem with this suggestion or is that another big NO NO from our foyle fisheries .

Omagh reporter:
What's the problem about the Dee? My e-mail address is  dp1066@hotmail.co.uk 

7.30pm
The odd text remark regarding the river DEE should not be directed to myself as it was reported by our omagh reporter ...any remarks should be sent to him ...his email address can be got down the line .
NOW .........Had an ok day up at greencastle spawning beds ..photos to follow ..i was graced with one simple showing of a grilse .
A prime area for a perfect hatchery and ill show you why with these coming photos .

Omagh area:
the rivers are all very big up here after the heavy night's rain and the forecast is for more of the same. I suppose it will help late-running fish, though I believe it needs to drop well for successful spawning to take place.

9.30 am
what a night of rain , My coal bucket is holding around two inches of rain from 9pm last night until it eased around 3 am this morning .
My long walk planned for today will have to be cut down to a short one and that might be gortins owenkillew .
At least we will get a few scenery photos if nothing else.

And Dee Spielberg Mc colgan has released his two hour long movie of the Yokanga russia trip ..............some parts are x rated with nudity scenes but for some its more of a horror .
The helicopter trip is one of the wonders of the world ..like ......How can it stay up there for so long after a push .LOL ....im just jealous dee

8.am
Fri the 13th and unlucky for some but i must say i've never had a bad one { touch wood } infact it always worked in reverse ... it has always been my luckiest ...finding  a lot of cash on a country road was one ....uncovering old coins from the gravely grounds of carrickstrand in strabane was another ,  i remember the men on the building site joking about it ........Carrickstrand building site was so full of gravel  i used to find prehistoric fosilised fish when the digger was clearing the area... it was fuul of them .
Anyway ...The morning is dry and clear with no red sky

Omagh:
not so much an Omagh Report, more Scottish and English. I've added a couple of photos on the Gallery for anyone who may be interested. Many of you will be familiar with some of these, you pass them on the A74, Stranraer to Carlisle, Road. The Dee is less well-known than its famous Aberdeenshire twin, but produces salmon and sea-trout every season. The Flat-Rocks on the Tees in Durham is a privately-owned beat which produces very good sea-trout to 5 or 6 pounds regularly, as well as some salmon. The Farmer who owns the beat ... it's just as much as you can see in the photo ... occasionally lets it, but you'd pay big bucks for it! I passed the River Nith on Tuesday and watched 3 fishermen wading deep and casting with huge fly-rods. I don't know when it closes. The other photo is just an old toll-charge poster for the Whorlton Bridge on the Tees. I thought it interesting. Sorry to bore you!

101.0am
Yes the rivers are back up again . And here is a photo i took yesterday below the weir at sion , i only aimed the camera in that direction because a big copper fish came clean up in front of me but i was mad  because i missed it with the camera ... but i knew it was vertually impossible to get a shot of a fish in that particular area anyway so i just looked around me and kept clicking the camera every 4 minutes just to keep it in function mode ... a cheap one you see .. but when i looked at the photos on the computer last night , i noticed this .........i'll show you two photos taken 4 minutes apart .........The water was also down a good 2ft from the day before.
The next photo is of claudy bridge near derry , perhaps this is what the men were all excited about yesterday .

7.45 am
Another down-pour during the night but clear now , a red sky though !

When i come back i'll put these promised photos up on the gallery ......i have photos from the mourne and the faughan where i walked yesterday , and im going to try and do as many miles as i can when the water is on the low side .

Im not sure what the story was at claudy yesterday ......the only thing i noticed at claudy bridge was a tree lodged between the arches .
There was an indication of someone checking the corner pool above the bridge for gravid salmon but the tracks stoped there .  I walked a few miles along the faughan [ claudy area ] and never so much as noticed a trout .......no human tracks either .

9.30 pm
I have a photo here that i can't explain ..a strange one ...But when i took it i was only just keeping the camera from going to shut down mode .....Well i captured this something anyway when i was looking the other way . definitely photos later on or early in the morning on the gallary.

LAST nights UTVs LESSER SPOTTED ULSTER CAN NOW BE SHOWN FROM OUR FORUM SECTION UNDER THE FINN TOPIC .....no particular reason why its under the subject { finn } i just picked the first one i came to.

10.30 am
Some photos of the misty foyle and finn on the gallery now from this morning ...plus something wrong at the faughan at claudy ......The water at the bridge must be polluted or something ....The bailiffs are looking into it !
Yes ...reports from different drivers passing asking me whats wrong ...I just said " could be spawning fish ."
Another bailiff taking his breakfast at a cafe near asda .....The cracks good , but it just goes to show you "" YOU CAN DO NOTHING " Big brother is watching all the time !!!

7.45am
A tight misty icy morning for a change , i wasn't expecting
it until after this weekend .
I need more of these mornings if im going to get photos of spawning fish , but it gives more rain tonight again .

Again ..That was a superb shown on UTV Last night . http://www.u.tv/UTVMediaPlayer/Default.aspx?vidid=126654

http://www.u.tv/UTVMediaPlayer/Default.aspx?vidid=126654
8.15 pm
Well the ballinderry river management will put a lot of fisheries to shame  after been aired on UTV tonight .
I have learned more this evening in one little series regarding a small fishery and river habitat than the whole life time of the loughs agencies programmes ....ballinderry talks a language the ordinary folk understand and doesn't make it sound like a court summons or a government statment .
Can the loughs agency not even take a small leaf out of the ballinderry river management book and follow suit .....a superb show of strength for northern irelands small fisheries ..well done ballinderry ..well bloody done .
A good description of marine life in our local streams here...superb ...............my son came back from the loughs agency in derry today talking star fish and anonamies or something ..interesting but the knowledge will last 24 hours only....he did enjoy it though .
The loughs agency will be a superb success if control is given to the interested parties in the field and out along the river banks daily plus the genuine protection crews already employed by them ......cut around the building at prehen and let the constant rising waters do the rest .
Its as simple as this .....it has to be in your blood like the ballinderry  squad ... i can't get over the shock !  did you note what the staff do ...They hatch an egg into the hand of a young visting student ...........NOW THAT WOULD STICK IN MY HEAD FOREVER.!!!! WOW!

7.45am
More floods after all the rain we had last night . all these rivers have been in flood now for just over 3 weeks steady , if you had that in june .
I watched a herring catch up in alaska on discovery last night , one catch weighed the same as 3 jumbo jets .... and the crew made a fortune on that single shot , but it still won't be enough and the greed set in , plus other small trawlers were actually endangering lives by running their craft tight up against other boats incase they got more than them .............Mans Greed on this planet .
After the herring season closes the salmon season startes....and their back for more.

4.25pm
We have more rain now and its looking bad for the night ...I had a nice little walk up around the weir at sion and god was that last banker up far , even the burn that runs into the river below the old counter was completely washed out and has left a superb golden coloured gravel bottom all the way up ...ideal for spawning salmon if they ever decided to venture that direction .
The fish pass was cleaned and weeds all cut ...it looks fine now ....a photo shortly...3 bailiffs also up around strabane for a we nosey at 2.30 before heading up liskey rd  along the mourne.



7.45am
A dry morning for a change but looking at the red sky out there in the east  rain might be on the way later.

I'm hearing that there might be a hydro electric dam built below newtownstewart ....any truth ...email us ....or if you have any reports of pollution or just general concerns relating to the rivers of the northwest ...07763191232 or email

If you have any items for sale just send us an email at info@foylefishing.com 07763191232.

Up river today for another walk ..the water should be down a good few ft now.

www.belfastcityrentals.com

11.20 am
The weather is changing slightly for the better , and its coming into frost and mist season .
I had a bit of a cat and mouse game yesterday with an otter along the banks of the river derg . firstly i noticed the line of bubbles coming to the surface right along the edge of the river bank . Then old whiskers surfaced and climbed on to the river bank .
I got a quick snap before he plunged into the river again after seeing me . I followed him down 50 yards until i came to a hen salmon dead on the bank , it was partly eaten from the neck down, the spawn was spread all over the place and it seemed as if it was freshly turned but not freshly killed .....i took a couple of snap shots and walked a further 200 yards downstream and then decided to come back as i thought he had disapeared for good , but when i came to where the dead salmon was laying it had disapeared completely ....i searched and search and came to the conclusion that mr otter took it into the river and away ......but before i left to go back to the car , i decided to check briars and some overgrowth., and low and behold mr otter and family were holding up within the thick briary follage and had trailed the 9 roughly pound salmon up into a type of a holt ...........amazing stuff

7.15pm
wait until you see my days travel photos ...an otter kills a hen salmon and drags it away when i leave it for 5 minutes ...derg
Plus our new young 6ft 4 14 year old graham Hunter working on the web-site for a better photo fixture using photo shop cs version

some life bouys have been washed down on the past floods....strabane anglers have them.
contact 07763191232 or aidan devlin strabane anglers

10.30 am
It was on the wet side this morning but has now faired a bit .

The rivers are still roaring down through our valleys here and it sounds like we are getting more . but don't worry ..we will have crisp and dry weather with mist and fog in less than two weeks .

And thanks for your support officer at the helm ............yes we have an officer and a gentleman out patroling the north Atlantic Rough Seas who keeps an eye on home via our foylefishing web-site ...it keeps him from getting home-sick he says.

S.G informs me that after seeing an add from the loughs agency in a newspaper looking for a protection officer some time ago ..he applied and waited ...and waited  ..and waited .....................then a little letter made its way past the dog and into the letterbox after months of giving up .  it read.......Thankyou for your application . unfortunately you were not successful this time .
Now that was without even an interview .......This form of decission transports my mind back to the time a fishery inspector ask me to go for an interview for one single advertised job when i was 18 years old ,he said don't worry ..you have already got the job ..just go .
So i went anyway and couldn't believe my eyes when i seen the crowd outside the office at victoria rd derry for the same job ...i thought . ......No chance ..i have no chance , i even doubted the inspectors words to me earlier . but i went in and went through the process anyway and had the job in  week.
So perhaps  in your case S.G it was something similar . but i think they did you a favour in the long run SG .....are you not better controling a 200 ton frigate than a stoker on a captain pugwash rowing boat and seeing nothing .
And now that i know you are on the site everyday , i tried to send you photos but the emails keep coming back .

And i've also found out last night that i have a traitor in my midst ......My son came home yesterday and said his class were off to prehen fishery office next wed for a lesson in marine life .
                  I said " WHAT .. As i choked on a sausage i stole from the dog " He said ..yeh ..we're heading to the loughs agency .
I thought you hate fish and marine things don't you .......He said " yeh i do , but its getting us out of class "  Typical youth ...so  i said ..." here is a minature camera with mic and here are your instructions .....you must also penetrate the main office and make your way to the head slaveens office and find out if there is any form of life within the Alien Body and take note if there is any build up of cobwebs around the breathing area .. and don't be fooled as the main breating area is situated on the lower torso.
[ MISSION EJECTION }

Hunter

 

Posts: 171

Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 3:07 pm

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Omagh report:
It doesn't take a genius to predict big floods. All the rivers up here are very big at the moment and will be bigger in the morning. Nearly impossible to see salmon in it.
I'm off to England "on business" in the morning. I'll be there about 6 days. The point is I'll be near some great salmon and sea-trout rivers over there. I'll try to get a few photos, just in case anyone might be interested.

7.45 am
wet with a difference ......its miserable also  , and dark .

But ....the moon is big and even though the season is closed its not closed to running salmon and they are still coming off the tides ...and i'll prove it shortly .

7.40 am
Yet again another damp morning even though the sky is clearing slightly ...shouldn't be for long though.

It will be interesting to see which tributaries of the foyle have the most gravid salmon this winter , and as soon as the water receeds i will be on the case pronto.

Martin Mc Daid  might still have a pup left for sale ..  [ Labrador pups for sale  ..all paper work , jags , chipped and so on ...phone for detail's .strabane 07729895252 ]

Omagh area:
The Strule in the centre of Omagh has dropped between 8 and 10 feet overnight. It's still pretty big, mind, and more rain is forecast. I've put up a photo of the river a couple of miles downstream for interest's sake.

12.45 afternoon .
we had plenty of pools of surface water early this morning and of course the rivers are like lakes in places .......Just make sure you have a boat in 2012 .....L  a bit.
I'm going to be one hell of a disapointed survivalist if nothing happens because im all psyched up ..i'll even settle for a small tsunami with a crack of thunder and back home in time for Tea.

Country sports from strabane have a new stock of fly tying materials just in . they include ..golden pheasant skins bucktail , artic fox , zonker strips , varnish body materials , thread , tinsel , tools and accessories , also  jack pyke shooting clothing , pheasant and duck embroidered jumpers .

www.belfastcityrentals.com


7.45am 
Don't let the depression get to you on this damp november monday morning . this old wet weather is slightly early this year so i just hope it ends early .
I'll get up some brighter photos to combat the dark winter days now .

Omagh area:
The Strule is still rising tonight after very heavy rain. I spent the past 2 nights in a caravan in Sligo and was wakened well before dawn this morning by a torrential downpour. On the way home I passed the Bun Duff and Bun Drowes, both are full to the banks, and beyond in places. By the time I got home it was too dark to get a photo, but I'll try to get something of interest in the morning.

10.30am
The rain was atrocious during the night , well it was down here in wicklow anyway . I believe the water is running of the field like rivers back home in the north .

I walked a little river called the dargle near powerscourt yesterday and got a few spectacular shots of bray where the river enters the sea .

This might have nothing to do with fish but they usually make good friends when they grow up .
We have some Labrador pups for sale here ..all paper work , jags , chipped and so on ...phone for detail's .strabane 07729895252

11.10 am
I don't know what its like in your part of the world but its nice here for a good walk today , yesterday was serious .
some photos when i get back.

Omagh area:
No salmon seen this morning. Only trout trying the weirs, which is fun to watch at least. I'd guess there's a big flood coming, judging by the extent of the current rain.

10.30 Morning all .. its great to get a lay in now and again . but here we go again , another small batch of photos coming up taken from long cold wet fantastic hours spent waiting along the rivers banks here ......now am i crazy in the head or what !.

If you have any photos , feel free to send them in and ill put them on

Omagh area:
Just a few salmon seen on the Camowen this morning. The water's dropped nicely for fish to run, but I saw none at all at the town weir. It's very mild for the time of year, I was dandering about the riverbanks in a t-shirt.

9.30 am
I hear The crack was mighty at the rectory trout fishery yesterday ....Nearly everyone had good catches except Our local  fly casting hero instructor G mc Aleer who came away with Zilth ..nout ..nil..nothing ....buck all !

Marty Mc laughling broke his good guideline rod after hooking a tree behind him , he also along with half the other lads .. lost about 20 flies each to the big berch tree at their rear .
Aidan langan along with Sydney Hamilton seemed to fair best with the heaviest catches of i think 8lb and was it 11lb , something like that anyway .....Aidan win the Rectory Shirt ............thats great aidan altogether ......Will it at least keep you warm this winter .??

C.cairns had just a couple according to marty mc laughlin  and even lucky to get that far ... . but G mc Aleers young son certainly taught the old man a lesson on how to catch trout without his help ...5 belters .

So now we have a couple of pictures coming up that will quench your need for a days fishing for salmon on the foyle system  ... brought to you by myself { photos}and the lads that  have stocked the upper beds in the QT in the past ..thus RESULTS.

Omagh area: dp1066@hotmail.co.uk
I saw no salmon on my rounds this morning. The water has risen a bit overnight. I'm informed that the pools on the upper sections of the Owenkillew ... Gortin area ... are holding a lot of fish, some of them very big. The Owenkillew and Glenelly are noted for their late runs of bigger salmon.

9.20 am
overcast with some light rain at times .   its going to be a nice long dark winter , but don't worry .. it will only last 6 months.

I hear the gravel extraction from the foyle will soon come to an end ........But remember this .  those that were guilty of this crime against nature will never be forgotten..

We will all have to put pressure on the fishery now for better management , and im sure their halloween party will go down well with all the kids and their parents and im sure they will all have a ball .
But we're missing the point here are we not .. this is a blasted river system in serious trouble and all the fishery can do is party .
Can you ever see the River Dee or Wye Fisheries doing such a thing ...or even any fishery in the UK or Europe .
We have far to much money to burn up here and that is why the system is failing.

I would like to see the DHSS or even Ulster bus or any other government funded body forking out loose cash for such events ....they wouldn't have the time anyway .

Some cracker photos going on for tomorrow

Dee Mc Colgan has secured a week (31st july - 7th Aug) for 8 rods on The Yokanga Russia at a discounted price for 2010.

                                  The price  for the fishing and full helicopter programme, board , food & lots of drink is £2950 (normally £3750) . Then connecting flights approx £1100(normally £1500) ,Russian visa £100 & guides tips £250 .Total price approx £4500 for the best atlantic salmon fishing in the world .    Only 4 places left      Anybody interested contact Dee on   07880720369 

 

                                        www.flyfishyokanga.com

The Counter is deliberately  blocked  at sion but fish are still going up and laying above the steps.

NOTICE .... SALMON FLY TYING CLASSES WILL BE HELD AGAIN THIS YEAR, HERE IN THE LOUGH SWILLY ANGLING CENTRE.

CLASSES START ON MONDAY THE 2ND OF NOVEMBER FROM 8 PM UNTIL 10 PM. ALL ASPECTS OF MODERN SALMON FLY TYING TECHNIQUES WILL BE COVERED OVER THE 10-WEEK COURSE. PLACES ARE LIMITED AND ARE ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS. FOR BOOKINGS OR FURTHER DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT MYSELF ON 087 2929888. OR JMCLSWILLYFLIES@EIRCOM.NET MANY THANKS, JOHN MC LAUGHLIN.

{ belfastcityrentals.com ]

Omagh area: dp1066@hotmail.co.uk
I saw no salmon on my rounds this morning. The water has risen a bit overnight. I'm informed that the pools on the upper sections of the Owenkillew ... Gortin area ... are holding a lot of fish, some of them very big. The Owenkillew and Glenelly are noted for their late runs of bigger salmon.

9.20 am
overcast with some light rain at times .   its going to be a nice long dark winter , but don't worry .. it will only last 6 months.

I hear the gravel extraction from the foyle will soon come to an end ........But remember this .  those that were guilty of this crime against nature will never be forgotten..

We will all have to put pressure on the fishery now for better management , and im sure their halloween party will go down well with all the kids and their parents and im sure they will all have a ball .
But we're missing the point here are we not .. this is a blasted river system in serious trouble and all the fishery can do is party .
Can you ever see the River Dee or Wye Fisheries doing such a thing ...or even any fishery in the UK or Europe .
We have far to much money to burn up here and that is why the system is failing.

I would like to see the DHSS or even Ulster bus or any other government funded body forking out loose cash for such events ....they wouldn't have the time anyway .

These pictures are not of beaches brook , and the fish behind the hurdle are not horses nor miners.
I spoke to one fish through the wire mesh at the top , and asked ? " whats wrong " 
She  answerd !! bloody hell ....i took the fishery signs to a better passage because im heavy pregnant and ended up here , my hubby took the tough side up a long the wall two weeks ago and is waiting in the dam and hes just about pissed off ...and im fearing an affair with some owl half spent kipper .

8.40pm
Take a look at the counter that provides you all with vital counts. this is tues evening ...ill give you one tomorrow also ...photo on gallery now  

1.30pm
Plenty of fish showing at the dam in sion , full of big fish jumping completely clear of the water . what a sight .
I see the pass is still blocked so i took a photo from the sion side lokking across .

The weather is mild and we also had some rain last night , so the water is keeping up in size .
I have some nice photos.

Omagh area:
When the LA have cleaned up the Sion weir, maybe they'll come on up to Omagh and clean out the town-centre weir there too. Better still, they could float a small Improvised Explosive Device into the middle of it. Photo on Gallery.
The water was in great nick for running fish today, but I only saw 1 small dark salmon out on the Camowen. Other anglers reported very few showing. I saw no fish at all at the town-weir.

2.15 pm
Just back from the western front at the weir in sion , well i seen some fish but i had to wait a long time for just middling snaps .
When i was on the fisheries many many moons ago my job was to look after the mourne at sion ... and the counter ,  I might not have been mr peter Perfect with all the tasks that were expected of me.. infact ...looking back at it all now it was a survival game which i thought was normal at the time .
But what i did make sure was .. Every morning i cleaned the few twigs and bits of rubbish from the inlet of the fish counter . Free fish passage on the pass was a strick MUST .
Well ..i'd like you to take a look at these photos from last week until this evening .. and looking down through the mesh you can see the odd big tail surfacing but caught in a trap ...take a look in the gallery in five.
One of Two things is going to happen now ! ........The fishery of the foyle will clean it tomorrow or the next day because of the embarrasment of the photos on this site . OR ..they will not go near it at all , and when i take more photos on wed they will be seen by all as not managing the system properly at all .



11.am
Not a bad morning , but not a good morning either . so work that one out .

A letter of concern has been put on the forum on a new topic ...the gentleman is some-what on the angry side .but you must remember i would like to think i am a type of a reporter and should i just report what people tell me to report because of their own personal tastes ,or should i tell all on everything and keep going the way i'm going .
I think every single person is entitled to know what the local gossip  is , and if i come accross as much as a discharge coming from a badgers bottom into the river , i'll report it .
I do however understand why you are complaining , and believe it or not ...you are right .   but so are 90% of anglers and conservationists i speak to .
A conservationist whats to save nature !
An angler what's to keep his first fish !
Commercial netsmen what to fish like they have for hunderds of years !
Private Clubs want waters for themselves !
Fisheries want peace to get on with managing huge government grants .!
Some others see a nice little earner here and are worried they might lose it !

They are all 100% right .............................................in their own minds ??

7 pm, Omagh area : contact me at dp1066@hotmail.co.uk

Danny's so right about the weir at the Arts Centre in Omagh ... it's elegence over-rides its incompetence! I don't know what level of Consultation there was about this piece of concrete, but I wasn't asked, nor was anybody I know, asked for their views. But, of course, that's why it was built ... for the view.  Ask yourself ... would this monstrosity have been allowed to have been built on any Salmon River on any other Continent? Imagine the furore erupting if it had been proposed to impose it on a river in Alaska or Norway, for example.! It's a disgrace, simple as that.

5.30pm
Photo of Brian Fleemings fish on the gallery now ..caught on the 18th ....This angler was definitely glad Sean O kane our firebug ..sorry FireChief pointed him in the right direction on his fishing trip to strabane ...fair play to you Brian , you all come back now HERE .

5pm
The counter in omagh is nearly level at both sides of the barrier ...impossible to count fish ..impossible .
Counters on the foyle system only give a slight idea what goe's over , not a genuine count .
Was it all a waste of tax payers money .. i think you all have decided that it was. I personally think that it gives you an idea of run's only.. but for any fishery to say that they record  genuine counts is ludricious . but i must add that the omagh counter looks rather elegant and a nice piece of art ... that is ...if your into art .
BUT art doesn't stock the spawning beds .!!

A photo shortly of a catch from the strabane waters coming up .

10.35 am
Well the storm has settled now and we have a huge big brown flood in all our rivers here in the northwest of Ireland.
I'm 20 times more looking forward to walking the top tributaries and taking photos of spawning salmon this season than walking along the river banks during the angling season in fear of taking a snap-shot of a catch or an angler that's not suppose to be able to walk .
At least the owl salmon are not on the DLA and are just glad to be able to move upwards and onwards to the place of their birt.h .
My feet are itching to get at it , have to admit though !! i'm either mad in the head or its a serious addction .
 
And there has been a rumour circulated to me that the winning answer to the strabane / lifford anglers quiz at the cricket club on friday night was poached from another team who have been badly maligned previously on this blog .
The person involved can feel free to reply but no one from this end is pointing any finger of suspicion .
{ plus there was a defector from tommys trojans to the winning team halfway through the quiz .]

7.pm
We have a gale force wind here at the moment , the river banks will be well covered with water tonight {bankers on the way}
And some more prize winners from last nights angling quiz at the cricket club .
Aidan langan from clady win £50 of fly casting lessons with Gerard Mc aleer the local famous casting instructor hero ..frank elliott can vouch for that !!... but because Aidan has already been serviced by Gerard with a full casting course he decided to sell it on . and yes ....the two bait takers were marty mc laughlin and marty oil mc daid .....They nearly fought over the sell on .
But i think the two ronnies ..sorry MARTYS  need more than £50s worth.of lessons.
And between marty country sports mc daid loosing his finger and two more martys in desperatation for lessons , please never ever call your son Marty  if at all possible...its a jinx ...call your new born boy ..SUE ..SHELLA ...anything but Marty.
And just to add before i finish ....Aidan Langan tried to pass some answers to the two buckos during the quiz because they were both in difficulties answering anything at all ..even a wrong answer .. but to no avail im afraid.....final score on their score sheet .
Marrties from Eirlande ...Se qua ..qua qua ...zilch ....nought ....noutin ....nil ....no answers at all ...LO very Loud here ....give me a drink quick .chock ccchhkkee

Dee Mc Colgan has secured a week (31st july - 7th Aug) for 8 rods on The Yokanga Russia at a discounted price for 2010.

                                  The price for the fishing and full helicopter programme, board , food & lots of drink is £2950 (normally £3750) . Then connecting flights approx £1100(normally £1500) ,Russian visa £100 & guides tips £250 .Total price approx £4500 for the best Atlantic salmon fishing in the world . Only 4 places left  , Anybody interested contact Dee on   07880720369 

www.flyfishyokanga.com



11.20 am
 
We had a very wet morning this morning , but there's  quite a few furry dry mouth's just starting to prise open after last nights strabane / lifford anglers quiz for charity.
We have the names of the quiz winners here who recieved a bottle of spirits each .
They were ...C CAIRNS , D MC COLGAN , MARTIN POINTLESS MC DAID, D .MC GILLION , AND E BOYCE.
They called themselves THE FISH FINGERLESS  , and they just niped the winning post by one simple question , and the question was  " WHAT DO YOU CALL A FEMALE BEAR "  
Well you would think everyone would know that one , but not these guys around our town .
They had answers like cow ..hen...bitch etc .. but Martin  finger-gone mc Daid from  country sports steped in and said SOW !!
Everything went very very quiet for a second ..and then the quiz master  said .." YOUR RIGHT " !! and under his breath added " Mr know all " but smiled and continued on .
The cheers began and all the faulse best wishes went to the fish fingerless team .


The boiler service prize went to mullans boiler service , so now they can service their own boilers for free .
Joking of course .....The Zimer framed green field team came second but im not sure what prizes went where , but the cricket club was fairly well attended last night .
And it was good to see M. mc daids hand reunited with his electric choped off finger again .
We will not go into anymore detail's on this subject ...cough..cough..

Some details about Dee s russian trip coming up after mid-day.

Another salmon on the weir at sion here , but its very red ..coming up .
And another quiz for the club itself would go down well ..The winter time is quiz time .

7.40 am
Its not raining anyway , thats the only way i can describe the morning because its still dark .
Jimmy connors is buying a complete round of drink tonight at the strabane/lifford  anglers quiz at the cricket club .
some new photos now on , i had one of them on before .

10.30 pm
I took plenty of photos today of fish on the weir at sion and also the retreat weir at omagh this evening .
These next photos were taken from the weir at sion mills on the river mourne by myself .

12.30 afternoon .
I was at the weir sion mills this morning , an odd fish trying the weir but not getting over...some nice snaps.

And strabane/lifford anglers have some nice prizes at tomorrow nights quiz at the cricket club in strabane .
Reels
bottles of spirits.
wine.
beer
and a free boiler service ...i might go down for that one as they can cost around £100 or more.
Get down around 8/9 pm...should be a good night .




7.30 am
Dark but the sky looks clear enough in the horizon.....but so did yesterdays and look what happened then .

{ photo of salmon on gallery }
Some fish just lay at the bottom of the weir for hours at the retreat in omagh yesterday not knowing what road to take ,as long as their heads were covered they were happy , but i noticed other fish coming in and .....up on to the first step ....up on to the second step ...and then up on to the third and then the final step and into the dam ,{just like that]  and all done in the space of less than a minute .
This happens on all weirs that i come across , why  is that !!
It actually puts me in mind of the fishery in derry , they just don't know which road to take so they just come to a stand-still and are quite happy doing so ,as long as the funds are covering the costs thats fine , even though other bodies take complete control of the situation and  move on fast without them .... and that my friends is why you are getting better returns on the strule ......be warned !! sort out the other rivers , its the strule thats keeping the mourne system alive .

Notes about strabane/lifford anglers coming up.

A photo coming up now ....sorry for the delay , im going on one cylinder here .

5.pm
Some complaints coming in ...here is one from G Lyons from omagh .

STILL PLENTY OF FISH RUNNING THE CAMOWEN THE SMORNING, I SAW 5 FISH IN 10MINS TRYING TO GET OVER THE LOVERS RETREAT AT 7.30AM BUT NONE MADE IT, WATER WAS IN GREAT SHAPE FOR THEM BUT THEY MUST BE TIRED. IT EASY TO SEE THAT THE LOUGHS AGENCY ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN OUR MONEY BECAUSE IF THEY HAD ANY INTERTEST IN ANGLING THEY WOULD HAVE EXTENDED THE FISHING FOR 2WKS SINCE THIS IS THE ONLY DESENT RUN OF FISH WE,V HAD ALL YEAR. SHAME ON THEM DO THEY NOT KNOW THAT IT US ANGLERS WHO PAY THEIR WAGES, THE POACHERS WILL HAVE A FIELD DAY NOW NETTING WITH SO MANY FISH AND NO ANGLERS OUT TO KEEP THEM AWY, ANGLERS DETER THESE POACHERS MORE THAN LOUGHS AGENCY CLOWNS MOST OF WHOM ONLY LEARNT ABOUT FISH IN A HARD BACK NOT ON THE BANK.


Dan here .1.pm
Was at the counter and the leap up in omagh sinse 9.45am this morning . I seen a couple of fish at the Arts bridge but a load at the leap , i must check photos .
And so much for the blasted nice day , im soakiing wet.

Omagh area:
Sean Kelly had an interesting day yesterday. He fished the Newton' area all day without success. That is, 'til about 5.30 after the rain and wind had died. He then grassed 2 hen salmon at 5 and 6 lbs within 5 minutes of eachother., both slightly coloured and both returned. He also reported that there was a lot of salmon activity all over as darkness approached. Well done Sean.

7.30 am
It's still dark but i think it might be a clear morning .....i'll be keeping you updated on the progress of the salmon runs and water conditions , ..back later ,hopyfully with photos .

7 pm Omagh .. further update
Danny is right about most of the salmon coming this way. I had a final look at the weir at the Arts Centre tonight at about 6.30. The fish were hitting the weir non-stop and it's been going on like that all day. I saw 2 trying the weir at the same time severel times tonight. It was great to see. Then I had a look at the LA's fish-count for the same weir ... 168 to Sept 4th. Laughable! I've seen more than that today myself, no kidding.
Now that the season is effectively over, I'm inviting anglers from the Omagh area to submit photos of catches, reports of fish hooked and lost / landed, complaints, funny incidents, or any other observations to me and I'll try to air your views. Remember, if you don't want your name mentioned just type ANON at the bottom and I'll withold it. I'm away in the morning, but I'll be back at the weekend and look forward to hearing from you.
My e-mail address: dp1066@hotmail.co.uk Cheers.

6.15pm
Nothing going over the counter on the owenkillew today when i payed another visit , i did however notice two fish turning above the little dam and an angler hooking leaves with every throw when he retrieved his big orange coloured float and hook .
OFF then to the derg and not so much as a sprat turning .....The derg has been getting a bit of a battering over the last few years with shrimping pools and net's .
The loughs agency have admitted to me in the past that one man and his dog keeps evading them and can do more damage than all the foreign trawlers out at sea .HE puts a net on a pool for 15 minutes and stones the hell out of it and moves off to the next..
And talking about loughs agency bailiffs .....patrols have relaxed , i think they feel the more they do the less they are thought off .
And they still get it from all sides.........so i think if they had to send out a message to everyone , me included , it would go like this  "  UP YOOOOOURS "
And their still on 1990 wages .......The zimmer frame inspectors have it men !!! and i notice one going home everyday at 2pm after a hard 4 hour shift .
ITS no wonder you are all pissed off .
Thats 20 hours per week or 720 hours a year , with £30.000 take home pay of your money . and not so much as a river bank walked with a new supplied pair of boots.
Its a crazy world.

The evening is fine now but im sure there will be a bit more water from todays rain.
Omagh seems to be the river all the fish are headed { privite stocking programes are working }


1 pm Omagh area update:
I've been out and about the rivers since earlier on and I can say I've rarely seen so many salmon showing below the weirs on the Camowen and Strule. Just standing on the footbridge over the weir at the Arts Centre, I could see fish after fish trying to jump over it. Most failed ... the water's still low ... and all were coloured, as far as I could make out. Fish were evident showing now and then all the way downstream as far as I could see. I expect the water to start rising soon due to the rain which has swept in. There seems to be very few anglers out.

10.am
The mourne looks mirky and with good water ..taking a trip up stream.

Omagh area report:
the Strule has dropped a couple of inches from yesterday morning. The conditions aren't great .... very cold, low water , very windy and the sky looks threatening. I did, however, see 1 fish moving in the Camowen, and its the colour of beetroot! I'm guessing the early part of the day might prove to offer the best chance for the last day of the season. I saw 1 angler on his way to work after giving the Strule a quick throw at daybreak. I'll let you know later if he scored, though I doubt it.

Its not all that wet , even during the night .  The wind did pick up though but i'll get a check at the rivers here shortly ...back soon .

We hope martin country sports  mc daid recovers soon from yesterdays accident .
{get well}

1.20 pm
The owenkillew is up well and a photo coming up now of the counter itself near newtown on that river system ..taken 30 minutes ago .....it is also on the dirty side .
The odd fish showing above the counter , but i seen nothing trying it ......plenty of fresh fish showing off the tides , and higgins stream was full of big fresh silver boys this morning . all the coloured fish have moved up .

And brian Flemming from glenevy had a nice clean 8lb fish from the doctors yesterday ...his friend refused the trip along with him thinking he hadn't a chance
----------------------------------------------------.
Omagh area report:
the Rivers Camowen, Drumragh and Fairywater are all carrying some fresh water. The main Strule is up a good foot to eighteen inches. There are anglers out here and there ... a couple at Cappagh, one at the rocks below the Stonebridge and others scattered out and about. They're all in with a good chance today. More rain forecast tonight, so who knows what it'll be like in the morning.

9.50 am
No extra water in the rivers here but the tide is pushing well at the minute ...and as i drove along the donegal side of the foyle this morning heading for derry , st johnston was cordoned off because some little boy racers turned their cars over their bodies .
so after taking a different route and getting to my destanation i decided to take the northern road back home only to be caught in a pile up near ballymagory .....police and ambluances are still there and the traffic is backed to below burndennet .
Mon morn Speed rush .

7.30 am
Its wet and to get even weter in the next 24hours ...tomorrow is of course the final day of the salmon season here but that will only be the start of my trips up along the spawning beds on all tributaries.

And country sports from strabane are not just tackle and firearm dealers , they are now selling fire-works for halloween and have hugh stocks in right now .  02871883021

A report about a poachers net with a 157 fish in it was sent to me last night ..it also informs me that the bailiffs came across it on the foyle ...im not sure which night it was but what a distruction of wildlife ....i just hope some were returned alive.
And why are reports like this not stated openly by the loughs agency .

Omagh area report:
I've put up a photo of the Lovers' Retreat weir that I took a short time ago. The river's very low and in need of a good fresh. It's raining lightly here at the minute, with the promise of heavy rain later. If it materialises, we might just get a day's fishing before the end of the season. Fingers crossed.

11.am
Its pouring it down at the minute and only needs to rain like this for an hour or just over.
I had some nice snaps all along the upper mourne yesterday , what a walk . And not an angler in sight . its sad that all that water is very rarely touched because it is supposed to be all privite .
It could free up congested areas ...but what am i arguing for ....nature untouched .

photos later

10.am
There was no one fishing higgins stream this morning nor the blackstone ...but i also never seen a fish turning at all .
Could something sinister have happened during the dark hours of the last night ! who know's.

Bailiffs are keeping their heads down for some strange reason and are not even noticed on the roads , this is a very important time as low waters can be a target for shrimpers and other poachers , so if you have to take on the role of angler and protecter now....do so .

Strabane seems to be thee place to fish this weekend as i noticed about 8 or so anglers out from early morning .
The tides are strong and building further for tue .........and the rain i thought would be here on sun will not by the sounds of it be here until mon night tues morning .

The mourne needs to be walked today , and its a good day for it , so im off liskey direction .

3.pm
Below the woodhole is holding a few good fish ..but its very sunny .

We have a photo of Patrick Mc Guigan on the gallery , it looks as if he is in a fish but it was just the way the photo was shot ...no takers im afraid.

And a message from P Harte congradulating Brendan mc cusker standing with a 36lb fish whilst in canada recently .


If anybody catches a fish around 7 / 8lbs this weekend phone 07763191232.

info@foylefishing.com is now back on .

9.30 am
The morning is dry and we have good tides ...Fish laying on the upper strabane and sion mills waters but looking at nothing .

Don.t forget about the strabane/lifford anglers quiz next fri night at the cricket club in strabane ...proceeds for charity.

www.belfastcityrentals.com

Dee Mc Colgan has secured a week (31st july - 7th Aug) for 8 rods on The Yokanga Russia at a discounted price for 2010.

                                  The price for the fishing and full helicopter programme, board , food & lots of drink is £2950 (normally £3750) . Then connecting flights approx £1100(normally £1500) ,Russian visa £100 & guides tips £250 .Total price approx £4500 for the best Atlantic salmon fishing in the world . Only 4 places left  , Anybody interested contact Dee on   07880720369 


And does anyone out there know how to sort out a virus on a blasted laptop ....free advertising if you can .
Even though we have 4 computers doing this work now , the mobile laptop is sick ..but so am i !! in the head

9.pm
I seen a good few fish this week , and some silver . but the most of them were very coloured of course .
The derg looks like a skeliton at the meetings with the mourne , but there is plenty of good size fish waiting just below  for fresh water .
If you need to contact this web-site please use dannyhunter1@live.co.uk until i get the foylefishing email sorted.
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Omagh area:
Only 5 days to go and there's no sign of rain coming in any quantities. The forecast is for much the same as the past couple of days ... overcast, but with only the occasional light shower. It doesn't bode well for the last few days' fishing. Let's hope the forecast is wrong again!
I see I've been mentioned on the Forum. I must point out that I haven't subscribed to the Forum in over 6 months, so please don't infer that I've put an opinion on there lately. If and when I do, I'll make it clear it's me.

2.30pm
The odd clean fish showing around strabane , and what a great day .
Some photos on the gallery now of Dcals liskey wood ... perhaps its best forgot about anyway and just keep it that no one can walk through it without breaking a leg and preserve nature .

And im just back from the finn where i noticed an increase in kingfishers...briliant site.
All rivers low and it looks bad for a flood even though i had an inkling that we would have one next weekend.

Omagh:
I had a walk along the Camowen earlier. With the Autumn mist over the water it was quite beautiful. Very little water, mind, but very nice all the same.

7.pm
STRABANE AND LIFFORD ANGLER'S ARE HAVING A GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CHARITY QUIZ NIGHT AND DANCE AT THE CRICKET CLUB STRABANE ON FRI THE 23RD OF OCT .
ENTERTAINMENT BY GARY HENRY [ SPOT PRIZES AND RAFFLES] PERHAPS YOUR BUSINESS WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR A BOTTLE AS THE PROCEEDS ARE FOR GREEN FIELD HOME ...PHONE 02871383666 FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

And an angler going over a hedge along the main victoria to newtown road found all the little belongings of books and things belonging to the we woman that went through the ordeal last week in sion.
Obvously thrown out by the passanger .....police were contacted.

11.45am
Not a bad morning ..the odd light shower though .

8.45pm
Had a nice long walk today and met a few good men.
photos and stories in a few minutes.
got pictures of an angler landing a fish from the feddens just below the snaa pool on the mourne . met a gentleman called james campbel from newtownstewart who along with other anglers are having an end of season river bank party as we speak.
as i said .. photos on the way.................i walked from victoria to near the mouth of the derg and back down .
Paths and walkways were superb apart from the government funded Dcal waters of liskey wood .

Can i ask a simple question !  why is the main funded area like a jungle and the simple waters above like a palace with steps and fench footovers .
DCAL waters are a bloody disgrace except 20 yards from roadways where you are ment to see and notice a nice grass cut verge.....i invite you to walk the walk of liskey Dcal wood..and i will guide .

i also have all the photos of the laxy daisy swampy bushy grownover liskey that belongs to the same government body and sion club...the richest club in the whole of ireland with no anglers huts or stiles.
Where .where .where is the money going for god sake!!!
So as i settle down now and get my wet feet warmed up and get into proper dry clothing after a hot shower , please follow me from start to finish with a selection of photos on the days journey and see for yourself if i'm telling porkies or not ....give me a short while to sort the photos out ...10 o.clock or after hopefully ...the journey will be numbered from no 1 at the start when clicking on each photo

Omagh area:
There is no fresh water in the Strule around Omagh. There just might be an inch or two below the confluence with the Fairywater, maybe enough to induce the "creep factor". But the river's still desparately low.
10.30 am

Dee Mc Colgan has secured a week (31st july - 7th Aug) for 8 rods on The Yokanga Russia at a discounted price for 2010.

                                  The price for the fishing and full helicopter programme, board , food & lots of drink is £2950 (normally £3750) . Then connecting flights approx £1100(normally £1500) ,Russian visa £100 & guides tips £250 .Total price approx £4500 for the best Atlantic salmon fishing in the world . Only 4 places left  , Anybody interested contact Dee on   07880720369 

wait till you hear this.
Jimmy connors from strabane hooked a doubled fig clean fish down at the pool between the bridges at 1.pm past .
BUT.....he lost her out of the net because he hasn't used the net itself for most of the season and had it tucked away in a drawer filled with moths ...thus the outcome .{an eaten bottom} well jimmy ..your lucky ...i wish i had an eaten bottom .
But there is also a strong rumour that a fellow angler lost jimmys fish .....nah ..couldn't possibly happen !!
Weather report.
Raining steady but on the lighter side ...we would need a good 8 hours of this .

News of a salmon fishing trip to russia coming up soon ...i had trouble pasteing it on dee .

Omagh Area:
It's cold and breezy up here in Omagh this morning. It started spitting rain a short time ago and it seems to be gathering pace a little bit. There's a light rain falling at the moment, but getting slightly harder by the minute. The forecast is for heavy and sometimes persistent rain this afternoon. Let's hope it's accurate.

Omagh report, 9 pm.
The Strule and tributaries are showing their bones. We're in bad need of heavy rain. Some is forecast for tonight and/or tomorrow, let's hope there's enough to raise water-levels and give us a late bash at the salmon. Although there are loads of coloured fish in the rivers, there is still the chance of fresh fish moving in. I remember a great angler, now sadly deceased, catching 2 sea-liced salmon a mile downstream of Omagh in the last week of the season some years ago. So hang in there, you could still score.
By the way, I feel I should mention ... by the very nature of the Gallery, photos have to be reduced in size to fit on the site, i.e. the no. of pixels-per-inch must be reduced. This usually leads to quality-loss and can make the photos a bit hazy. This can make salmon look darker in the photos than they are in reality and may give a wrong impression, so please don't jump to conclusions and condemn honest anglers without cause. Most of us are genuine sportsmen/women.

7.40am
A dry morning and getting colder every morning
                                                                  Strabane section for fresh run fish until we get fresh water. tickets from country sport's strabane 02871883021, and then go up river along the golf course for the best chance.

There is some discussion going on at the moment in regard's to the massive funding that the loughs agency get each year .
{question} Do any off you see or notice the benefits of this huge influx of monies that are supposed to be spent on our system every season !
The forum on this site will be visited  through the next few weeks by some officals so please use a bit of decorum.

3.pm
A 20lb cock fish returned to the mourne waters at sion at 2.30pm past  ....very red

.9.30am
A photo taken by myself from above the creggan in derry at 9.05 this morning . its just to give you an idea what the weather is like here ..i don't know the name of the hill i was on , any clues.
also ..some photos of sun heading to the owenkillew and glenelly .

7.45am
A bright morning by the looks of it , a few mixed clouds.

And there has been so many email's and  phone call's to ask me and even in general conversation  " is it true the mourne is staying open "
Everyone seem's to think that the lough's agencys last message on the mourne was to anounce an extension on the season because of the counters not in opperation. so i think they have misinterpreted the message ...unless i'm wrong.

But i would ask the loughs agency to keep their important statements simple. and re-report the last statement on the mourne before we have prosecutions for fishing out of season .

11.pm
a very big red fish around 12lbs was carried up towards the golf links today in strabane .
4.pm
A fish caught in the grevenue today with 5 anglers ...5 anglers on the bears burn also.
plenty of fish seen turning by Marty and Aidan as they walked from strabane to sion .
Only two day tickets out on the strabane waters yesterday , and each visitor ended up with a fresh fish each just in off the tides........COUNTRY SPORTS STRABANE HAS THEIR SALE NOW ON ...SOME BREATHABLE WADERS 50% OFF .
Martin professor mc daid from country sports said fish are not taking well because the water is to warm .
Must bring a bag of ice cubes with me when im heading up to fish a pool i know which is full of fish martin , thanks for the tip.
--------------------------------------------------------------
OMAGH REPORTS.
Omagh area, 1.30 pm.
I saw Brian Virtue catching a nice fish of about 5 lbs. at Cappagh on the Strule, downstream of Omagh, a short time ago. He was able to tell me there were a lot of salmon moving in that area.. His sidekick, Eugene Cunningham, also caught one an hour earlier about 50m below him. Both were taken on small flies.
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9.30am
a landrover defender 90 300tdi for sale[1994]fully kitted out for off roading , winch , big wheels etc..500 just spent on her .over 5 grand of recepts..driving well..6 months MOT.
£2500 ..no offers ..07843001294......ideal for you outdoor fanatics

7.45 am
very overcast this morning but only with light rain at times ....we need a good fresh before the season closes on the 20th.......and for those that really don't know ..NO Fishing TRIPS AFTER THAT DATE.

S. Kelly returned a fish caught on the upper mourne yesterday .

Late Omagh news.
Top Cat took his 8th. fish of the season this evening, a 5-pounder, on a fly designed and tied by himself! Photo later.
Omagh area
Photo of Top Cat's 6-lb salmon caught yesterday now on the Gallery.

i'VE JUST RECIEVED A MESSAGE TO COME AND SEE FOR MYSELF THE AMOUNT OF FISH GATHERED IN A POOL UP WATER .
9.40AM
COUNTRY SPORTS BIG SALE TODAY ...50% OF SOME ITEMS INCLUDING SOME BREATHABLE WADERS.

WWW.BELFASTCITYRENTALS.COM.

7.45am
A dry calm morning here in the northwest , but a lot a lot rain forcast for tonight .
and yes i know the sion angler that was cautioned by bailiffs for not opening his bag when suspected off shrimping .
Was that the guy that called me a poacher !!cough .....and who cares ...i've got better things to do than gloat.

It looks like all the fish laying around the top of the mourne are destained for omagh.

8.30pm
Had a serious walk today ..ill keep it sweet ........water in the owenkillew a lot cleaner , no fish on the upper sections .
some fish {not a lot} on the lower areas ...picture on gallery now taken today .

I don't know where these fish are going ..strule i think ....well it is the river that is being looked after and stocked secretly for you lower anglers including the dukes men to fish for .
-----------------------------------------------
Omagh area.
The water in the Strule around Omagh continues very low. The Glennelly and Owenkillew are in different shape though. Omagh angler "Top Cat" fished the Owenkillew early this morning and scored a very nice 6 lb. cock fish. This is his 7th. of the season and he's a happy angler. He deserves his success, he fishes hard. He sent me a photo of the fish he caught this morning, I'll try to get it on the Gallery later.
And another Omagh man, R.O'K., took a nice 6-pounder from the Ladies pool @ Newton yesterday. He's another very keen sportsman.

10,30am
A nice mild day and im heading for the walk of a complete river called the owenkillew . If all those fish that were laying all along the mourne are not up the derg , they have to have gone somewhere .

10.30pm
A photo of a coloured fish taken today ..not a steady one .
Should be still slightly mirky tomorrow with about 50million leaves .

5.50 pm
I only seen one black fish up the derg , but i think i went to far to soon .
The derg water is clean but with a lot of leaves.
The owenkillew is dirty and i had a stroll up there for a couple of hours ...seen 4 good sized fish , i might have one on  the camera , will check later .

12.30 afternoon
plenty of fresh water ...time to move up ...2ft or more

10.15 am
A bit stormy but not to bad , dry also .......i'm going to walk all along the upper mourne today ....in the evening .

NW COUNTRY SPORT'S IN STRABANE HAVE TODAY STARTED THEIR MASSIVE END OF SEASON SALE  .
THERE IS 50% OFF SELECTED ITEM'S PLUS 30%OFF ALL FISHING TACKLE .
AND WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE ....A MASSIVE 50% OFF SOME BREATHABLE WADERS.
SO GET IN THERE TODAY .....PH ..02871883021 AND ASK FOR MARTIN , MARK OR DANNY.

10.30pm
watts pool in ramelton is up for sale ....could we go the same way .
And a report from the loughs agency saying that mulvin and carney plus the feddens is stuffed with salmon and the best in 30 years .
It will be packed in the morning and all for £16 A SEASON....why is there no signs saying it is ilegal to fish if you have only a foyle system licence .

8.am
A dull damp morning and a full moon on sun coming ...more fish .
  This is also a good time for the river roe with big double fig fish .

Some nets got on the mourne during the week ....And a man was chased from the dam after netting it ..he left his dog behind him.

4 nets got at the gardens

Very good dp1066... you are out witting me big time .....even getting the photos on yourself ....cracker ......your a smart lot up there in omagh --- sometimes ! LOL

I heard tonight that someone was caught shrimping on the mourne today....will probibly get who and where later ....and why.
There's a ship sailing for Australia

Omagh area (dp1066@hotmail.co.uk) / (07736352283).
A very comprehensive report in this morning from Top Cat. He has been fishing hard these past few days and was able to tell me there was a rise of an inch or two in both the lower Strule and Owenkillew last night. There was a marked increase in salmon-activity and he thinks the "creep" was enough to excite the fish. He failed to connect with any salmon, but he caught 2 nice Brownies, both in excess of 1 lb. Keep it up TC.

9.30 am
Reports of nice water in the derg yesterday , and as a driver was going over the bridge before the border bridge yesterday , he noticed an angler playing a fish but had to drive on , so he doesn't know if it was landed or not .

And just to remind folk's that .......if a fish is coloued bad , it has to go back . and also remember that ! if mr bailiff catches you with a coloured fish , he will not only demand your equipment .. OH NO ... he or she will give you an invite to your local Rock.N..Roll court house . but at least the entry is free and you just have to pay to get out again , or you can take the choice of two week's in the not so sunny COSTA DEL CELL !!.
I believe there's a big sandy beach there and it belong's to a man called Magilligan.

The moon situation is ......Nearly full ....and that suits me to a T  .....the big one is on the 4th night of this new oct ......only 12 weeks to christmas and depression and rain and snow and sleet and hail and winds and debt .....apart from all that ,  things should be just honky dory .

7.45am
A dry morning but not a sun ray in sight .
                                                    A sea trout of 1.5lbs was caught by Fergus yesterday right behind the bottom of the old mill at sion .he also seen a few fish but no taker's.

And im just refreshing the sale of the house on the bank's of the drowes river in donegal ......will take £120.000 now , thats a drop of 5 grand .{ photo on the gallery -- second page .

Omagh area (dp1066@hotmail.co.uk)
I've added a photo to the Gallery showing just how low the Strule is at the moment. At the bottom-left of the photo you can see the entrance to the ridiculous "Fish-Counter" which was built into the new weir. It counts very few fish ... most of them jump over the weir near the wall on the right. Wouldn't you!

3,30 pm
Just to keep you all from ringing and texting and emailing ......we only had a couple of inches so don't panic , and its clean water ....i seen two fish shooting straight up over the weir {middle wall section}
I also had a great conversation with Shella Ferguson {herdman}and friend at the viewing wall at sion , and the woman totally agrees with me on all topics relating to tourism here .
She owns the old mill and is trying to get funds to turn it into a visitors centre and more....sion house might actually become just that first .
And she added that  " they are cutting down the ivy that is covering the security fences .{the anglers club}
Those people are just out to destroy what we planted " ............Why..she added, are they so far from the river anyway , it took years to plant all the shrubs in the first place .!

And a complaint from a sion angler when fishing the burn today ...he has emailed me and is angered that two lads fished the closed side of the the burn today by throwing upstream.
He added that they were watched by the loughs agency and were then just told off . I was done for just standing slightly above the stream this season he said , but i was actually fishing down to the lower side of the burn by casting downstream .
Its a disgrace he said.......and it gives out the wrong signals .

So there you are { some more tail's of the river bank } oh and i seen a kingfisher at the woodhole this morning .
And a report that fish are showing at haggins stream this morning ...but looking at nothing.
1.20pm
Very sorry for not getting back quicker but we have a touch of fresh water .

When i was at the woodhole and area around 10am there seemed to be a shake of fresh water , its more so now .
I noticed a few fish turning from the sewers on down to the bottom of the woodhole itself  .

The finn also has a touch of fresh water ......its enough to move fish anyway .

So there you are .............i was wrong again ....i think its just derg and finn water though.
I als

7.45am
Getting that little bit damper every morning , and we are edging closer to the old winter.
It gives strong winds later in the week with blustery showers , but i feel we might not get the heavy rain we need until well into oct .

but personally ...i love following the spawners right up to the beds to get some photos , and i have it all to myself at that time of the year .
so i hope i have plenty of good shots for you this winter ...and a report every single day .

8.10pm
The mourne as i said is holding a large amount of fish , but not many photos coming in because of the fear of coloured fish catches and the threat of prosecution.

I'm also taking hint that the foyle fisheries are going to do more courses for guiding ...but is it worth the hassle if you have to pay a lot of cash for a course that should have been origianaly been paid by the funded fishery itself .

I ask for a government funded course now and i will personally go on one myself....the men and lads that  paid their own money in the past are blue moulded looking for support ...and work .

Im also still working on the commercial nets to see if i can get them a payoff for next year .
Yes ...im doing this on my own .....no top anglers to help here, but im sure it will be welcome if i succeed ...yeh yeh yeh you might say .
Well ..if you only took a good look at our Conservation officer of the loughs agency who is actually working around the clock for us all ... the man is a genius and a damned hard goer for the foyle at that .
The man even works his off hours for us all and you don't know it ......please give him  your support in the future .......he is an honest and hard going loughs agency officer , and he is on your side .
So please have faith in this guy , if you have any problems or concerns ..please contact him .
I have his number , but its not up to me to give it to anyone else .
Contact the loughs agency .


7.45am
Overcast but on the dry side ...anywhere on the mourne is fine for fishing , i just seen more in one particular place yesterday  thats all , and that was near newtownstewart .
.
Anyway .........plenty of visitors from belfastcity rentals coming down to fish sion waters today on my advice....i will see how they get on later .

5.pm
A  fish caught below the swinging bridge today ..about 4lb .
A fish lost at the bears burn and plenty showing..that was a phone report ... plus i seen dozens of good salmon showing all along my own walk of the mourne today....im not telling where exactly  .

7.45am
overcast this morning ..just a few light showers though .

The only place for a chance of a fresh fish is the strabane and lifford waters or the lower DCAL and sion waters .
Back soon with some news that hasn't happened yet .

{www. belfastcityrentals.com ]

13lb fish caught at the bears burn this evening [mourne area] we raised £5.000 today for charity by parachuting ....we even had a 75 year old woman take the plunge ......ill put a couple of photos up until tomorrow .

Omagh area
dp1066@hotmail.co.uk
Just got a message from "Top Cat" to say he fished the Dry-Arch on the Drumragh today for 3 hours. The water is down to low Summer level, with less than a foot on the stick. He had no takers, but was able to watch a salmon of about 5 lbs. under the footbridge for a short time before it swam off. Good stuff.
9.30 am
An 11lb fresh fish caught on the strabane waters yesterday .

water low everywhere except sion lower and strabane....................also ...our girl mel does it again .

And Mel O kane and benny the ball from strabane are the only two morrisons left in the town ............no catches at all .

More later ......gone to parachute for charity at gravagh

Omagh area, 7.15 pm.
I often wonder about the passion for the sport that grips anglers. I was in contact tonight with a man who spent 10 hours fishing the Owenkillew today and came home with a nil return. When I suggested he must be sickened by it he said No, that's fishing for you, I enjoyed the day. A true Sportsman.
Things are continuing quiet up here, we need rain, and soon. Mind you, when it does come, the wife will blame me for it!
11.am
A grand morning so far .
And a bit of news from all the commercial nets fishermen of the foyle ...They told me yesterday that they will take some kind of payoff to give up their licences .
They have ask me to get in touch with NASCO if the loughs agency don't listen .

They find that the salmon are running later and that is no good to them because their season is then closed , the only fish they are getting are destained for the river finn ...and that is not enough .
So now its time to stop they said .
Meanwhile ....the rest of the netsmen that took the package , got their 3rd and final payment .
Even the guys that haven't fished the foyle in years but kept the licence on and used thousands of tags for poached fish got a huge payoff .....they got paid for each tag you see ,so they actually came out better than the we man that put in honest returns.
So the signals that the fishery are giving out is ....CRIME PAYS !
This will definitely go down in history and will be brought to the fore time and time again .
{ we will call it the STING]

Omagh report, 9 pm.
A lot of coloured salmon are showing in the upper tributaries ... Camowen, Drumragh, Glennelly, Owenkillew.
9.20 am
Only 25 simple days left until the season closes..and then all the disscussions and debates and changes for next season will be activated and worked on ....its surprising whats changes can take place in an off season ......so im off now for a nice walk around sion waters.

And talking about sion ...got a love letter from their solicitors in Limavady to demand the name .com .
So i had to phone them and tell the woman that was handling the case the true facts about domains and how you can transfer them to a second party .
She had not got a clue and even asked me for advice .
I added ... of course they can have it , but nobody has asked me for it ....she was shocked.
I also added that .......Your threat of court would not stand up anyway ... she said " why not "
I said .. " you've got the wrong address " Huh she said ..........yeh i answered ...wrong address ...just check my web-site ..the address is on it .
She answered ... " i have no time to go around checking on stuff like this "
I said well .....i rest my case your honour .

So folks ..always stick to the solicitor you know .
Anyway ......if they want the bloody name they can have it , but will they need it ?





7.45 am
A grey morning but on the dry side .
In a rush ..back later

Omagh Report
9 pm.
I talked to a member of the GAFF AC tonight. He fished "up the glen" (Glenelly River) early today and saw lots of fish showing. He had no takers though. The water's dropped a couple of inches overnight.

Omagh angler Thomas Colgan caught and released a slightly-coloured hen salmon from the Owenkillew yesterday. The fish weighed between 6 and 7 lbs. That's his 6th. of the season so far and he's out again tonight after work to try for another. Well done Thomas, keep it up.

3.40pm
A grand evening now and a trip to omagh waters in 20 minutes.
Jimmy Conors from strabane landed two fish the other day and returned them both .
According to the enlightened laws of the loughs agency that anglers never knew before ....it seems to be catch and release on all upper tributaries as fish are all dark from the point of the derg on up now .
The grevenue is also holding plenty of dark fish also , plus liskey and mulvin .
So please try to use barbless hooks on these areas .


11.45am
A small fish caught at the grevenue in sion mills .3.5 lbs .
Any fish that are showing are coloured , and remember ...The loughs Agency have made it quite clear that if you have a coloured fish in your possion now, you will be prosecuted.

7.45am
A mainly dry morning  but with the odd very light mizzel at times .

No reports of fish down the foyle , i was speaking to some locals of porthall yesterday , and they say that its quiet enough .
The next full moon is 4th oct .

Back shortly

OMAGH
Loughmacrory

I'm told that the meeting in the 'Loch tonight was well-attended and very productive. A committee has been formed to bring the project forward and there was good imput from local anglers, members of Omagh Anglers and also the L.A., who were enthusiastic about future prospects for the Lake and Club.
More news if and when it comes in.

Just back freom sunnier climes ... not!
Don't forget the meeting tonight in Loughmacrory re. the setting-up of a new Trout-angling Club on the Lough. That's in the Lochside Centre at 8.30 pm.

My contact e-mail address:  dp1066@hotmail.co.uk

11.20am
Up to date fishery info
It is an offence to kill or be in possession of any unclean salmon or trout both in season or out of season ...section 48 of the foylefisheries act 1952.

And the total fish count for the mourne this year is 7237 and from 1st may to 15th sep it was  6343
does anyone know whats the story  for the finn ..roe ..or faughan , i heard most counters were attacked by the trees from Narnia ....including the one on the owenkillew .


Our famous Ulster Author Does it again on the gallery .

10.45am
Reports of fish caught in sion ...a couple above the swinging bridge ...and two im told at the burn .
Text.
And we have £370million to gather up for water charges here in Northern Ireland . So government funded bodies are going to be hit hard soon .
Im not joking but the loughs agency could actually make a profit on the foyle system instead of taking millions from government .
Its a bit like being on a good well paid benefit  ...And why shake the boat ! eh.

£150.000 per year from sion mills alone .....thats 7 or 8 full time staff for protection  and possible maintainance around the mourne .

Example ...how much would it cost to build a small stile over a barbed wire fence ..answer ..NOTHING .
Building sites and council skips are full of used timber ......plus we could use some of that timber inside those top of the range 4x4s that are rusting outside prehen .
Nobody wants anything anymore if its over a year old .


7.45 am
A dry morning and i just know you are all jumping out of your skin to get to the river ...yeh yeh yeh.
I sense a lul of depression in the atmosphere here when talking to folks , perhaps its the time of year .
But just remember , its only 13 and a bit weeks to christmas ...............SORRY ! .....14 and a bit weeks to the drowes opens for spring fish .

Reports of fresh fish running through haggins stream and blackstone yesterday enening .
Water dropping again .

12.45 pm
A bit of fresh water , about 1 ft in all ........fish are moving up to the weir and some trying it .
I seen two of 8 going over ....the water is on the dirty side also and several anglers are fishing the grevenue from both sides .

7.45am
A dull morning ..... its to clear up though .

More photos later on .
                                 And another fly tying competition coming up i hear . thats what most anglers should be doing this winter time , cos its going to be a long one .
This is depression time for 60% of the population and this is the reason there should be more activities .
The loughs agency should even do a photo competition of the foyle and tributaries .Wild life and Marine life and such . i definitely would enter myself...plus it would be good for local bussiness and sales.
NO PROFESSIONALS.
                                          Things like that .

photos of the loughs agency competition at benone on gallery now .

10.30 am
photo of big red hen now on gallery .

The party of sea anglers that went to fish from a boat yesterday all got sea sick , this included Martin Shop Mc Daid and Marty Mc laughlin .
There was carrots everywhere and martin shop mc daid sat with his head in his hands until they got back into shallower waters .
More on that later .
I myself never had sea sickness in my life , i was on one vessel that was in a serious storm one time many moons ago , and whilst everyone was throwing up all over the place , i was trying to get some food down me neck ...boys were they sick .
but they had hangovers and i didn't . that probibly saved me ...but i'll take no chances and stick to the rivers just incase.

Still raining here , and sometimes heavy .


10.am
The member of sion club wishes to say that he was wrong to try and fish below the visitor yesterday morning .

7.50 am
A damp start to the morning , but the week ahead is to be dry .

The visiting angler that had an exchange of unsavoury words near the blackstone on the sion waters has defended himself and stated that the member wanted to step in and fish in front of him just down 15 or 20 yards ....not very fair when you want to fish an area well and cover the stream in a face he added .

The mournes life line out of control  ........photos now up
4.pm
haggins stream was packed this morning with day ticket men from the far east im told , one had a big brown trout of 9lbs .[hen} or was it a big brown gravid hen salmon !!!..hit over the head anyway and taken ...photo im told will be sent .

More fish were caught down that direction , a fish about 5 was also caught at the same area , and an angler had two fish from the blackstone .

And the visiting anglers im told were very cheeky to some members .....one member asked because one of the visiting anglers was taking forever to move down haggins stream ! " IS IT OK TO GO AWAY DOWN BELOW YOU "  answer  " NO ITS NOT " said in a dry tone im told ...... a red ragg to a bull if you ask me .
its moving down stream by the sounds of it .

2.pm
Just back from sion waters and the dam is being poached as i write this report ..and i have photos to prove it .
All but maybe a few straglers of  fish have been taken from the dam area .
And plenty of bags of stones left behind .
The dam is also full of rubbish left along the bankings ..photos also  .

And Would the sion angler P mc c please stop contacting the omagh reporter of this site ..telling him to stop reporting on the blog .


One fish caught at the bears burn ..some showing up near the counter .

Very little fish left in the grevenue also ......anglers at the grevenue voiced their views as to where they went to .
And it wasn't over the weir .
This main salmon station has to be protected 24 hours a day to stock all the upper reaches ...I can't understand why those in authority don't watch it .
I'm not against football totally , but thats where everyone is today whilst the dam is getting raped .

10.30 am
dry and calm .  must take a little walk around sion this morning to see whats happening .

Loughs. agency have plenty of news and events at the moment .
------------------------------
Reports by omagh
I've been contacted by John Bloggs who tells me there's an open meeting in the Loughmacrory Lochside Centre this coming Wednesday evening at 8.30 pm. re. the setting up of an Angling Club on the lake. The lake extends over 60 acres and is set in beautiful surroundings. I know this lake and sometimes take the dog for a walk around it. It's an ideal spot for a trout-fishery. There are smallish trout occurring naturally in it already, but an organised club could make this into a really viable concern. Lochside Centre, Loughmacrory, Wed 8.30 pm. All welcome.
8.am
The morning is overcast with a very light touch of light mizzel at times .

The crowds will be out today again as it is a sat ..........And even though poachers might take a % of the fish that are laying in pools on the lower end . There is still going to be an awful lot of fish heading to the upper reaches when we get fresh water .

Out guiding today ....talk later .

Omagh
2 late reports from this area ... 1 from "William Wallace", who says that he was at the upper end of the Strule tonight ... not sure if that's Omagh Town or one of the tributaries ... and he reckons that the salmon showing all week there have now stopped showing. Thanks W.
I've asked the other reporter for more info on what could be an interesting case / test-case with the LA.
Thanks for those 2 reports and I look forward to many more.

9.pm
I seen plenty of fish today  and i have some photos of the mourne here that 99% of you locals have never ever seen of this section of the mourne river ever and i'll prove it .
can you tell me where these new photos are off .
coming up shortly by the way  .....plus it takes a lady to show you guys how to catch fish .
--------------------------------www.belfastcityrentals.com

OMAGH
Nothing to report from the Strule area either. The water's low up here and things are quiet.
I need feeds from all you Strule-area anglers so I can put up reports. From the outset, I must point out that I'm no expert angler, no skilful spey-caster ... and I'm not much good on the computer either.I have been asked to provide reports for the Omagh area and I have the time to do so, so please support me on this. If there's anything you think worthy of reporting ... catches, events, pollution, water-conditions, sales / swaps, etc. ... please let me know and I'll do my best to facilitate you. Also, please identify yourselves when contacting me so that I can verify reports and so on. I'll not, of course, publish your name if you wish to remain anon. I can be contacted by e-mail on:

dp1066@hotmail.co.uk

Text me on 07736352283

And please, genuine contacts only.
I answer to the name of Izaak.

11.am
All's quiet in the western front here at the minute . And i'm not hearing off any poacher hauls of salmon lately so i'm wondering where else could they have gone . Perhaps mulvin and lower newtownstewart waters .
Will enjoy a walk along that area today for a change ....the pan and such right on up .

The day is dry and a new moon ...september is shooting in fast , time is flying and so must i .
Back after lunch time .

M.collins from omagh has now got the controls also , so if any catch reports from that end im sure we will hear about them .

1.pm
It looks to me that all the fish in the sion dam are gone ...yes gone .
And god knows where .  i m just after walking it and i never seen so much as a ripple .
Something happened last night or early this morning for definite .

Its impossible to watch around the clock ..........poachers used to stand at the viewing wall years ago and watch the bailiffs lamp the dam , and then as soon as they all went home they stubbed their cigarettes and move in .
Im thinking this is whats happened .

5 men fishing the grevenue and no catches , i seen one fish showing and one of the fly anglers hooking himself in the back .
Theres something wrong down there , something has happened ..im serious . i felt it as soon as i arrived .

10.30 am
Was up at day break and up along some pools this morning early.......i would suggest that different angling clubs take turns to protect the dam as it is full of salmon .
Usually when the water drops and fish are held up in a pool  protection is at its height . but as the days go on the main interest deteriorates and the cloak of defence is droped .
[Dangerous .]
Its all a waiting game now and i know for a fact that some individuals are desperate to get their hands on a lot of salmon .

You might think to yourself  " if we catch them boys , they'll get a huge fine ha ha "
Well i can tell you now that "" they don't care if they are caught " what i mean is ....It won't come as a shock to them if they do .

These men will simply go to her magestys holding hotel [ jail]  for non payment of a fine or fines and enjoy it in the dark winter months  ...they will also get a bed and breakfast and plenty to eat  plus cigarettes and will be out in a week if they are unlucky  .
So my advice is .......just protect the river as best you can .!!

I heard the man involved in the dispute at the top of the derg got a fistfull of fingers [ saying no more }

The day is fine and the sun is shining and not a cloud in the sky ....big tides tomorrow night { new moon } more fish for the lower end of the mourne this weekend.

and i will have a new phone today after a drop and smash at the faughan [ same number]

3.30 pm
The faughan looked poor , i never seen a fish showing in the dam when i was there . i did see one fish showing however .. 100 yards down from the hydro plant .

Are all the fish up or is it just fishing bad ...thats a question to the anglers down there .
Only two anglers fishing below the main road , and i see a new bridge and road are under construction over the faughan also .

A lad had two fish from the woodhole yesterday morning on the flying C i was told .....If that was young Neeson ......take it with a pinch of salt .

And our local fly casting instructor Gerard Mc Aleer was back on the mourne this morning and had a fish about 4lbs .
                                          He said he fished hard for her and had to put on a sink tip to get the fly well down .


9.45 am
Just back with more mourne photos but i can't stay to long ,,,faughan at 11.30 this morning to the dam .
And again talking about dams .   The sion dam is well protected as i mentioned last night .
The loughs Agency are definitely puuting the pressure on poachers thats for sure ..the bend of the dam is well discused .

And a restaurant from Newtownstewart told me yesterday that he was visited by two members of the loughs agency { fisheries} they ask to see his frozen fish department . which of course he did .
The fishery staff were happy that there was no poached salmon in the freezer , so seamus the chef ask them !  Who can you tell the differance when they are in steak form and frozen ? " 
The simply couldn't so seasus just shook his head and went about his business .

A nice day again and our old tides must be building again .
                             And all these fish that we have are looking at nothing , you would think they were putting on this show just to tempt us all .

Because i have a few replies to emails to make regarding the Fishermans cottage in bundoran co donegal ..near the banks of the drowes.
This will help most or all interested .
THE HOUSE IS A 2 BEDROOM BUNGLOW WITH PLANS DRAWN OUT FOR AN EXTENTION IF NEED BE.
IT IS ONE FIELD FROM THE DROWES RIVER , FAMOUS FOR ITS SALMON FISHING .
IT IS JUST UPSTREAM OF LENNOX BRIDGE .
A JETTY AND ACCESS FOR LOUGH MELVIN IS EXACTLY ONE MILE AWAY NEAR KINLOUGH .
THE HOUSE IS BUILT ON THREE QUARTERS OF AN ACRE .
PRICE 125.000 EURO ....QUICK SALE .
PHOTOS ON GALLERY

11.30 pm
A message from poachers ...They said  " last night at the dam in sion mills was like a chrismas tree lite up , we waited until 4 am and still the bailiffs never left the bloody place "
Their intentions are to wait for the calm and then move again ...where else would you get this information boys .
Trust me on this ..................personally " i don't think this crew will be back , but they just might head ..cough cough ...somewhere else !!

10. am
Im trying so hard to get a photo of a fish showing in front of an angler ...one on now but not great ..taken an hour ago ..another taken around 8 am.

The river Mourne is as i said before  "" stuffed with fish " at this present minute in time .

6.50 am
The morning is dry but cloudy , and suppose thats good enough .  Im off to a part of the mourne where im expecting to get a snap-shot of a fish in the air because they seem to be showing more in the early morning time than any other time of the day ....plus its a nice walk out any-road .....back soon .

some photos now up .
12.40 afternoon .
Sorry about all that hassel .
                                    Back to normal now and thank god .
Yesterday was a poor enough day from sion to strabane considering the amount of fish showing .
Gary wolf lost a nice fresh fish in the grevenue around noon , but then steped in again and landed a fish about 4lbs ..{ photo this evening when i get back}
Another fish around the 9 mark was taken from the bears burn , and a fish caught above the swinging bridge.
The water was also on the dirty side due to a weekend sand wash release .

On to the strabane waters now and Marty McLaughlin landed and released a fish about 6lbs near the doctors ...hooked on one of his flies ....young devine had a nice double fig fish at the weekend . and fish are showing all over .
I have spent the morning at the mourne and seen plenty ......i was disapointed with the woodhole even though i seen about 4 fish turning .

It was the loughs Agency that were  patroling the Sion waters over the last few nights since of course from when the water dropped .
They took off a large net from the dam at the weekend and were able to save 8 good sized salmon and got them released safely back into the dam .
They will be watching this area every night now and will also be using their patrol boat to get to areas where its difficult to walk , plus they will be laying in wait .!!
So if poachers are reading this and wondering who got their net .....it was the loughs agency .
Im not saying which officer is heading this clamp down , but it doesn't take a conservation Specialist to work that one out ?

And im not being cheeky or sarcastic here but can i ask a simple question !
Why is there a tree blocking the woodhole and why is the path itself dilapidated , and why does the whole woodhole area look like as if its been neglected for the past 10 years.?
Im sure the members themselves agree that it should be pensioner and child friendly .
Is £100.000 and more per season from the richest club in Northern Ireland not enough  to keep at least one man full time employed keeping up appearances and making the area safe for old age pensioners and children alike  .
Im not expecting any ordinary member to say im wrong about the richness of the club simply because they don't simply know ? .....its as simple as that !!

As i said ...back later with some photos of both catches and pathways.

1.40 pm
At the river since 7 am ....seen about ....i don't know , maybe 60 / 70 ..more !!

One fish caught at the blackstone ...one at the doctors ....one above the doctors .

river packed all the way to sion .....there was 7 on haggins stream alone .

the fog was heavy this morning and didn't lift to about 11 or shortly after .

9.pm
The river mourne  is simply ..full of springer type fish .
Even poachers told me in lifford today that its stuffed ....so there you are .

Sion mills anglers are having a competition tomorrow ...everyone welcome .

And the point about the bailiff thrown into the camowen was not my mind thinking ...all i did was to relay the message on to this message board ......it is of course ..uncalled for .
I recieved a message from the sec of omagh anglers who was concerned about my blog statment .



1.30 pm
Im just back for 10 minutes but all i can say is " the river mourne is full of good salmon "
I seen plenty completely clearing the surface of the river this morning where is was , all good clean silver fish .
I also seen  one on the bank and another angler lost one ...sorry ....an angler at the far side had a fish spinning ..............sion is full of fish and you should get fishin there tomorrow or sooner .
They are cleaning up big time !!!

the weather is spot on and the water is in perfect nick ....take advantage ....gota go

9.30 am
Just before we head to the mourne for a planned expedition , its a great morning with the mist lifting .
It looked like a poachy morning earlier through the mist at 7.30 am with some type of activity above lifford bridge ...well it looked very suspect with one rod between 4 men , unless three of them were balliffs that is .
See a few out on the strabane waters town section this morning .. its great when you know that the biggest run of good salmon on the mourne is at the tail end of the year .

9.pm
Im to tired to send all the new forum applications an exceptance email , so ive just activated the few that i think are ok ....just remember your passwords please .

And i noticed the bailiffs putting the boat into the upper foyle this evening at 7.45 .

7.pm
News just in ........ It reads  " A wild bit of crack up at bertie Andersons this evening on the camowen omagh direction , An angler caught shrimping and then a ruckis started ....bailiff thrown into river , fearse crack altogether "

And thanks for another message informing me that the Ness river takes the odd fish ...plus the area i was in today is called jean lions ..great throw.

5.20 pm
I walked a nice part of the middle faughan today ....i'll put up a photo or two now in 2 minutes .....its a nice quiet area .
There is also a small tributary that runs into it called the ness , can anyone tell me if fish go up that stream to spawn and the end of the season.
Im also going to have to park the car in limavady and get a bus to dungiven and then walk the river roe all the way back to the car ... just for a change of scenery if you catch my drift .

  No one fishing the strabane waters for some odd reason  ..and its in great order getting ................and do you know where theres a bundle of fish "" The barn fjord ...burnyerabber and mc elrays just down from Newtownstewart .....and its well attended at the minute .
I know it well , especially the old railway side .

9.40 am
The rivers are in great nick now so enjoy it all this weekend ........ i did say that the middle mourne is ripe for producing good big fish , and after putting martin Shop mc Daid under servere pressure and bending his arm to breaking point just an hour ago .... he addmitted having two fish in the victoria area last night ......one at 11lb and one at 6lb ....{ just messing with you of course martin}
Its strange ....but you never hear a whisper when everyone is getting fish , its as if they are all tucked into a huge meal after a long fast .

7.30 am
A misty morning and dry again .
This reminds me on liskey wood and mulvin , a great throw at this time of the year with big double fig fish laying around the trout hole ..burn foot ...the pan ...mulvin bigh and carney right up to the fettens .
Its worth just taking a walk up some time with your camera or just for the scenery if nothing else .
The old duke didn't mind you fishing here just as long as you were gone around 8.30 am before his guests arrived .
Anyway ....back to the present .....S fitzsimmons has had 2 more fish from newtown from last sat ...and seen just a few .

Back shortly .....in a half rush .

7.15 pm
A strange day , and a busy one i can tell you ....seen fish in the faughan when i was down at drumahoe .
And i also seen fish at another little spot which i can't name just at the minute ...later .
I must check emails .
We had a bit of an emergency with a casualty and it looks like a stay over in hospital for a night or two .
Its not dangerously serious ...but it did call a halt to my moving up the river .
And at the hospital , martin mc daid phone to say the finn is opened until the 15th of sept .
DOOH .....think i made a slight mistake .

7.30 am
A bright and dry morning for a change .
                                               I must get out and about to day to see what the stories are.  The water in the mourne should be well down from yesterday , and its clean .


www.belfastcityrentals.com

9.45 pm
section taken off .
.
SEE ..theres two sides to every story .. plus these guys i personally know are A OK.


8.20 pm
I crossed over a very high and mighty finn river this evening , the mourne is just as bad ....Its been 9 weeks of high water now for all the rivers and the way things are going if we don't get a break , humans will be suffering from serious depression before the spring and jumping like lemings .
                                                               So to combat this i have devised a video moment on the forum .  You can put your own videos on the subject section and along with every other bodies fine moments ....simply enjoy .
Check out strabane man Dee Mc Colgans head cam videos right now on the forum ...plenty more to come dee said . plus dee is making a full length film of the yokanga trip later .

9.30 am
The mourne still has water , and maybe a little extra from yesterday , but still generally clean and a good week ahead remember ...The fly rod men are going to have a week of sheer perfect conditions from around thurs......so enjoy it when it lasts .
Until then ...go fish paddys bigh on the mourne or the derg strule and owenkillew.

7.35 am
Overcast Wet and miserable , that sums up the weatherforcast  this morning . it wasn't that bad during the night , more of a wind than anything else .

10.30 am

The water as you probibly guessed is up again .

7.30 am
The morning is fairly ok with an appearance of a thing called the SUN ...yeh ...its a big yellow thing that hangs from the sky and produces heat here about twice a year and it is to last until about 5 or 6 this evening . Then we will feel the wrath of God again and all through the night ....wind and rain again .

We could already have a rise from yesterdays rain , will check that now .

Don't forget to check out the little house for sale in the gallery ...more info if requested .

[ www.belfastcityrentals.com }sponsors

8.40pm
A concerned sion angler told me that a lad walked straight up to the mouth of the counter at burkes and landed two fish in the space of 10 minutes .........now what does that tell you about the camera .

And we have a superb house for sale just on the edge of bundoran town in co donegal .
one field from the drowes river at lennox bridge and 15 minutes from the town centre .
Refurbished ...replumbed ...rewired .....Privite ..and your salmon and sea trout fishing just outside the door .
Fast sale .....125.000 euro.. for more photos and viewing contact me on 07763191232 or email me at dannyhunter1@live.co.uk ...info@foylefishing.com...some photos on gallery.


2.55 pm
Its a bad evening now alright ..............a good few photos now on the gallery today ..all taken yesterday up and around Newtown .

1.40 pm
some photos coming up now of yesterdays catches , plus the new bloody doctor fly of maty mc laughlins ...tied at 3 am this morning , it looks like a collie bitch after a night out on the town at rex's joint .....have you ever seen the little caravan in the comedy series " father ted "  well that was us last night and it shock 24 ft from where we went in .

Its a damp day , but no presistant rain .

9.pm
just a we message before i go .....Omagh anglers are an absolutely well organised club with styles and fencing all along there water ...every member we met today were gentlemen , and tried to help us all .....unlike the nerve racking at sion or cloghan where you are always waiting for an attack ..verbally ....its a nerve racking game this guiding  , well so i thought untill the likes of the finn ..the strabane / lifford , and now the omagh clubs are out promoting visitors  .......its not all doom and gloom ...thank god .
As i said photos in the morn ..bye
8.40 pm
plenty of catches today ....i have photos of 5 caught fish ......i'll put them on in the morning if im not sick .
One fish caught at the meetings at newtown when we where there ...2 above on the strule ....2 at the top of the derg .....2 14lb fish caught at paddys bigh .....2 fish caught at the lower section of the owenkillew ...Two fish caught at by one angler at newtown also .
As i said ...plenty of photos later ...im off to the fly tying ball at martys .....a bottle of powers and 4 stout will cover me .

The water did rise today slightly ..weather fine .

7.am
Overcast and dull this morning . and the weather forcast gives it to rain heavy on sun ....i think the northwest is getting it now .

Im off guiding around all of the mourne system today so i know i will not get back for an early report .
But thankfully M Collins from Omagh will fill in and lend a hand from next week on and situations like this can be resolved and you can still have your up to date local angling news  .
For fishing today , i would go to the strule ...owenkillew ...and all the little tributaries of these rivers , plus the river mourne of course .
And i heard late last night that there was 3 fish on the banking at one stage in sion .

Any news today ..contact ....07763191232

9.30 pm
NOW ..back to normal .............Mark from belfast had a nice 8.5lb fish from the woodhole today ...he added " danny ..no other fish caught only a lad at the far side " and went on ...your information is wrong ......" seen plenty of salmon but no great catches "

8.45 pm
Im going to take a step here and point out to you all that we have hunderds of web sites relating to fishing the foyle , but please take a look at this new site called MOURNE REPORTS ......they are class with up to date reports and are always on the ball .
Im just the old foggy now and these men report on all the sion waters and catches ..they are young and dedicated ...and good luck to the lads .
Of course we need all the info we can get , and im just glad that i was the pioneer of all this weby stuff , and i will continue to take snap-shots even in the winter time .
THE FISHERMAN CAN ONLY BENEFIT.

4.pm
Sorry for not getting back earlier , sometimes a man has to work for a living ...and fuel .
Anyway ...Al Norby done it again in the grevenue with a belter of a fish , plus another angler had one during the time i was there .

I seen plenty of fish in the dam at sion also .....i might have some good shots of rising fish ..will check later .

Nice photo in the chronicle this week {sports section }well done Mark ...your a credit to your town for getting us on the map for all the good reasons .
Don't let the negitives upstream get to you boy .!!


7.45 am
A grand morning for a second time in a row so get at it today and definitely tomorrow .  i would bet that between omagh and lifford bridge today there will be around to 40 to 50 salmon caught on the rods ......i might be even under estimating that prediction .
But you can bet that only 10% of that will be known .

And Marty Lube Mc daid is having a fly tying competion tomorrow night in the cabin at the back of m. mc laughlins house ...im invited , and the drinks are free .........i can see it now .........upside down in the morning and legs everywhere , and half tied flies laying everywhere .

10.pm
Well the trip to omagh was eye opening , the gentlemen took me down to the fish counter and said  " There Danny ..Theres the counter in the middle of the Dam "
They went on .. " the fish jump over each side in good water and are not counted , the rest go through the small middle counter , and thats only noticeable to fish in a dry spell  "

  And even though the dam is back to front , it looks kinda nice and a change to the scenery.
And its funny foyleman in the forum tonight has mentioned something similar to what we talked about standing on the footbridge over the counter in omagh this evening ...He asks the question regarding 50 metres of closure on each side of sion weir .
Well the omagh men told me that there is already a 50 metre closure on each side of the weir in the centre of their town , but the loughs agency are going to extend it to .. no fishing between the two bridges at all which extends to about 400 yards .  So theirs one for you to chew on .
{ thats a good discussion foyleman }i must reply to that .

We also went to bertie Andersons  and checked out the catch report up there , and here is how it went .
WE stoped and asked the anglers at the side of the road   " any good "  "NO GOOD " they replied ..." never even seen a fish "
So after two minutes of pleasent conversation with them , One of them got really lucky all of a sudden and hooked two and landed them into his bag without us even noticing .
One was about 1.5lbs ..the other was touching 4 when he showed us .
The omagh club has some nice water , and plenty of it thats for sure ...no fighting up there .


4.30 pm
The water had risen a good couple of ft up at the top of the derg during the night and that is why we have that extra bit at the bottom ......still some nasty showers about , i was caught out in one at drumahoe in derry at 2.30 this evening .

Omagh now for a walkabout with an expert of the area  ......back late .

9.15am
After some nasty showers late yesterday evening it looks like we have a few extra inches , but nothing to worry about .

7.30 am
Dry for a change , and now is your chance to get at the river before we get more rain again.
That was a belter of a fish from paddy kees yesterday , and george cummins was just as spectacular a sight .
If you go to sion this morning , you will see fish in the dam and a possible 6 or 7 catches in the grevenue , but the crowd will be serious ..so if that is your scene !! fire away .
But if you want peace and quite , go up or even down river to places like .......paddys bigh ....crows nest ......the hospital at nestles old factory........liskey .. but with care in that direction .

Try the strabane waters if you want plenty of room , most men dont get there until after work in the late evenings , so you will have just the odd one out fishing on the golf course side .
The lifford bridge throw is coming into superb order now also .........Permits in country sports strabane ...71883021.

Quiet a few fish in their double fig at this time , a serious build up now of fish in the dam at sion .
And here is a tip for any young photographer .....take your camera up to sion at liskey side ......get a good action shot of a salmon in motion ......get it on canvas , and contact a firm in dublin and make yourself a weeks wage for one good photo .

This is open for everyone ...and i have the contacts .
Enjoy the day whatever you do .

10.40pm
M.Collins Omagh { about 30 fish counted going over the town section within two hours this evening on the strule , and thats not what went through the counter that were not seen }

9.pm
Paddy Kees on the gallery now with an nice 12lb fresh run fish from the strabane waters tonight ....caught on the butch special .
Fair play to paddy for bringing the fish up for a mug shot .

Another fish about 5lb also caught .

5.10 pm
That must have been a faulse text earlier because after an inquiry nobody seems to know if anything happened at sion waters today ....so we will put that down X FILES and shove it under the table

4.pm
A couple of fish landed from the newtown water ....S . fitzsimmons had one at 11lb im told .....one angler at the meetings was seen landing a fish ...no name.

12.30 afternoon
Whats happening now at sion !!....i got a text there ...but im not saying anything yet .
But keep the cool for god sake men .
The best atlantic salmon fishing in the world for £20 a year and things are out of control again...my god .
Its going to work on until someone gets hurt seriousy and a huge claim in for thousands.
Calm.

11.05
I forgot to mention there ....have you noticed your rivers cleaning faster this last few floods ?
Well its the loughs agency up around tributaries to the mourne , and the mourne also i must add ...They are keeping an eye on sand washes that discharge huge amounts of silt when theres a flood .

10.35 am
Fish getting caught at sion , but its not good to the amount of men fishing ...10 fishing the grevenue ....I noticed one fish getting caught and one hanging on a bush .

Another fish around 9lbs was caught by george cummins from belfast , george hooked her at the lade wall with a black flying C .photo up on gallery.

The docs at the strabane water is well attended this morning also ...no reports yet .

the dry weather is also holding .

I also noticed only two small grilse trying the wall side of burkes liskey rd side , but seen plenty showing in the dam .

7.30 am
The water has fallen nicely and i must go for a look at the counter side after my derry run .
An Angler was as proud as punch with his completely black salmon yesterday from the very top end of the river Derg ...another caught and returned by another lad .

Young Peter Tierney from carrickmore had his 2nd and third fish ever from the drumragh river yesterday also .
This young man is into returning his fish and is actually teaching his father Mark about conservation .

Another angler had 2 out of 3 fish at bertie andersons on the camowen ..one at 7/8lbs .

The morning is not to bad at the minute , and the ground is slighty damp but all in all ..not bad .
we will see if any fish are trying burkes side this morning ....will of course get back with some form of news .
Building big tides .

And have you seen the videos of Dee Mc Colgan on U.tube with his Yukanga river fishing in russia .
It shows him landing a 20lb salmon ...check it out .

www.belfastcityrentals.com

10.am
The water is huge again ....i took a photo of the weir at sion there but need i put it on , i think you can picture it in your own mind ...BIG

7.30 am
Autumn again and back to the early reports and thats due to the fact that i have to do the old school run again .
The morning is dry at least , but it wasn't always like that during this first day of september . it rained heavy at times during the night .
Back at 9 .10 am with a water condition report ....but i know it is still high possibly cleaning .
The finn is finished now for the season and god only knows what the story will be when or if it opens again .

7.30 pm
An angler had only 4 black fish for a full weeks fishing at cloghan on the finn , its not looking healthy by the sounds of it .

But the mourne is and more reports of plenty of fish caught at sion yesterday . A young man had a nice 9lb fish from paddies bigh yesterday , his friend was afraid to land it for him incase he lost it .

And also from the sion waters ... Personally i don't care what you do with tags when you get them , you can put them on your wheel trims if you like , but it is definitely doing damage to net poachers remember and making things awkward for them  and rod poachers also.

And talking about rod poaching !! If the man that ran to the his Vehicle  near sion yesterday with a tagless 10lb fish had have been watched by the bailiffs from the loughs agency or even informed on by a local or even a passer by ....He would not only have lost his tackle ..rods etc ...but his New car also , plus a hugh fine .

Take it from me , its a complete shock to the system and you think your dreaming when after an argument about opening the boot of your car results with the police standing around pointing much more than a fistful of fingers at you .
And you are the loser and the end of the day and your car or 4x4 is then seized

So ...take heed and don't think its impossible to be caught , even if you make 20 excuses up .
but why do you think net poachers use old cars that they dont care about ....they expect the unexpected you see ....the angler poacher doesn't ? and you are only a poacher when you cross that little exciting forbidden  line and half close that tag .

I myself am no angel , and as i said before ..." im not Attacking those that don't tag ...Im just letting you know what to expect .

Different laws in the republic even though part of the foyle system is across the border and controled by the same fishery .

Plenty of fish caught from the woodhole yesterday also and plenty of cars parked at that area .

M. Collins from omagh will be doing reports from the strule and tributaries on this blog soon .


5.30pm
It has been dry most of the evening now , and what about the amount of big salmon caught on the strabane water yesterday before the rise .....13 fish in total plus of course the sea trout ....A ball of salmon went through that area yesterday , but we can't keep the water down to get a proper few days fishing , all to the joy of upper angling clubs of course and all the rivers that make up the mourne .

I wonder how the finn is doing if the mourne is getting so many big fish .

10.40 am
A bit of a banker im afraid .

9.45 am
The morning is drying up,  but not for long the weather Woman says  , it gives a wet week ahead .... a good week in the hot sun would go down a treat .

Big tides on fri {full moon i think} fresh water of course , i don't have to tell you that .

And fair play to Mark Stewart from strabane with his 8.5lb sea trout yesterday.
caught on a toby type lure.

And a photo coming up soon of the family brothers from www.belfastcityrentals.com enjoying a days fishing here on the mourne .

9.15pm
Collin Cummins photo of his first catch ...5lb grilse from the drumragh [ omagh]
Fair play Collin .
8.45 pm
The record Mourne Sea-trout is now up on the gallery ...caught tonight ....8.5lbs

And you may well say "" there was one caught 20 years ago at 10lbs " but this is now recorded on our sight and will stand as a record for the mourne and possible foyle until proven NOT .

Plenty of salmon caught today also ......one man had 3 { somewhere ..cough cough} don't worry .
And singles caught all the way through the mourne and strule , plus the other tributaries of the mourne

Ruairi mc donagh had a lovely 5lb fish from the 12 bells near the mellon on the strule today also .

M.collins report { omagh]
Collin Cummins scored a very nice freshly run grilse from the drumragh river up stream of omagh today .
Photo attached Danny ...water fishing very well .

Thanks Michael .
740 pm
A sea trout has just been caught from the strabane waters ..8 plus lbs ...got to go and take a photo ......Mark Stewart ....fair play to you mark .
more reports also ...back shortly

2.45 pm
Not so dry now .
A possible rise .

11.15 am
A dry morning for a change .....some good fish all over . your in with a chance as long as your at the water .
I'm not happy with the river derg yesterday when i was on my way to pettigo pool for a check , no one seemed to have fish , but would they say anyway ?  . I did notice a bit of activity there and im not even going to get into the subject , cos im beating my head against the wall as far as trying to warn a fishery that doesn't give a damm about the system .
But what i will say is !!  yesterday seemed to be a planned excerise.

8.pm
The mourne is clean ..lowering fast and quite a few fish in it .....fish strabane or even sion tomorrow ...you have a great chance of hooking a salmon in her teens .

speaking to some young crazy net poacher there 15 or 20 minutes ago ...they said that the bailiffs are patroling the foyle like mad but they were able to to take 14 from a shot last night and scoop 3 euro per lb .
they did add that they have lost a lot of gear and one was even chased by jasson without the argonauts one evening at porthall bridge ...jasson being one of the bailiffs shouted " stop "  but to no avail , so he chassed the guy for a good distance ...............thats all i can say .
Another poacher fell into a wasps nest along the river and got seriously stung , and lost 3 good dead salmon to the deep river .
Also ...........a net taken off above lifford before the rise ....full of dirt .
Another net taken off with at least 13 or 14 salmon in it by the bailiffs .

weather fine .

5.10 pm
Plenty of fish caught in most places today .....i released two reluctantly because i lost them .doooooh ......this i must add was not the castlederg anglers water .

7/8 fish caught at the doctors on the strabane lifford waters ...good borderline cases .
Country sports will be open monday all day , so please get your tickets if you need the cream of waters to fish .
Contact country sports for information on 02871883021.....The best outdoors store in the Northwest without a doubt ....and lots of character and good atmospher to boot .

7.30 am
The morning is damp as if it has rained during the night but it seems to be drying up slighty , but god only knows for how long .

I'm off anyway to see if i can get a fishy for myself ....derg ....or owenkillew ...maybe both .

1.45 pm
In this job you also have to be detective , and i've just detected a hush hush policy all along the mourne this week ........lots of good size salmon caught and tagged ....2 at camus bridge yesterday  ....a pile of fish caught up along lisky and the trout hole ...burn foot and pan ....even mulvin bigh and carney right up to the feddens and burnyerabber got some ........Mc elrays if thats how you pronounce it got their share ...newtown the same .
My bet would be the owenkillew first thing in the morning ......all in all its looking good , About bloody time .
A good time to come , but it gives more rain .

10.15am
I thought id mention this as i have in the forum this morning about what a very embarrassed pair j kelly owner of the firtrees hotel and myself were...when asked by  some french tourists staying in the hotel ?  " Where can we get some souvenirs of Northern Ireland And Strabane plus the local rivers " 
Johnny also head of the chamber of commerce looked at the manager , the manager in return looked at me , and i looked at the barmaid ...but i was doing that anyway .
But we had to send them to { martins}over the border in donegal down in the republic of ireland as we have no shops in the north selling local tokens or souvenirs of local villages or small towns .
We are over a 100 miles behind kazakhstan  and 200 miles behind mongolia...and they themselves  are far behind .

dont forget ...if anyone has found fly tackle equipment at the top of lough derg ...contact number in yesterdays blog .

9.30 am
Yes ..the rivers are well up , but of course the finn and derg are clean ...rest dirty.

7.45am
Nature seems to be taking over the conservation requirements here in the northwest of Ireland and doing the bussiness yet again .
Its been another bad 24 hours of patchy and sometimes prolonged rain , plus its still at it .
and if you think this is bad , wait till you see the next few years .

I will be going three rivers at 8.15 this morning ................07763191232    info@foylefishing.com  dannyhunter1@live.co.uk

5.pm
The angler that hooked and released the 7lb fish on the liskey rd side of paddies stream on the mourne , hooked and landed a nice fish around ten from the bigh ...his father lost one also .
Two more anglers had a fish each from the same section .

Rain rain rain ....thats all we got on the way home , and tyrone was no exception ...a possible rise early in the morning ....maybe .
Anyway ...the rivers look clean now and cars parked all along the main road from omagh to strabane .
A run of fish went through sion today .

And some fly tackle was left behind at the top of the river derg , near lough derg ...if you have stumbled upon it please phone Jim Mc Daid on 07759551463

let me know how you got on .

10.am
An angler has just returned a slightly coloured fish of around 7lbs after hooking her at victoria bridge .......water still on the dirty side he said .

I better start making tracks back to the north of ireland after being tripping around the glencree mountains of wicklow for the last 4 days .......thanks for all reports men especially the omagh and carrickmore ones  , and i loved that report from my sion bud this morning ...it ended with " FROM YOUR NORTHWEST CORRESPONDENT OVER AND OUT "
HILARIOUS

9.am
The finn is down 2 ft from yesterday , and the mourne is also down but still out of fly fishing condition .
The grevenue will be packed as the mill lade will take the water pressure off .

Michael Tierney from Carrickmore had 2 fish yesterday from the bloody bridge on the camowen , one 8lbs and one 4lb , both hens and both returned in good condition .....Theres a release craze catching on up at that omagh direction when both young and old lads are releasing fish ...great to see this .

Still plenty of men fishing at bertie andersons but only two fish caught yesterday evening ....one 3lbs and one 5lbs .

And between yesterday morning and this morning at the same time , we have had 1800 visits to the site ....superb and getting better all the time .....remember its a site you can put your own photos on and have your own say .

And a message just in ....water still dirty at sion ....2 fish caught at lade ......one fish lost from the grevenue .

12.30 afternoon.
A fish landed at ballyarton on the faughan this morning ..some showing also .

9.30 AM
The weather is not good all over the country , so we might get another rise even though the water on the lower rivers are good to fish right now .

No great amount of fish showing really anywhere but there is a small poportion here and there .
2 young lads had an 8lb fish from near carrickmore plus 8 or 9 fish caught at bertie andersons  , but that was nothing to the amount of men out fishing that area .

Anthony Lyttle from Beragh had two nice fish from Newtownstewart , one was 14lb .
And an angler had an 8lb fish from above the meetings of the beragh water , caught on the fly ...he then returned her safely.
another 4lb fish was caught above the leap bridge .

A couple of fish were also caught at killeter yesterday and a couple released near the border .


And whats this im hearing about sand tossing at sion , im only after reading the forum ......keep the heads men for gods sake ......fishing is a sport and a hobby .


www.belfastcityrentals.com sponsering the blog

Here is our gorgeous Melissa starrett with her latest catches ...no wonder she looks exausted , but fair play to the young woman .....secret location , but shes gona show me where it is .

7.45 am
A good head of fish running the faughan at the moment , plenty seen around the dam and burntoilet plus ardlough .  but the claudy section is fishing the best with plenty of catches .

There was some heavy thundery rain in upper areas such as fintona and drumore yesterday , so perhaps it will keep parts of the mourne up .
And even though the water was still heavy around Newtownstrwart yesterday , i did notice plenty of anglers cars parked all the way from there to omagh .

According to some anglers views and an odd email from down south , The problem is not out at sea with the depleting salmon stocks of our foyle system , but the fault of your own fishery they say.
The river moy had 900 fish through the counter there in one week . Galway's corrib also had a sizeable return . other rivers are also doing well . so there you are . But i understand that it takes nearly a year to get shot of 5 million pounds that two governments keep giving the foyle fishery every year  , and thats a job on its own , and even takes up much of the staffs time to do just that { spend spend ] but if the governments are that stupid and silly to keep giving them handouts all the time without the fishery even having to drive a nail into a plank of soft wood : well and good .
But its your tax money , and it gives out the wrong signals to those that would like to do things straight in this life .
And another problem arrises from another source , and one i can't get to grips with .
" Why do some tackle shops sell bags of shrimp here if the blasted thing is banned " Its a puzzeler to me .
personally i couldn't give a dam , but its the way that some good Duke fearing men are out with fly rods one day, whipping away . and then turning a pound the wrong way .
Perhaps anglers stop off here on the way to donegal rivers or the bush river where you can fish the little morcil .....i might start a shop myself if its that good and give the conservation fight up and join the loughs agency and just relax and take her easy .



9.30 am
Bright and sunny this morning , but what a flood we had yesterday and last night . Newtownstewart was nearly washed away plus cars were running into huge dams on the roads .. it also has to be the biggest flood for years.

www.belfastcityrentals.com

11.50 am
We WILL have another massive banker late this evening and all tomorrow..... it has just reached brown flood stage on all small streams .

11.20 am
We have a serious bit of a storm outside , the rain and wind together makes under a hey stack look like a home for anyone caught out in it .

8.50 am
Its wet to an extent , but im not sure whats going to happen for the rest of the day weather ways.
It rained during the night and we also had strong winds , infact its still gusty out there.

This season has only provided a survival kit amount of salmon and sea trout , its up to the loughs agency now to do whats needed to keep the foyle alive , they were given the job to protect and maintain all our rivers here , and sadly they have failed , don't even blame the feeding grounds and pass the buck on to someone else , its the SPAWNING BEDS ......AS we speak they are getting electricuted ...netted ....shrimped .....and poisoned .......and simply over fished .
There is some wise anglers that return most fish in these areas { thank god }but there is others that take the lot and more .   At this second in time there is cages layed along the foyles waterways , trapping Mink which i am told are classed as a pest .
But otters are also taking the fish head bait set within the cage ....it works like this ...as soon as the weight is put on a small metal platform within the cage were the fish head lays, the trap door is closed and mr or misus mink or otter will have signed the death warrant .
Most of them die of starvation cos they might not be collected for weeks at a time.

If you only knew half of whats going on here . We even have an inspector up fishing around the counter at killygordon with the priviteers that took over the killygordon wood { strange or what }
This is just chatter going on in all tackle shops here . If women can do it , why can't we ...you can take the man out of the bog remember , but you'll never take the bog out of the man ! 
And as soon as he or indeed anyone else in the same position retires from that type of job , he or she will go straight back to the bog again .

Anyway .....apart from all that , its going to be another planned day providing the wife doesn't get to know about it . and i know nothing about football but i like a pint .

8.15 pm
only 5 or 6 fish seen on the weir on the camowen for two hours of high clean water......and im told by some club secretaries that the loughs agency have failed them big time and should hand the complete foyle system over to A United angling federation to try and recover some of the loss before its to late altogether .

And im hearing that some foreign Nationals are using electric fishing to clean out small stream and bagging all types of marine life ....this is serious men , its time to take action .

One late text ..." dan ..one fish out if three today  "
11.30 am
Well the great expectations didn't work out as planned this morning , i reached killeter at 5.45 am and fished it hard until the local anglers landed .......Not even a sight of a fish .
A fish around 14lbs was caught 3 miles further upstream at the spawning beds , i was told it was black as your boot .
There was also 7 fish caught above the narrow bridge by 3 family members just over a week or so ago .
The rivers are clean and the mourne is being well fished this morning regardless of the hight .
An angler fishing Newtown has text me to inform me that he has just landed a 10lb fish .
And a phone call from S mcgettigan telling me that an eel of about 5ft long was landed by his uncle Roy at huston grahams on the lower mourne .
Photo as soon as he gets it off his phone .

And i was told by the web bureau that we have had 1065 unique hits for one day on this site ....think it was last week or so , but they are coming from 88 different countries.

The weather is fine so far , but another text message stating that ... " it is pouring it down here Dan "
Well that could be Langley in virgina for all i know , but cheers anyway .

8.40 pm
The water is still as high ....the only chance is out early tomorrow morning at an upper location like im doing .....according to the weather forcast you may then forget about it untill next week .
A slight depression im sencing from most people today , perhaps its the moon thats causing it .
Don't worry men ...keep the head up and don't let it get to you in any shape or form .
The new moon has just passed last night and things are changing slowly .....sept will be fabulous for your fishing .
The finn closes soon and if you catch any black fish before then , just think conservation !
NOW ....take a night off and relax , and break open a bottle of the good stuff .....make up to the misus and do the chores for a change .{ theres grass coming out of my shirt tail today }
But set the clock for 5.30 am like im doing and clear off for a sneeky catch ....ill show you a photo of my catch tomorrow ....any bets ?
And why is it that girl friends or wives don't mind you going to the river at day break but hate you doddling off in the evening time ?
ANSWER ......Theres nothing bloody open in the morning and you can't go Awol for that sneeky we pint which leads to 6 and possibly a pair of high heal's.

10.45 am
The rivers took another blast of rain during the night and early hours of this morning .
Even the derg at the top end is to high ...clean though .

A bright morning but clouding over now .........its a bit of rain we need cos the ground is that hard .....seriously .....we need to get a clear spell now for a while .

4.30 pm
Take a look at the mourne at sion ...photos coming up.

11.15 am
Well i don't have to bore you with all the dreaded details about what the weather was like during the night , only that the boat at the back of my home is over flowing and theres a nice river also flowing level with the walkway to the viewing wall at sion .

www.belfastcityrentals.com

A nice fish from the drowes on the gallery ..caught this week .

4.30 pm
The water in the river derg went back up this morning again , we still fished on as the french tourists just wanted to enjoy the irish country side and the peace with not even a sound of a car engine .
An angler from fermanagh landed and hooked a fish in the first 5 minutes , i lost another and watched a nice fish make a snap at my copper and silver spoon ...its a rest period for a day now .

8.15 am
strong winds during the night but the rain was not to bad until daybreak this morning , should be ok for tributaries anyway .

Our french guests were very impressed with the weir at sion yesterday , and they were wondering why they couldn't fish it , and were willing to pay what ever it cost .
Well this is the gods honest truth what i said .........I said .......tourism is in its infancy here and locals feel threatened and fear they might lose their waters ....plus they don't allow guided tours from Northern Ireland or indeed Ireland to bring tourists to the area .....they actually state that on their web-site...crazey or what ...and its part government run ...well ??
But by saying that ...the two anglers from out of town that were fishing the grevenue and swinging bridge were actually the best natured gentlemen you could ever meet , and Al Norby actually wish them a good stay .
What an easy going man that makes everyone welcome .......thanks Al

8.30 pm
Home early today as the derg river went up fast and furious at killeter .
We did see a few fish turning but not a lot . i hooked two and lost the both before the rise .
We called at sion where we noticed two fish hanging on a bush at the lade section , and we also noticed one on a bush at the grevenue .
one also lost above the swinging bridge on the fly ...it actually straightened the hooks .
water conditions are on the high side but the lade makes the grevenue fish well because of the intake down the lade .
Dry at the moment but gives more rain early in the morning .

6.30 am
because we have no fish here , i have to leave that little bit earlier to get close to fermanagh .
You would think those salmon at sea would leave that little bit earlier also just to get back here on time .

Its raining now and has been for quite a while .....it looks bad for the day .

10.30 pm
The water rose again in the derg this morning when we got there .  huge .

Im not going to tell the story until the french trip is over ....and germans next week by the by .
They have some great faith in the foyle where as the loughs agency haven't .

Bailiffs go to lough derg every day im told by good experienced anglers of the derg , but they never leave the 4x4and check the river pools for evedience of poaching   ,   they said to me today that it was a young lad and a blonde that drove up and had a picnic today . lucky chap .

I was also speacking to one of the few returning derg salmon today ...he said to me  .....Dan ..?    "  why are they picking on us finn and derg salmon at sea all the time  , and why are we the only ones that go that extra 200 miles for better feeding and get home later when all them strule and owenkillew salmon get off light and get home early with bellys full of sand eels and shrimp .....its not bloody fair dan "

He also said to me ..."And Dan" !  ? " why is it that those poor souls of me cousins are laying in thousands around sion dam at christmas and spawning time "   I asked when i was passing earlier in the season this year where they were headed , they said "" we don't know ..We are lost souls and waiting for someone to show us the light so we can move through ""

They'll be waiting a while i think .

Im in a rush again , so i hope the spelling is ok ...probibly not .....you can also get on to the forum now as it is fixed for new members

8.30 am
The morning looks good ...the mourne is well down and looking clean from when i passed over the bridge at strabane 10 minutes ago .

Heading off for another long day ...in a different direction this time .

9.30 pm
We had a long long day at the river today ...we also had a fish hanging at the end of a line from the second throw,  then it was lost ...only seen about 4 fish showing for the whole day ......i'm saying no more on that subject cos im tired .....other anglers fishing the same river said it was a complete disaster as far as a run of salmon was concerned .
Some rivers rose again if that is the correct spelling ...it rained heavy last night again.

plenty of fish going over the lovers retreat weir in omagh ..........it just goes to show you what a few good men can do when they want to ....they are actually keeping the system alive for you guys on the lower end to enjoy your sport , and it only cost a bit of spare time with an interest .
All you anglers out there must agree with an enhancment programe , but why will the 5 million a year loughs agency not help to save this we system in any way shape or form......its the strangest set up  ever know to not happen .
You do realise the consequences in 3 or 5 years time from the result of doing nothing .
Here is one for you ?   how did the springers get into the mourne system !

Also before i go ........fish taken from an addie above the dam at sion on the lisky rd side .......they even found them hard to sell so they give 2 of them away for free.



8.30 am
A wet start to the morning ......I have a good photo of an otters diner set right on the weir at lovers retreat .........a salmon head .

and a photo of the house for sale near the drowes river in donegal coming up when i get time .
And just a we added note regarding the finn river ............THAT RIVER IS FINISHED ...OK MAYBE A FEW SPRINGERS BUT SINCE THAT THE RIVER HAS PRODUCED REALLY NOTHING ......I THINK ITS EVEN GONE PAST THE CATCH AND RELEASE STAGE .......I MIGHT JOKE AND SLAG AT TIMES , BUT THIS IS SERIOUS .......TAKE HEED LOUGHS AGENCY.

12.45 am
well after biting my nails to the stump whilst waiting for a party of french fishing tourists to arrive yesterday [sat] , i enjoyed an hour watching fish dipping in the dam at sion mills from the lisky road side .
T. hamilton told me that there was some nice catches during the week from different sections and had nothing bad to say about the fishing in general or indeed anything relating to the foyle system at all .
perhaps a disapointment on the finn run this season he pointed out , but that was all .
After the meet up at country sports in strabane , the french party got licenced up plus permits and off we went to mahons pool up the finn .
what a waste of 50 bucks for the last 3 or 4 hours of the day .....we seen nothing at all , not even a trout .
Never again.

They did give me a telling off jokinly because i told them earlier not to expect to much from the area when i explained the basics in relation to clubs and attitudes from some anti tourist anglers .
They said  " everyone we have met so far dan have been superb , your joking of course "
I felt releved that the first day was over without so much as a bad word from someone .
only 4 days to go , and my nails are totally gone .

so after the

12 midnight
i think ill put this report in the early sunday blog

10.am
well we all know what shape the waters are in ......big  ..........so up the water we go .
Im told the upper finn is holding the odd fish . so remember to return them if they are coloured .

3.30 pm
The rain can be persistant at times now and im not exactly sure which way it will sway in relation to the conditions for tomorrow.
There is just 3 fishing the grevenue and one at the lade {dam} i also seen a couple of fish turning in the grevenue itself , but nothing on the weir at all even though there was reports of fish going over this morning early .
Fish also seen turning on the strabane waters .

11.40 am
a report informing me that an angler has 3 fish from the far side of the grevenue [ all tagged]
thats a good catch for a fri morning .

.10.22 am
It is on the wet side this late morning , but im not sure what time it started at , but i do know it was dry all night last night and even up to 5.30 am this morning when i was leaving some travelers to the Ulster bus depot in strabane for flight connections.

Everything is now back to normal after a death in the family ,  and i am so looking forward to walking the river banks to see whats going on .

There must have been an odd fish caught above victoria bridge yesterday as i noticed a little well know van parked outside a certain premises .....cough cough ....perhaps an odd big salmon for sale .

9.am
A dry morning , but its rain for us all in the northwest tonight ..possible flood ....    A double fig fish reported caught at the clabber yards on the mourne late yesterday evening on the fly.

Fish are here , its just a case of them being on the take .....why not !! .......everyone else is .
just messing at this time of the morning .



A house for sale beside the drowes river in donegal ...125.000 euro 07763191232

3.pm
Plenty of fish in the woodhole at sion with one particular angler with a dozen for the last few days ....can't say the exact spot or i could end up on MARS.

Fish caught in the foyle also .

10.am
Another dry morning but it gives heavy rain for tomorrow evening . Everything is quiet at the moment in relation to catches .
But there is some fish getting caught on the shrimp all over , but of course kept hush hush , two i heard from the woodhole at sion on the mourne in the past few days ,  but that is nothing new .
Fish showing in some other parts of the mourne river and the water is also in good order.
Rumours are circulating about a catch and release next year on the finn and then maybe the mourne,   because im told ..anglers are not putting in proper returns to the fishery.
And of course we know that a good few anglers are putting tagless fish under their seat of the car and going back down to the river for number one again.....thats a well known fact of course ....as long as the beds are protected that is the main concern eh.

Some 6 or 7 weeks ago i was told by a good source that a huge massive shoal of salmon were close to the north coast of ireland , heading for both scottish and Irish rivers ........Then they dissapeared of the radar completely after a visit by a couple of  hugmungis foreign trawlers during the night.

This story has been told to me again and again by different authorities since that , and now it looks to be true with some salmonless  rivers all over the Uk and Ireland.
...One Air reconnaissance thought it was an oil slick when they went out to investigate.
Alot of high profiled foriegers eating our salmon now even as i write this ....but they said "" Thankyou Mr Grasshoopers , WE CATCH....WE EAT....WE LIKE .....WE BE BACK "

8.am
A very good morning for angling with patches of mist on different sections of the local rivers.
No anglers fishing the strabane waters as i came across the bridges this morning , and the loughs agency were out on patrol last night with the boat , they seemed to have done the finn at day break plus around the mouth of the mourne and didn't get back to prehen until 7.30 am exactly ...on trailer then.

www.belfastcityrentals.com


I hear theres a meeting in sion tomorrow evening .

4.15pm
They say theres fresh water in the finn at this minute ...Nothing in the strule when i was looking at the weir and fish pass beside the Arts Building in Omagh just over an hour ago ..it was however " mirky "

10.30 am
Anglers fished the lifford bridge area of the meetings of the waters early this morning , they seen fish but no joy .
The loughs agency Bailiffs landed at 7 am and found some used rope at the mouth of the mourne river { jason and one of the Beautiful Argonauts said that sion had alot of fresh fish in it now but was quiet with fishermen .}

The water is still the same , but i was expecting a few inches around now because it was still raining at 3 am when i was in the faughan area and it also rained when i was on my way home .

6 fish caught in a net from the pool at doneloop on the finn late sat night past .

The weather is just ok this morning and dry for now.

10.30 pm
It has been raining pretty heavy for the last couple of hours ....could be a fresh in the morning .
And those diseased fish at the border bridge on the derg are not dead , i picked it up wrong , they are swimming about and can be easly seen close to the bank .

5.pm
Two fish over the 10lb mark have been found dead at the border bridge on the derg at the spawning beds .
The message indicates that the fish are diseased , but i personally think that they were lost whilst shrimping and the damage was done that way ....then time discoloured them ....that was a report by the way from SALMON KING  from our forum

I don't mind the constant remarks from day trippers and emails and text messages slagging the loughs agency and laughing at their silly managing of what was once " a superb salmon river" ! , but i feel that its the whole fishing community here that they are really laughing at because we allowed it to happen ....and still are.

9.am
There was some nice patches of mist all along the faughan valley at 5.30 am this morning , and when i came up as far as strabane and lifford on the mourne , anglers were out in force with fly rods above and below all the bridges .

Dry and pleasent .
Bed now for a few hours i think .

8.50 am
Not a bad morning , overcast with light rain at times and fine for fishing the mourne now as it is well down and we are on the right side of the tides.

Meaning simply ....you are in with a chance even though its not the best of seasons altogether.
A photo of Marty 2 fish mc laughlin coming up . plus.  a 3 fish catch

1.30pm
Just the odd fish showing around the upper strabane waters today and none caught .
There was a nice little 4lb grilse caught from the top of the woodhole and plenty of fish showing , another fish caught behind the mill .
I have more photos to put up today .

7.am
A dry morning and plenty of anglers out again , im just off to see what the Marx brothers are up to near the blackstone on the mourne....they should have at least 2 fish at this stage.

9.30pm
The dreaded gravel extraction has upped the anti and has plans to clean all the gravel from the northern side also .
They are telling me that the real idea is to make a waterway for bigger tour boats to come up around the island from derry ....more diggers are in mid river today and working like crazy 
Well im sorry but ive done my bit and at the end of the day if the loughs agency say its legal ...it must be legal.

6.pm
New photos of todays actions on the mourne coming up .

3.05 pm
I must admit i was caught well just now .
                                                          Marty Hopeless MC Laughlin's son came running down to my house when i was cutting the lawn and said   " Here Danny , daddy sent that down "  then he ran like a hare , i shouted after him whilst looking through the plastic bag ." TELL YOUR DADDY THANKS FOR THE SEA TROUT  "
Then i opened the bag !!!!  it was the tail of the fish around the 6lb mark that he caught a couple of hours ago , and the sea lice was still on it .

Not exactly the scene from the god father , but on the right track ....of course you do know what this means Marty ....WAR

room is running out for anglers in sion , so much so they are spilling down unto the strabane/lifford waters i am told .

2.pm
fish coming off these tides still , another amount seen and moving through the lower and centre mourne at this minute .
Marty oil Mc Late Mc daid has hooked two and landed one plus Marty No chance Mc Laughlin has just landed a nice fish covered in sea lice from HS......fish are actually on the take today compared to yesterdays disapointment .
Thats fishing for you !

1.30 pm
a run of fish went through the mourne early this morning ......a couple lost and a couple caught ....im saying nothing about where at the minute .

And a young girl and her boy friend were asked to keep an eye for bailiffs near the red bridge when they were sitting in their car on the lane of the island last night .
The poachers just wanted to check out the strange car .

Bailiffs boat patroled the foyle at high water today in the same area.


9.am
Still no catches this morning . It looks like the fishery is winning the battle after all and soon a salmon will be a creature of the past here on the foyle .

Every single body i meet just can't comprehend the reason why the loughs agency will not listen to the constant warnings from the real experts that tramp the waterways every single day .
It's not as if they have a financial goal to aim for unlike other fisheries right across the UK and Ireland , so they could at the end of the day actually enjoy enhancing the system if they wanted to without any pressure , and five million at least a season from two governments has of course made them lackidasicle to say the least , and if you keep feeding a panda bear from birth and tend to it hand and foot all its life ,  it will never want to fend for itself.

Any Lucky salmon that make it back to the very top end of all the rivers here should be left in peace ....do you agree .
Perhaps a we restocking programe on streams like the mournebeg/ derg .....little reelin etc.....do you agree.

They say don't worry.. its just that the fish are late because the Norwegians are scooping up the sand eels out at Sea and the Atlantic Salmon have to travel that bit further to get their proper intake of food before they return to our rivers here .

WELL have i got news for you ........If those Atlantic Salmon Have to travel any further they will be called Pacific salmon .
So please Look after the few that make it to the top of these rivers rather than aiming to close it all down which you will actually end up doing if you don't listen .

And please clean out that dam at sion in the winter time .....There are far two many salmon spawning in that one spot .......re-locate

Full moon tonight and hopefully we will get a reasonable run off these tides .
The water is also on the perfect side and clean .

Otters are being trapped along with mink up along the Mourne and tributaries i was told and then they are being stuffed.

Some local restaurants have dropped the price of salmon when anglers and poachers come to try and sell them a few .
One restaurant owner said    "" they ask £3.50 per lb and i offer £2 ...they say NO WAY ...and then i say bye and close the door .......5 minutes later i get the knock on the door again and they agree on the £2 ""

11.20 pm
still no reports of catches on the mourne even when i walked the weir area of sion this evening .
the water is in good order , but don't be put off completely , torrow is a new day and we have big tides .
And we have been offered a superb looking cottage called www.tullyvarcottage.co.uk but it is booked up the weekend we need it ...what a site though.
Ballygawley.

10 am
Would anyone have a house or bunglow to rent out for a few days at the end of August ....Top fees paid .
For two anglers and partners .
07763191232
Strabane area .

9.20am
The morning is bright with a nice breeze . No fish caught at the grevenue this morning at all , and there must be 50 or more at the grevenue and lade at this minute .
The line that was outside the ticket shop this morning was unreal and has just eased off .
There was 9 rods on the grevenue alone at day break and those men alone fished it for 4 hours without so much as a pull ....and then the storm hit at 8.45 am , anglers started to flow down in packs and the early men went home .

A couple of fish showing as they went through the gravenue and the water is still on the high side ..mirky but still fishable for even the fly .

Bailiffs asking for licences { loughs Agency }

And after speaking to a couple of anglers yesterday on the derg , one said he had 13 ..another had 3 for the season and we only seen 3 fish showing for the whole day.
And some anglers said that it didn't matter if catch and release came in to this system , they are still taking their quota every year anyway because if the fisheries don't care about the rivers why should we .

The odd Fish showing at lifford bridge .

9.45 am
The mourne is in order but not a single fish caught at sion yesterday , not so much as a hooked and lost .
Anglers are now starting to wonder what are the loughs agency up to ...one actually said to me this morning "" I think they want to run the system down so that all the clubs get weaker and give up , and then a bigger body will move in ""
Wrong Jimmy........The song goes like this .
Conservation and catch and release , but first it has to get to a point of nearly no returns !!
That is why they stopped the carrickmore anglers restocking the very up tributaries of the Camowen above omagh .
But the men keep looking after the spawning beds anyway .

But why would they say that 10s of thousands are going over the counters ? .Thats just to give you all hope and keep you from complaining , and its working plus the clocks on the counters are all over the place and it would actually be more accurate to have a man standing there with a clicker in his hand instead of the other ..but it all looks good on a sheet of paper printed out by computers and counters from fish passes and they can't possibly be wrong can they ....ASK NASSA

And my complaining about spawning beds is a thorn in the side to some ..cough cough.
And i had a vivid dream last night that there was a massive Hydro dam built up the Finn at killygordon .
Hope i got the name of the river wrong ...but they were actually talking about this on the mourne tributaries not so long back.
Well what ever happens ...we will be the last to hear about it , mark my words on that .

The morning is dry now but we do have showers ,,,,the best place to get a fish today { a fish and chip shop }or ASDA

www.belfastcityrentals.com



7.30 pm
A young lad released a 12lb fish back into the derg today plus there is a report of one angler getting 7 fish over the weekend from the same river .

No real fishing on the owenkillew , i heard that there was just the odd one getting hooked .
G.Trainer went out for full day to fishing around gortin but no joy .

Good water in all the rivers .

10 am
Not a nice morning at this time , you would think it was winter .
The mourne has still plenty of water in it and even though fish are not been seen on the weir at sion  they seem to be gathering in the dam .

And i have just received a text to inform me that a landing net has been found around the camus area of the mourne ......07763191232

9.am
It was raining during the small hours but its just depending on how much we got.

Taking a day off to go on my travels along the rivers today .

2.pm
Fish showing above the weir at sion and there was over 15 fish hooked yesterday from the grevenue ...Not all landed but one guy had two out of 5 .

Now Hear this ........Sion angling ticket shop is closed today because the family that run the business are away to a football match in dublin .
The complete comittee must be away along with them cos theres no one to take over .

Some visitors are now fishing for free all along the middle mourne .....happy days one party said .

1.30 am
The strule is up and coloured now and the camowen is in great nick , but all the lads standing at the weir this morning have the same story "" NO FISH ""

And I bet you now a pound to a penny that before the loughs agency submit to the true facts that the local people keep telling them  , They will close  the river first rather than give in and take the approiate action and close and enhance top end tributaries like the mountain on the derg or the S bends at dohertys timber mill up the finn or the gap at the reelin and little reelin .......try it for a couple of years to see , its only worth a try .

10.30 am
Well as you probibly guessed the water is up again , higher even than fri but on the clean side .
The top of the finn and anywhere on the derg by the looks of things.

And here is an unusual mention but i said i would do it cos i fancy one of the staff.
{ Devine hair Salon in strabane are now doing Botox and dermal fillers , so if you need a perminent smile and big lips even though your in agony ...thats the place to go .
I must tell morrison

8.pm
No catch reports this evening and the waters will be brown , a report earlier informing me that the finn was 7ft up on the marker at cloghan , plus the rain is heavy and steady at times .

The commercial nets have had their worst year in the history of fishing the foyle .....sea reports are exactly the same and no one i have ever spoke to regarding the loughs agency have a good word to say in their defence because they are saying that as long as they can put numbers down on a sheet of paper that represents the legal aspect of another success of the fisheries funding each and every year when actual fact the system is failing and getting worse and all the good tax payers money is actually going down the shoot .

Im not an illeligent man with no funding from the loughs agency and really don't need it ,but  unlike the people that are getting paid huge amounts of money working for the agency i know whats right and whats wrong ......and im Simply saying that the spawning beds are getting raped and the river beds are getting ravished by iresponsible people and our so called fishery is standing back and saying nothing .
Now if any single one of you people out there say that im wrong in any way with good reason and can defend the Loughs agencys managing department , i will pack up and leave you all to it .
This web-site will go up for sale and that will be the end of it for good and forever amen .
Hows that for a deal .
Your name and address plus you point will be put up and as long as it makes sence i will bow out .



2.pm
This is going to be hard to believe but here we go anyway .

An angler from strabane was up fishing the sion water yesterday and after a few runs down the grevenue he decided to change the tube fly that he was fishing on his super fly rod .
Well he put the small treble hook into his mouth to hold until he could get his line and tube sorted out and then accidently swallowed the blasted thing .

Well your first thoughts would be.... hospital ...doctors ....surgery ....big trouble and maybe an opperation , well not in this case cos this guy got himself out of the deep SH.T by passing it a few hours later .....yeh it can only happen here , and i'm not saying plonker anymore , what i was told to say for incidents and accidents like this in the future is to show a bit of  leadership and give advice for god's sake instead of making the man or anybody feel bad about themselves.
OK.
SO MY ADVICE IN CASES LIKE THIS ONE IS TO MAKE SURE THE HOOKS ARE BARBLESS IN FUTURE AND NOT TO BE EATING AT THE SAME TIME WHEN PLACING ANY HOOKS IN YOUR MOUTH .
HOWS THAT !  AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT EATING SOME SORT OF LAXATIVE BECAUSE THE FRIGHT WILL DO THE TRICK FOR YOU ..........SO HAVE I PASSED THE HEALTH AND SAFETY TEST SIR ......HUH.

10.30 AM
THE MOURNE IS UP A BIT MORE THIS MORNING BUT NOT LOOKING TO DIRTY .
AND A GENTLEMAN HAS JUST LANDED HIS THIRD AT GLENMORE AFTER A SERIOUS BAD START TO THE SEASON WITH 0 ON HIS SCORING CARD .
HIS REPORT ALSO SUGGESTS THAT THE FINN IS EVEN RISING AT THIS MINUTE IN TIME UP IN THE CLOGHAN DIRECTION ...HE ALSO REPORTS SEEING A LOT OF FISH MOVING THROUGH .

THE DAY IS SHOWERY SO FAR .

www.belfastcityrentals.com

10.30 pm
The showers were sqally and windy today .so come on ahead and fish tomorrow ,and if its dirty by some form of heavy rain up around omagh , simply fish the derg only .
ask for areas on the derg 07763191232 .....i don.t want to crowd the same area if you catch my meaning .
Waters are still wine coloured , and the rain might not do damage ........from here anyway.

12.00 noon
A text reading " Net on the hole below the sluce gates at sion last night 5 fish "

And i was told that 2 fish caught above swinging bridge early .

The rain is still holding back , but its trying hard.......................Next big tides 6th Aug .


8.30 am
The big rain that was forcast for N.Ireland has not touched here in the NW yet anyway , it is fresher though .

This is the last day of the Nets on the foyle .

www.belfastcityrentals.com

10pm
The mourne and all tributaries are cleaning well this evening and sion seemed to be on the crowded side with anglers and walkers out for a stroll .

The fish caught at the crows nest this morning was 3.5lbs ...the angler seen a few fish turning and dipping as they were moving through and decided to cast in their direction , and to his surprise a fish took him .

And there is bets on who is the top man at casting in the foyle and mourne areas .
Some say G. Patterson .....some say G mc Aleer .....some say J Murry ..and some say F Elliott .
Well you are all wrong .....Its Packie Mc Sorley ....he can extinguish a cigarette in a mans mouth at 80 yards .
But seriously.. the Master of them all was a man called Stanford Friel From sion mill's who has since passed away ...but he was the best .

The weather is fine and it will be perfect to fish tomorrow  but you have to be early .

And the lads that went on the Russian trip have lost heart in fishing the foyle system because its a long slogg before you hook one compared to 14 or more a day from the Yokanga river or what ever you call it over there in the USSR.

I'm trying for Alaska Next year soWe might get a trip going yet .

12.20 afternoon.
A fish around 8lbs caught at paddys stream and one caught at the crows nest .
Water still on the dirty side .[ yellow flying C ]
11.30 am
Some seriously heavy rain at times this morning and it gives more prolonged rain for the weekend .
Some photos up now on the gallery plus one i stumbled on taken at ST Johnston along the foyle ....most of you have seen it before but this is to remind folk's that this is the type of salmon the foyle could produce if we only  had the proper ingredients in the managing circles .
The other new photos were taken yesterday morning at the doctors of the Strabane/ lifford anglers .

12.10 after midnight
Some photos coming up in the morning .
Weather dry ....finn clean ...mourne mirky .
no late evening fish caught

for contact info@foylefishing.com ...07763191232
The forum will be taking new members shortly also.

2.30 pm
The mourne is back to Mirky , and all those fish where caught before any day ticket holders arrived this morning and nothing since .
Most men are packing up and heading home .

Some nice photos here of a catch from the strabane waters today { later }
in a rush

12.10
6 fish caught in the grevenue this morning and two good fish caught in the feddens last night , one 11lbs MD.
Plus a reported rise in the mourne at this minute .

12.00
A couple of fish required by CHERNOBYL CHILDRENS AID STAFF FOR THE KID'S who are all here now staying with host families.
The person involved Domnic Bradley said that he will donate to you if you donate to him .
One is not allow to sell salmon i told him you see ............ph 028 71383523 ..or even give myself a ring and i'll contact him .

11.30 am
A text message { plenty of fish getting caught at sion so far this morning }
And a bit of advice if you plan to visit here more than once " buy A DCAL SEASON PERMIT like i did { god knows why cos i have no time to relax " it will work out cheaper for yourself instead of buying day ticket's .{ definitely not advisable unless its a one off .}
{ country Sports from Strabane supplies them and it opens all day }

9.20 am
Adian Devlin has just landed her from the docs on the Mourne [6lb on fly]....tings are improving i tink .
Touch wood .

The morning is dry and the river's  Strule ...Mourne ...faughan...and Roe are in perfect order .
The derg is good also along with the finn  but theres not a lot of fish about it right now .
And i always look forward to my own peace and quiet up the owenkillew later on in the season or some part's of the derg .

9.40pm
After taking a left at hamilton's corner near sion this evening whilst out walking we decided to go do the river bank towards strabane , and at exactly 9pm an elderly gentleman hooked and landed his first fish of the season at a certain little spot we all know....caught on the spinner by the way {roughly 4lb} He also seen another fish turning out in front of him .
I didn't ask him his name and he never told me so we left it like that ....fair play to the man , his day is now made anyway !

6.pm
Im just after phoning H Porter at the red bridge down the foyle , and the boats there have only 9 fish between them this evening .
5.05 pm
When i was in sion's woodhole i was told by a couple of lads that there was 3 fish caught up at or near the swinging bridge which could have taken in the grevenue , but i would bet there was more landed .
And a young lad from sion has 20 fish for the season to date .[ one of the Ps}

9.40am
This is a better day for fishing and there will definitely be fish caught today . on the mourne anyway .
The river finn is not looking good with only one fish seen yesterday for the whole day by  local angler's .
The fisheries have to open their eye's now and take some form of action before it's to late .
All angler's have been complaining about the state the river's are in with little or no fish coming off tide's .
Perhap's it will go the same way as the gravel went and is still going .....money talk's all the time { and man's greed }

I must take a walk up the mourne today  on the sion mill's water again, i hear the path to the woodhole's is treacherous and is collapsing and no work is been carried out to path's and walkway's .
And A sion Angler H .logue met two gentlemen whilst fishing paddy's bigh last week .
They told him that the water's were changing hand's next year and they were representives of that such party....The angler said " i took that with a pinch of salt " but he added , they did seem serious enough and were even pleasent to talk to even though they were going to try and take my fishing away  ........he then said to me " We will just start poaching Danny Like you did " i said ...i'll not tell you what i said .
The old buzzard.

an angler lost two fish this evening from the mourne at sion .
2.25 pm
An 8lb fish caught at Newtownstewart early this morning .{fresh]

And when talking to some day ticket holders at sion mills , they exclaimed that this part of the mourne has to be the best for salmon fishing in the whole of Ireland even with this bad season....They also added  "" Do you realise how much it would cost for a day's fishing in any popular river down south or across the SEA ""  This is unreal , and we where able to buy season tickets for £60  from DCAL.....superb .
We just hope that this keeps going ......Happy Day's !  I said yeh , and it's £20 for local's for a season .... they nearly fainted.

If only tour provider's were allowed to bring tourists in now to do some angling in the sion mills area it would be great ....We have a bunglow booked from mournesidehouse.com at Victoria for August but its a pitty we have to take the welsh tourists to the Finn River In donegal instead of the mourne river.
Hopefully things will change in the future for the best and for a reasonable angling rate for all and good managed clean river banking's .
As the song goes " the only way is up."

BUT IT'S NO GOOD TO TOURIST PROVIDER'S THAT NEED PEOPLE TO STAY OVER NIGHT IN OUR LOCAL HOTEL OR GUEST HOUSE ACCOMMODATION AND PUT A LITTLE INTO THE LOCAL ECONOMY .BUT IT'S SUPERB FOR DAY TRIPPER'S  I HAVE TO ADMIT .
THE BEAR'S BURN WAS COVERED IN TENT'S LAST SEASON , AND WHY WOULDN'T THEY .
I PROBIBLY WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME TO SAVE A FORTUNE.
1.pm
There was 5 fish in total caught from the grevenue this morning ...3 earlier from 6 am up until 10.am , and two since that .
The photo's i have are only of the fish as we must respect the wishes of anglers that can't have their photo's taken along with them .
One of these fish as you can see .. escaped from a poachers mashing net to be caught on a black flying C .
Only three fish were seen trying the weir in one hour by local men Huge Logue and David Gallagher .
The water is also in good order and the main early crowd have left leaving one gentleman to fish the gravenue on his own .
No one at the bears burn , and a report just in from omagh .........Ryan  Mathers has landed another grilse , plus the water has got very very dirty again and heading our way .

11.am
The Mourne still has ample fresh water and still that mirky colour ........Going to the weir at sion for a check .

5.45 pm
some brutal showers this evening , but a report from the ivy bridge on the finn informing me that "" the water is dropping and i have a 3lb grilse dan and also seen plenty below the bridge ""

2.20 pm
Take a look at this baby that was caught by The famous Champion Fly casting Enthusiast  Dee Mc Colgan from Strabane when he was on hols .

1.45 pm
More fresh water im afraid .....But there was a catch early this morning from the woodhole just before the rise .
A fish at 13lb ....one at 7lbs ......one at 4lbs and the one that i reported earlier of 5lbs ......the two smallest were caught by one angler fishing fly .
Nothing from the grevenue and no fish seen on the weir .
The water is dirty again and the lade is taking a lot of water from the grevenue leaving it fishable.

10.15 am
A 5lb fish caught on the fly from the mourne at sion this morning , i will tell you the spot later as the angler is still fishing .......weather {dry} some light prolonged rain during the dark early hours.

And those fish catches from Russia were caught by Comrade Clash nee cough Mc Colgan from strabane only , the other two comrades have their own but are not doing as good as Dee ........Dee said  he's the best ...better than all the rest ...better than everyone .

10.20pm
Still no rain and looking ok for the next hour anyway .

8.20 pm
The main man of the commercial nets on the upper foyle has voiced his concerns this evening by telling me """ Danny .....The loughs agency are not even trying to save the system "" there must be something sinister going on and i am definitely going to look for legal advice "

And he also mentioned """ the anglers upstream don't realise the consequence's of the action's occuring on the river foyle at the minute , they must find that there is something wrong with stock's  "
He also added that  "" we have been fishing for salmon like this for over a 100 years , and even we think conservation "
BUT ......There is something wrong with out at Sea and also the spawning  beds !

A report from Our guys in Russia ............14 grilse small grilse caught...2 at 14lb..2 at 10lb..2 at 12lb..1 at 17lb..1 at 18lb..2 at 19lb...1 at 20lb ..and the big one daddy at 31lb ...90% caught on green cascade ...Yep e ya yeh...a couple of 9lbs

Thats DEE ..GRAHAM ..AND CHRIS......nothing wrong with out at sea there , but they do protect their spawning beds .!!! and no 5 million every year from us tax payers.

We are the laughing stock of Europe .......We fund a fishery that funds thenselves ....A superb piece of Workmanship with no result's .

How was your fishing today folks ? wait until you see next year ...it halves every year .
But as i said before ....when i was a bailiff at sion counter , i was told by my inspector to add 2000 on to the count at sion mills at mid season !!!
I said ...ok boss

Here is an example of wrong doing ..............and this i swear on .

An old commercial nets man could not make it to the river one year because he went through an opperation to his hip ....ok
SO ...his second hand took control with an extra helper on boat 17 ........the loughs agency made his licence void thus no compo when the payoff came about .
OK SO FAR !
Then we had boats that never even fished at all , and the loughs agency were well informed about this and knew that the boats were tied to the river banks all year without even catching a sprat...they even sat down with us and told us the farse that was going on ..plus poachers were using 100's of tags from those boat numbers every week to cover poached fish for certain boat owners.
THE CATCH .
The old truthfull man gets nothing and put off his live long fishing on his home turf.

The vacant commercial boat owners get £50.000.00 to £75.000.00 each .......and they never even had to cast a net ......................but poachers did ..............for them .
ITS A STRANGE OLD WORLD .....And i know , cos i used to be a poacher to...and a middling ok one at that .....but i admit that to those of you who say "" hunter was no Saint ""

The evening is dry and we had an odd shower ........water mirky




10.am
A phone call telling me that the bailiffs where on the line of Islandmore down along the foyle and were in a rush to ask two young boys for a licence whilst at the same time the river bed was getting torn up ......now is that crazy or what .

one 4lb fish caught between all the nets on the upper foyle .

9.am
A text ........It's a bad sign when theres only one angler fishing the grevenue , and the water is in good condition .
8.50 am
A good dry sunny morning ....BUT ......according to the weather woman , it's going to be seriously wet tonight or this evening .
So get as much fishin done today as you can .

And i wish to congratulate Marty Oil Mc Daid on his Expectancy ..........Yes Marty is expecting quadruple etts in the form of spaniel Pup's .....he's that excited he's on 60 a day .
And his employer Noted that Marty showed signs of going into labour , but that would have been a first he added and i just took that with a pinch of salt .

The gravel topic was brought up on Highland radio yesterday morning , but its not local coverage that will be the most effective .....It will take National and international coverage to put an end to this disaster .

There is a sale

11.30 am
The mourne is of course Dirty and on the high side , the nets are off and it looks as if its going to be a worm weekend , except that is ...on the derg and finn .

A person not happy with all the gravel being taken out of the river foyle said  " send your best photo's to all your supporters of this atroscity dan , and then get them to forward them all to Country file in England .
Do this to all european programes to name and shame .

10.30 am
The catch report from the nets was faulse .............the men only got 15 to 18 each for the complete week .
They have been put off due to dirty water and constant fresh water .
They also finish next week .
The gravel is still being torn from the gravel beds of the foyle ..and they have actually upped the work force .
This is due to no one knowing who is responsable for the system ...and the contractor is laughing all the way to the halifax .

10 am
There was a rain storm just 10 minutes ago and the road was like a river ....thats the way these thunder plumps are falling out .

A dozen fish over the retreat weir in omagh in a short time ......water dirty .

The faughan will fish this evening im told .

9.pm
some 10s and 12s in a shot on the foyle today

2.20 pm
An 8lb fish caught at urge burn .....im not sure where that is .

2.pm
Fish showing up along the strule near the mellon ....young Mathers had a very small grilse yesterday evening at the same location .
The fish are bad down the foyle with one crew only getting 20 for the week so far .

Showery

10.30am
The water seem's to be in ok order in the mourne anyway .
No one fishing strabane waters , they must all be in sion .

A dry day

9.30pm
The day was not to bad with only the odd shower in the evening .  No report's of catches yet , but we can put that down to the dirty water in the mourne river anyway .
The finn seem's to be disapointing with no reported catches up around cloghan . There was supposed to be a net taken off the sanctuary on monday morning with one fish in it .
The loughs agency seized two 50 yard nets from marys pool on the foyle on mon night /tues morning .
They took the first off before midnight on mon and called back around 4am and got a second .
And i got a long text message informining me that a huge shoal of salmon are heading this direction from out at sea .......i replied " I WISH "

Some of our river Authorities of further down the eastuary could be applying for an extension to salmon fishing at the end of the season with catch and release in mind and only to be fished on the lower section's.
This is due to the ever increasing later run's , The lough's agency said it could be discussed .
They did not rule it out .
I'm just thinking of the thousand's of late fish that only come as far as sion on the mourne , the finn also gets a late run now , perhap's you could fish catch and release from lifford bridge down .

More tourists are contacting me for August on angling holiday's ...they include parties of 4s .
And course angling is another increasing topic and to be honest  i know very little about , but i do hear the fairy water is superb .


Its dirtier now ...it seems a good build of water around lifford bridge with the tide steming
9.am
There is only about a couple of feet in the Mourne after all that banging and noise and down pours yesterday .
Yes the water is mirky but i seen is dirtier .......all the verges and islands are still showing above strabane bridge and the finn looks clean also .

High water in a couple of hours at lifford .

10.06 pm
A message from an angler standing on ivy bridge on finn "" Big and brown ""
Another message from a gentleman on Claudy bridge on the faughan " Big ..Dirty and still rising "

9.15 pm
There will be a rise but how much , plenty of men staring at the weir at sion tonight hoping for a run of fish , but a rise first i think and then mybe a few moving  of the big tides .
A report of the marker covered at cloghan on the finn and i noticed the mill burn at milltown area which runs into the derg river on the road to ardstraw full to the brim and dirty .
We also had a second rattle of thunder this evening so all you can do now is pray for silver .


5.40 pm
Thunder / lightening / heavy rain mixed with lumps of ice just came down finn valley .thats how changable it is .

4.30 pm
It's a beautiful evening with the sun shinning and a warm breeze ...i doubt if the finn or derg will even get a rise of any sort [ sorry} will have a look later.

3.pm
Niall Mc Lennon from omagh had two fish yesterday [ an 8lb and a 5lb } both caught from the strule just above Newtowstewart .
The sun is out now but we might get a few inches from the omagh direction.

Noboddy fishing above lifford bridge and its in perfect order with a nice breeze .

1.30 pm
The weather is like my wife and most other woman { unpredictable and nasty at times}
And could the gentleman that phoned me from downhill with the live report of a catch the other day please ring me on the mobile only as my landline does not work for callers with withheld numbers anymore ....cheers .

10.am
If you have any fishing to do on the mourne , please do it today cos its not taking time to come down up at carrickmore according to the lads from that area .

8.am
John Murry has just landed a fish from the grevenue .

6.30 am
Marty oil mc Daid is off the bus this morning with a 4lb grilse ,and  after landing her  it took three more anglers to calm him down { his wee legs are still shaking and the oil's running out of him , well we think its oil anyway]

Not a bad morning so far ......a good time to fish all the lower sections and plenty of fish .
The new photos on the gallery are now good to go , the fairies must have came in the middle of the night .

Having a problem getting the large photos .....Nothing comes easy ...if you want a quick photo ill email it to you


I checked my camera , and i have captured 3 shots with a fish in each taken from under liffod bridge just before 8 bell's this evening .
They are not good because i just took them from my hip and pointed the camera in the river direction ....but here they are anyway .....i had to cut one of the two anglers out  to get it closer.

8.pm
It looks good for these tides .............A nice turn out of well spread out anglers right up the mourne on the Strabane/ lifford water's .
And as i arrived at lifford bridge for the strike i seen about 4 fish in the mater of 2 or 3 minutes.
Two anglers fishing it .

And a phone call from downhill on lough foyle itself informing me that a couple of fish just landed in a sweep ...live commentary so it was .

The water is still dirty but fish have arrived .

6.30 pm
The anglers that i have been speaking to this evening were happy with what fish they have seen today .
An Elderly gentleman from Antrim lost a fish on the fly from behind the mill at sion .

Nets are back on the foyle , and i predict a better week for them this week ...im waiting for a phone call

3.pm
That plonker i mentioned earlier on this morning was not an amateur after all , he was an experienced angler of forty year's and explained to me that the fish got wrapped up in the cast and when he was landing the fish it got caught on the lip of the landing net ....that was from the horses mouth himself .....so i must applogise .
He also touched two more fish.
And please take all this as a bit of slagging and i just put on how it was said to me .
And it's myself who is the Amateur and the plonker when it comes to report's .....God if i only had someone to do these report's everyday ...any offer's .



Al { first fish of the season man caught a fish about 5lbs and the water is also still mirky .

.9.am
The mourne is fishable right now , and a silly unexperienced angler has just lost a double fig fish from a section of the mourne in sion mills { tell you later when my man has finished fishing the same spot]
Anyway ,,,he hooked her on the fly and trailed her across the top of the water  giving the fish no chance to run at all , and when he tried to tail her she slipped out of his hands .
  !

10.30pm
Sean Kelly and his son from omagh had a 3lb grilse on the worm from purgerty at sion today .
They also lost a good fish .
Two other fish caught from the grevenue .

2.30 pm
This photo is of a visitor to strabane and lifford waters Mel Campel and his first salmon .
He played it on a half of a rod ..........the photo was taken in COUNTRY SPORTS STRABANE 02871 883021 for tickets

9.10 am
The mourne is brown and we have been getting some nasty showers.

A visitor to the area of the strabane and lifford waters[ mel Campel} landed his first ever salmon on a broken rod butt today .....yeh the rod broke.
I watched the crack in amazment as the lad scuffled and fought the fish { photo later}

7.pm
A bit of an argument at sion today with two anglers giving it the almighty over fishing stands .....no punches and everything simmered down .

3.pm
A nice fresh fish caught at the tail end of the doctors at 1.45 pm.just after Kevin Mc crory left ...a few silver boys dipping at the same location . Fish also showing in mourne at sion and one caught .
And when i was heading around to get a bite to eat i decided to stop and watch the weir at sion just incase i could see an odd fish trying  on the weir but no joy .
But what i did see were some lads fishing the burn and one on the forbidden pass , and to my surprise the loughs agency landed behind me and went straight down to the guy at the top end of the burn .
Well i don't know if he was booked because the bailiffs came away with no rods .

Paddys stream is crambed packed as is the grevenue . there must be hundreds of anglers out all over today .
Back to the river again for another few hours .

10.am
A good enough morning and we are off fishing and guiding a dubliner today so keep the text messages coming and im sure i'll hear and see something today .

The youngest angler in town is now up on the gallery .{ cathair Mc Crory}from the glebe .
His dad give me an offer i just couldn't refuse ......and it look's like a horses head.

Building big tides for the 22nd

10.pm
Young Cathair Mc crory from the glebe caught a nice 2lb sea trout  today , photo coming later.

I thought this was funny..................I told the green party when i phoned them about the foyle ...i said   " i never ever voted for you in my life and never even had any intentions of even doing so , but if you help me on a case regarding gravel being taken from the foyle and the river beds torn up  i will next time "  .....Steven Agnew from stormount Replied .....Ok where do i start !


5.pm
Photo of a nice 12.5 lb fish caught by Kevin Mclaugh from camus this evening on a purple and gold home made minow .
The next photo is of a guy that feel's its easy to break the law in sion mills by fishing above the burn at the tail end of the fish pass .
It's a good job the loughs agency bailiffs were not there or the whole plant would have been conficated and sent to derry along with a huge fine .{ take control men ..please }

The water is clean now so ....tomorrow will be fine .

2.45 pm
3 fish caught from the grevenue this morning 2 on the fly and one on the worm plus some hooked and lost .
It's all quiet now and i never so much as seen a trout on the weir .

All the dirt in the river was caused by the rivers agency working up-stream .

And some people want my view's on the Irish Society taking over part's of the Mourne river .
Well i don't know because i really don't know what their true intention's are , i'm hearing all type's of stories .
But i would actually like to ask a question myself !  "  Will they stop people like myself bringing in tourist's to Northern Ireland to fish River's such as the river mourne itself  " ?
There is so much talk and distrust amoungst local's plus no meeting's to calm the Rumour's and no one at the top are saying anything to anyone ......It's So exciting !!

12.30 afternoon
A fish caught at Newtownstewart .[7.5 lbs]

9.30 am
Good luck to the three amigo's heading for Russia today ...Dee Mc Colgan from Strabane and The two consultant's Graham Turner And Chris Steel from Altnagalvin Hospital are off to hunt down king Salmon up in the wild's of Russia's out-back .
One of Their flight plan's include's a tin can with a rotar blade mounted on top , so you would actually need nerve's of STEEL to even Contemplate setting your butt in .
Rather them than me ! but Dee has enough flies packed just incase and they would actually double as a parachute if anything goe's wrong .

The weather here is overcast with the odd shower , but i really don't know where to direct you today because of the mirky water's of the mourne ....sion or strabane could be the best of a bad job at the minute , sion have sold 12 day ticket's so far this morning and half of them will be fishing worm .
A report on any catches later .

10.30 pm
An angler fishing sion today noticed about a dozen fish trying the weir .

And i really don't know what the real story is concerning the new take over of sion mill's angling club waters ..... my only concern is to hope that guided tourist's will be allowed to fish it along with local's and that monies could be put back into a superb area and a proper river watch  formed ....that's really all i wanted at anytime anyway .
I just hope it's affordable for all irespective of what body has control ....and fair.

9.pm
No fish at sion and the water is filthy and well down , i seen one simple lonesome grile showing in the dam and nothing trying the weir at all ....plenty of anglers still out and about .
What a place to have a worm stand at £2.50 a time  ?

7.10pm
yes it is sand wash that was put into the mourne thats why its taking so long to clear .
Hey ...we're getting a right bashing from all these quarries and now their talking about the lower Island on the derry direction .


3.45 pm {phone call just in]
lorries are thundering up and down the Island to clear as much pilled up gravel as they can before some bann is put on that also ......Lough's agency are standing by watching .

2.30 pm
Some concern's just in . I Am told that the lough's Agency are responsable to the North of ireland and the Republic's Ministerial council's and are therefore responsable for all the misdoing's of our Beautiful river foyle system .

Their working party also recommend's that angler's have a bag limit of Two fish and to act and think conservation when fishing the foyle along side the commercial netsmen that don't have a catch quota at all...crazey or what !
I'm just pointing out that the regulation's make no sense that's all ...i'm not taking side's here .

And Now here this for a story ..........THE Dukes top man was told by a lough's agency officer that there was 10.000 fish up over the counter at sion mill's and that the commercial net's will now get an extention because the Quota is up and everything is hunky dory .

Well i can tell you now that there is no more than 3000 fish over the weir at sion mill's and it's impossible to count that section anyway and half that amount have gone over the counter on the finn river also .
SO What is going on here Ladies , you would think the lough's agency were out to completely kill off the entire salmon and trout stock's of the foyle .
And now they have issued a statment today at 2pm and say that there was 3.330 odd fish that went over the finn counter alone from 9th of june 09 until now .

Well they must have parachuted into the pool's around killygordon from a SEA plane because they never went past clady bridge.........Please tell us what is going on for God's Sake ...Ah Come on ...please ..i beg you ...please  ....pretty please .

I've a good mind to run for Minister or An MLA just to find out what the hell is going on for real  .
I joked about this before but i'm really beginning to believe that the lough's Agency are SEAL's dressed up as Human Being's and not wolves as first thought .

And did you ever think for one moment " do the commercial men want an extension  anyway"? ....no fish yesterday from the nets by the way .......that increase of grilse was short lived.
THE BATTLE GOE'S ON I FEAR .

And what's this i hear about taking the republic's public sector retirement pension ! doe's this mean you have to retire in the south , and can i go to !! or is it only for cross border Agencies.
I wouldn't mind an owl retirement pension of around ..say ....£100.000 a year .....ok i'll take it .


1.pm
The mourne is still grumbley but fishable with everything but the fly ....no fish on the weir at sion today .
Where is all this dirt coming from anyway and how can a river stay so dirty for so long , surely it can't be sand washes !


8.50 am
A nice simple sunny morning and the river's mourne / faughan / and strule seem to be the pointer's for today .
A phone call from the upper finn this morning informing me that its far to low .

The camowen seen a few fish yesterday evening and that's a good sign that the fruits are being produced after a long labour of taking control and stocking and looking after their own spawning beds further on up stream from there .{ can't say to much as it's illegal to help inhance and maintain nature Here on your own }

And quite a catch at the deverney and andersons up from the leap yesterday also , .[same direction}

We had a serious amount of visits to this web-site yesterday ...well over 1500 with 1000 going to the home page itself .
And local paper's have phone me and asked   " what exactly do you want Danny " !  So i told them .
I said i just want fair play to all ! Honesty ! Help the Local town's for the tourist industry and work for the betterment of the river's and all marine life also, plus clean up the river banks and have country walkways along some river side's without the chance of breaking your neck or leg .
Use the money for programes like this instead of ripping it up and taking it all away to turn into concrete .
And the tides as stated on a local news paper last week by a concrete firm does not fill the gravel beds up again in a short time , unless they mean a short time is two thousand years.

So i invite you all now to come along with me down to the areas in question and to take photos of the man made disaster location even though it has been stopped now ..from last week actually ...but have a look what was allowed to happen and then ask yourself .....What heads should roll ? and why was it allowed to happen in the first place .
Plus the 1000s upon 1000's of tons of gravel that are sitting in heaps should be put back in and leveled and even transported to rivers such as the mournebeg  to enhance that river as its in dire straights and just needs a wee boost.

Its all so simple and plain to see , its only greed that makes you blind ....anyway .....back to the fish run . An increase in grilse at the minute but still far from last years run .
Back later ......Oh ....the fish pass at sion was fished yeaterday for an hour , i even took a photo shot .

6.30 pm
The river mourne is still dirty , and Martin Oil Mc Daids great great great great grandson landed in one of those ever increasing UFO space craft that aliens are  blamed for manouvering around this planet and beggingly asked to get marty a fish fast because if he doesn't it will change the course of time .
But don't worry marty , i was speeking to your great great great great - GREAT granddaughter and she said you landed her on the 2nd of August 09 at 10 am from the woodhole .


12.30 afternoon .
The water is dirty in most rivers as i said and fish showing in the lade at sion , The odd one going over also .
What i did notice was an increase of sea trout trying the bottom of the sion side of the weir .
One lad had a fish from the burn .
And a report from the Omagh Scouts ......river out of order except the fairy water, but it does not hold salmon or sea trout anyway ....it should ! but it doesn't.

Andy Patton has scored this morning with a fish from the grevenue , and i think he lost one also ...Andy is a bit of an early bird .

I might put a photo up of conditions at sion shortly .

Faughan scout reports river dirty also .

10.20 am
Rivers are up and dirty , best places to fish are the derg and upper finn for clean water .
Fish on the weir at sion and its turning out to be a better side of the season .

Further investigations into the gravel extraction are still going ahead .......plus ... Government bodies from both stormount and dublin have met with the loughs agency .
And i have to tell you this !!!! It's Going to be hard to find the Department that is responsable for the foyle because who ever puts their hands up has a 99% chance of recieving a fine of possably Millions from europe...........NOW THINK ABOUT THAT..???  ....this might not stop at lifford bridge??
Its No wonder everybodys heading in all directions ............Just think .....If I was A lord or a Duke and had claim to the foyle , i doubt if something as big as this came up { i'd be off}VERY FAST

10.30pm
The faughan is on the rise.

7.30 pm
An increase of salmon in the foyle at this moment in time ....25 fish at porthall this evening .
A good time to come here now because any other fish will be up here by tonight and tomorrow on .
AT LAST

7.pm
The strule is dirty with 2.5 ft of water in it , the camowen is the cleanest up that direction and they have been getting small but steady run's of grilse yesterday and all day today .
We also have very heavy down pours.

3.30 pm
A report informing me that 2 anglers noted a group of poachers at the cylinders on the foyle this morning at 7.30  carrying 3 full bags of salmon , the anglers thought they were bailiffs at the beginning , but when the men looked accross and seen the anglers they got into a fluster and fled in a landrover.

.1.15pm
Not a lot happening on the weir at sion mills , but i did notice a fish getting hooked and lost at the tail end of the grevenue on the liskey side, it leapt about 4ft into the air twice.

The grevenue is slightly packed and no one seemed to be catching anything , and i also seen a fish clearing the water below the weir itself.
The water conditions are superb and the weather is fine .

An angler left his glasses and mobile phone on the top of his car roof at victoria and drove of leaving them to the mercy of myself as i picked them up on the main omagh to strabane rd near sion .

A commercial net was stolen from the red bridge last night .

9.50 pm
Only 4 fish caught at the red bridge then a later report of 5 .

No fish caught along the mourne including the fetens but a later report of 6 caught early in the morning from the grevenue[day break]

Fish caught at omagh and fish moving {looking good}

Reports of a sion club change to management {not sure about result, a meeting held fri past} a wind of change for hopefully the better .

Rain was heavy and fresh water coming .

12.noon
Plenty of fish showing below the Ivy Bridge at cloghan on the finn ....One nice fresh fish caught by an Antrim Angler at 7pm last evening .

Stories are circulating in regards to a lot of fish caught at liscooley area yesterday after the rise .

Im not getting any great reports from sion which suggests that its not doing to good  but i must take a walk and see for myself .
I'm Sorry about the lack of reports from that area but it is due to the New rules  of the sion club for banning Tourist Guiding from outside the club ...But they have only one guide to cater for all those miles of water !!
It's unbelieveable but there you go ...One for the record Book's of History .

James Herdman is building a brand new Hotel over looking the river and will create plenty of jobs for a good few local's  .....I just hope he is allowed to bring tourists in to fish and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

9.am
A bright morning but rain later . we had a bit of extra fresh water after yesterday evening's thunder plump's .
Net's on this evening again at 6 pm , and after speaking to some of the net's men yesterday , they told me that they have been getting more and more dead mussel's in their net's this year and blame it on the distruction of the river bed's further up stream .

7.30 pm
Well i have to thank the big fellow from Clady for standing in since last Wed because i was boating it up and down the RiverThames living it up and enjoying the sights and even got a bit of history in a roman / Norman castle in colchester yesterday .
But the rest is over and back to the report's now for a while anyway .


Sun 9.00pm
Had a bit of a lay on that just leaves me behind this evening . Good fresh morning here in the northwest .dont think the rain put the rivers up any last night well iam off now could be out of reach with my mobile for a bit today . hope i have good news for you .

9.45am
Well folks i will be off tomorrow morning early not be back to later on so i hope i can get a report or two on when i get back do my best. If the rain keeps up it should be good next week. Hope that brings a few fish up. Hope paddys finger is geting better I hear mc aleer is still the best caster even with one wing. No news on how the meeting went with sion anglers today.  I hear it was a long one.



8.15am
Kevin Melaugh got five sea trout and one fish at 5lb at biagh today. Marty the seal catcher got one sea trout between the bridges, his son Eunan got a small fish thats him off the bus. Marty oil still on it. Snap tee king Aidan landed a small fish last night thats him off the bus. Weather turning nasty, heavy rain at the minute. Strong winds. No reports of any fish being caught at the finn or the derg.







SAT 11.30pm
Report of an norwegian chad yesterday at woodhole on the fly . Had to take it loughs agency derry to fine out what it was . A 6lb fish got at grevenue this morning on flying C no reports of fish apart from sion very quiet . Big meeting taking place sion Anglers wonder what thats about

10.00am
Just back from grevenue no one fishing there two at the burn .In town three men fishing between bridges .  two men below new bridge no one getting fish . Well they must be getting the bus from derry.Weather not so good for tomorrow gives heavy rain  



9.00am
Great evening folks a few sea trout got between the bridges in strabane one man is doing his lap of hounor of the town. trout covered in sea lice .just got news of another man has a sore finger hit it with a priest missed the trout he got must have been small one


3.45am
all quiet i was talking to a man today about casting there are a lot of men that can throw a line he told me GmcAleer is the best about what u think aidan devlin is the snap tee king so iam told marty seal is just marty seal

1.00am
pete doherty lost a fish at the burn this morning there was two fish got at the grevenue early on .Reports of a few got at victoria bridge yesterday .Derg quiet Finn the same . Boat men very quiet as well not much doing 



9.00pm
Dry morning here in the north west a few clouds about temp 16c winds light tomorrow going to be very wet well that the weather out of the way up river now get a report or 2

10.20am grevenue packed today reports of one small fish all day and that was early this morning REPORT saying the duke taking sion water back any truth in that please let me know off to bed now hard day ahead tomorrow 



9.45am Plenty of men fishing strabane this evening at new bridge no reports of any catches . I was at the docters today no one fishing there at all


6.45am sam keys landed a good 12lb fish near argos
now its pay back time marty oil allways getin stick what about his partner marty fank who played a fish for an hour and a half at lifford some people say it was a seal it was a good job marty was there because he could not drive home now his new name is marty the seal catcher a local lady named him do you think it will stick





12.noon the grevenue is black with men fishing ten men lined up tacked up and ready
to go a small fish got at the back of the mill this morning one also lost two were got yesterday at the burn black fly c 9lb 3lb                thur      .9.july-09 10.am
i seen three men fishing lifford bridge this morning early at 6.30am  got a text no fish reports that two fish got killygordan yesterday men out fishing above old bridge in strabane this morning plenty of men out and about

9.30pm kieran heany from omagh has just landed an 8ib fresh fish at nestles on da worm


4.pm up the finn for a walk nice day all quiet
3.pm
a huge lampry found dead near the doctors pool .
2.pm
Loads of angler's out today even up around Newtownstewart , and an angler from there has texted me to say  " not a fish caught dan "

My advice is fish from the blackstone down during the next few day's and if that's no good { forget about it }

12.30 afternoon.
There is still some heavy nasty showers about today also but it is supposed to clear up .
And local paper's plus the Green party from both sides of the border are all looking into this gravel bussines below lifford bridge , and the sunday world have just contacted me again to say that they will be keeping an eye on the situation .
The photographer Who took the pictures for the sunday world { Trevor Mc Bride } has been contacted also to release some photos to other media groups.

Another surfacing concern is " why were the gallaghers from lifford  told that they could not take gravel out of the river because it would interfere with spawning beds yet bigger cocerns were turned a blind eye to .........So i'm thinking theres more to this than meets the eye !!!
All i want is for it to stop and put it all back {whats left of it anyway}

8.20 am
The mourne is in spinning order this morning but no fish at the weir at sion and no fish caught .
Some sion club committee family member's seemed to be fishing the bear's burn early this morning but with no joy , and that section of the top of the grevenue always produces fish .{ photo up shortly}

Weather .............dry morning .

10.pm
We still have the odd heavy shower here at the minute.
Only a couple of fish seen on the weir at sion for the whole day today according to local anglers fishing the grevenue .
Water down slightly and cleaning slowly .........Net's are getting nothing down the foyle .
A few fish around omagh with the odd one seen at lovers retreat weir earlier ....the water has fallen of that weir this evening and things have gone quiet.

12.30 afternoon
Well the water is still up and coloured on the Mourne Areas....The finn is clean and at more or less normal height , {the island above clady bridge is showing completely.}
A photo of the weir at sion will be put up in the next 10 minutes........I also noticed K . Mc crory from the glebe getting a nice sea trout of about 1lb from the grevenue near the sluce gates just 20 minutes ago but i never so much as seen a stickle-back on the weir itself .
Still not good .................Warnings will not be heeded { look after the river and spawning beds i keep saying}
And just to prove that damage is mainly done on the spawning beds  im going to take a photo of a gravid fish getting hooked by the many anglers that fish such areas ....landed.....and hit over the head as it spawns on the river bank this coming closing of the season of 09 ......I watch it every year anyway but this year i'm going to highlight it and also send out a few more torpedos to the media .
Its just a pitty i have to fight a fight for conservation on my jack jones here, but if that's what it's going to take to bring it all to the fore front ! Thats what its going  take !!!
Man always wait's until the disaster happen's first then he look's for a solution to the problem , so this is why i'm going to show you all the coming disaster in advance and then you will have no excuses or reason's to complain after the " what seem's to be the inevitable BIG ONE ?????????

No one at the bears burn on the sion water today but i'm sure it will be jamed packed before long if a smell of a fish comes along .......Such a waste of the main Migrating Marine station of the Complete North NorthWest of Ireland , and no one know's who's incharge as the ultimate Protectors of such a beauty Spot as it get's raped daily by the borg.[ collective}

10.30 am
We have had some thundery showers during last night so i'm off to have a gleek at the situation .
              Back soon .

11.30 pm
The forum is down by the looks of things and we seem to be back to normal ....I'm not even going to contact the server to fix it because it was never used properly anyway and not even needed in the first place...local people seem to not want their say in debates and put their views across to the fishery that read plus check in each day ...as i was told by the officers by the by!.
A BLACK CLOUD HAS BEEN LIFTED LORD .......THANK GOD.

water in mourne still brown..finn clean ..............fish are late .............they are expected around christmas

2.35 pm
Well the water is up well at sion on the mourne , but not A fish to be seen ...I noticed one little herring sized sea trout on the counter concrete on the liskey road side but that was it .
The water is coloured but that wouldn't stop any salmon or trout if they were there .
The foyle river watchers were there also but had nothing to report on fish movements on the lower rivers , but did say there was a few on up rivers plus sea trout.
All in All ....Its not looking good .........we will have a few fresh fish around wed and thurs but the big question is " how Many "!

10.30 am
A good few Fish were going over and attempting to go over the new counter in omagh yesterday evening in the rise .
I'm taking a walk-about today for news.

The commercial netsmen told me that catches started to improve at the end of last week also.

The day is dry now and the tides are good and strong .......Favorable for tomorrow when the mourne cleans .
The finn would be the place to be today .

7.30 pm
Sorry men ...had to do a course in belfast for two day's ....an interesting one at that .

The rain was coming down in buckets when i hit the ballygawley roundabout at 6 pm ., Omagh was flooded with water running heavy down the roads . the strule is dirty also and i recieved texts when i was away informing me that a couple of fish seen going over the weir on the camowen and another informing me that a couple of fish were seen hooked at the bears burn this morning .
A 7llb fish caught yesterday morning at 7.30 am from the grevenue .
Another 2lb fish caught near the woodhole , and another couple of fish noted hooked and lost from the long streams .

An angler fishing an upper section of the finn today , or was that yesterday !  anyway ..the man hooked two fish ...a 3lb and a 10lb cock fish on light tackle .

Still no decent run's of fish .....full moon on tues i think , hope theres a change .

And thank's for the information men ..cheers ...plus i'm getting a bit of help with the reports this week as i have to travel back and fourth to meetings of a business type ...but i'm looking forward to getting back to normal .

7.am
A dry morning .....and the mourne is fine to fish , but as i said ! the fish are not just there.
The gravel extraction report is supposed to be in tomorrows sunday world ......yeh thats right ...a licence was refused 10 years ago , but they went on ahead anyway and cleaned the river out .

11.pm
Of course there was a slight rise on the mourne but it never dirtied .......im heading up along the main road at 7.15 am tomorrow to belfast ....give me a ring if you want an update to make you feel better .......2ft was a bit much for some reports .....a picture paints a thousand words , thats why i take them .......some reports are just a money scam to get you here to spend your hard earned cash .
we tell the truth.
No fish running ...no big water ..simple as that............fish lower mourne or lifford tomorrow for a chance , tides building for tues.

8.45pm
The pictures have not changed lads , and no fish ....i was up the derg earlier and its actually dropping from the 2 or 3 inches it got .

1.10 pm
The water situation at the moment is like this ......this photo was taken 15 minutes ago , so don't be upset and get the owl pants in a twist cos it takes 12 good hours for the mourne to benefit from any great down pour .

Theres gold in them there mounds of gravel down the foyle i'm told ....and its been kept quite.

8.20 am
It is pouring it down at the moment , and has been on and off since exactly 5.30 this morning .
We will keep an eye on the situation .

A strange email just came in ...It's either a wind up or someone serious about asking permission to take samples from local rivers here for the prospects of gold . .
OR ....it could be a hint to what exactly they are doing with the 100's of 1000s of ton's of gravel from the foyle ....Who know's.!!!!!

Looks like a fresh is on the way ....the sky looks nasty and has pumped out some rain over the last few hours.

8.10 pm
Seen a  small grilse showing at the neck of billys pool ...could be a hooked and lost.
And i also seen a couple of good fish showing down below the mill burn on the strabane water just above where two anglers where fishing .........{ weather ...Dry }tides are improving


Photo now up

The photo of the dead salmon has been sent through.{ found on the mourne }

3.pm
Well there is just the one angler at the grevenue and no one at the bears burn at sion on the mourne ...{ and did i see a fish laying at the same anglers feet at 200 yards away ?? }
The water seems as though it has a freshening of extra water which is clean also ..this of course indicates that the derg did rise along with the finn

1.15pm
Yes fresh water in the finn and that means some in the derg , haven't got reports from omagh on the strule yet but i'm sure i would have already if the river was up in that direction .
Plenty of anglers out at lifford bridge and areas plus the nets on the porthall section of the foyle had 10 fish between them this morning , but you must remember that they are down to just two boats now as the rest have given it a rest for one of the tides in the day anyway { its not worth loosing the sleep over they reckon}

Local streams around the mourne foyle and lower finn never really seen to much rain and even now its dry and has been for hours now ....but i did follow the satelite during the night and it showed the main counties to get the main down pour were { dublin ...west meath...monaghan ....sligo...letrim ...and skimming the south of donegal .} Blue stacks included...direction heading north / northwest.
  all this happened around day break this morning.

Sion now for a check.


11.45 am
Some rain during the night ..im told the finn is up at the top end   back shortly

10.30pm
The bailiffs lifted a poachers meshing net from below the new bypass bridge at strabane this evening whilst dragging the river from their boat .
They also searched the bushes along the river bank.

And Martin Oil mc daid is a desperate man when he resorted to desperate measure's to catch some fish .
He went out with a fish finder concealed under his coat , and once he got to the water he stuck her in and waited for the sonar alarm to activate ........well after an hour the alarm bell's started to ring and marty fished like the hammers of hell and in no time at all landed his deserved catch of the day ........4 spratts each the size of your finger.
Now Marty The Coyote From the Road Runner Show has to go back to the drawing board and the fish finder is up for sale .

8.20 pm
a couple of fish showing in billys pool between the two bridges this evening .

6.pm
There was a serious down pour in derry city around lunch time today , but there was nothing at all upstream from that area of the foyle .....we had slight mizzel and then it cleared .
                    Dry at the minute but it is very humid and thundery looking ....its only a mater of time .
If you have plans to come here to fish right now please hang back and wait for the go ahead cos its not going to be worth your while ........but if i say go ...it means GO!

And an email from an angler suggesting that the death of the three fish found dead at the doctors could be put down to the lack of oxygen in the water.

What is the faughan like men.
Oh and 3 fish caught by the boats at porthall yesterday .
12 noon
The morning was on the damp side but it has cleared up here now in the northwest.

Plenty of angler's out above lifford bridge last night just before dark , but the fish just arn't there .
Its the beginning of July and the situation is Critical ....even if you get the fresh water you desire you need fish to go along with it ...And that my friend's is very much doubtful at the minute .
Unless theres a crack of thunder ...A flash of Lightening.....And A loud voice from God Above to Anounce that Fish will be provided , and then whalla { 1000's out of the blue Appearing from Nowhere.

10.30 pm
Some more bad news ...............3 good sized fish found dead at the doctors pool from the strabane waters ....no know cause of death , photos promised.

Developments regarding the distruction of our upper foyle are being investigated ...A major national paper involved along with the green party ..........over 200 photos taken this evening.

3.30 pm
Still no good catches from the commercial nets , but the st Johnston boats are coming out better than the porthall boats.
Some romours Circulating around that the system could close down altogether until a flood or fresh arrives .
Only a trout caught at sion this morning .......My god !!!    what changes from just 5 years ago ...even last year was 10 times better than this .

I also feel a wind of change .

11.am
The water is dangously low , and no fish either ....They tell me that there is a nice few fish down the foyle , but i think they mean the swanee !!

Its a dry and more fresher day .

12.noon
There is not a single salmon showing in billys pool in strabane ...this as the man would say " was fair hatching this time last year"
But i'm told that there could be another theory to this disapearing act .....A certain specialist reckons that it has all to do with the tempeture and that the fish are there but are keeping their heads down and only moving at night .
Well ...Tonight will help tell the tail as the nets go on once again for another week and we should know arond 6.15pm if there is any heads at all .

Whats this about a guy steady cleaning out fish at cloghan's leap and it closed .? its on the forum here .

I have a feeling we are going to get a serious thunder slap of a splash soon , so hang on .
we have escaped for far to long.

10.am
Some fish reported caught at the burn at sion every single morning early ..and even one returned yesterday morning because it was not worth the tag as it was only 1.5 lbs in weight.
The angler reckons it didn't mater anyway because we seen it dead later as it was washed down into the grevenue.

The water is of course on the low side , but the best places to fish are still sion and Strabane.
Weather is good.

12.30 afternoon
I was just writing on the forum there that i have a cunning plan to develop a more friendly and productive system here on the foyle that would involve everyone .

AND here goes "" The commercial netsmen are definitely not fishing for profit anymore , so perhaps the loughs agency should pay them to fish for them and any salmon and sea trout could be caught and used for a regeneration programme to enhance all the foyles tributaries ....This way the boat fishermen would be doing their bit to restock the system '....the anglers all over would be delighted and would protect their own waters and some could even do a catch and release on their club waters or even a bag limit of 3 or something for a season .:  Tourists would flock to the Northwest and even the fishing boats would be an attraction in their own right as it has been a tradition for hunderds of years .
Hotels ..Shops..Restaurants..B/Bs would all flourish and your sons and daughters would benefit by getting employment locally ... the empty new build houses would gradually start to fill { but build no more}and we could even do boat trips up and down the finn and foyle and around the Island .
                     Now does that make sence or what , you must admit " we are years behind the rest , and the best thing about it is ! This plan could work . But the worst thing about it is " it won't "

4.10pm
Just back from the commercial nets in the foyle .....They are getting ones and twos in most shots now , and they are noticing the better flow down the donegal side of the island .
And there was no 15 trout caught in a sweep at all ......all the boats together at porthall have only had 20 between them all for the season so far .
I also have a few photos here ...ill see if i can get one up fast before i go again .

11.am
Another nice day with plenty of sunshine : We have a run of Sea trout now and all good sizes.
Grilse also caught up around the mourne with one angler getting two yesterday ...He was an early bird and probably had them from the bears burn at sions liskey rd side .

The boatmen at porthall will have their final stab for the week just after lunch and i'm definitely going down for some information regarding catches because i heard that there was 15 sea trout caught by one net ......i'll find out if thats true anyway.

8.pm
4 fish caught in the last tide this evening at porthall ....9 last night ..........fish are slipping into the mourne with a few now in the finn .[ lower]

The gravel extractors have been slightly forced to change direction to the far channel .....the commercial netsmen are delighted .

7.20 am
A more cloudier morning this morning but brightening .
                                       The net catch situation is still bad on the foyle and absolutely no fish at all showing in the lower mourne ..finn ..and upper foyle.

If you as the Tax payer were to pay a team of experts £5 million to enhance a river system each and every year  i doubt we would expect the goods to be produced  ." wouldn't we?
Well ! it ain't happening here anyway!!!

There is only one lonesome angler fishing the strabane and lifford waters this morning , and he is from Donegal .{ hope he catches something anyway}

And Marty Oil Mc Daid has gone overboard altogether .... " he has writen a Jim Will Fix it Letter and puts it under his pillow every night before he fall's a sleep sucking his thumb .......His loving and understanding wife said it reads  [ "" Dear jim ..Could you fix it for me to catch my first fish of the season , cos the whole town are laughing at me ..  Thankyou Jim ..Love Marty"" } Its worth a fill of oil Jim !

10.30 am
They say no News is good news , well in that case i have good news because i have no news .
Still no joy with catches on the foyle , and the only anglers getting anything are the guys that get out of their bed very early ...........fish it early ....go home ....fish it late .

The only other thing is ' the green party from stormount buildings belfast have replied to my plea's for help regarding the gravel situation .........i will keep you informed.

The day is going to be hot here , but there was serious flooding yesterday in northwest donegal and the clady river in NW donegal was out in the roads and people had to be rescued.

4.45 pm
There was just 5 small grilse caught by the complete fleet of the commercial nets men of the foyle this evening after lunch time , and they were caught by one boat on the first run down after high water .
Admiral of the fleet ' Harry Porter ' said it's the worst ever year in the complete history of the foyle stystem and blames the deaf Ears that can't listen to the voices of the common people when they are advising closure to the spawning beds  plus many more concerns .
2 fish caught yesterday ...Total

Meanwhile ......up river ........fish showing at sions grevenue , and P Deveney from lifford had two grilse.
And even though its belated , but Fire cheif sean okane had more fish than he is letting on ...... he never declared the last two catches to the Circle of the high yappers club in the local town here ....it was your neighbour 7 doors away Sean that grassed.
The high but not to grand master Marty Mc Daid will of course be informed !.

9.20 am
Theres never a dull moment here along the border , im just after passing an Irish  unmarked police car pulling infront of a white mini bus at porthall and surounding it .. the officers are in the process of breaking the windows to get the guy out ....he is not a fisherman anyway ...Northern Reg {FIG}
I will have photos of the porthall boat men and catches on after lunch time .

7.40 am
The best time for the commercial nets to get a few fish was last night around midnight and they would have worked all the way through to about 3 or 4 this morning , so that means all the guys are in their beds now , so it will be just after mid-day today before we see the next few shots.

And im not sure who sent me the photos of the 4 fish now on the gallery ......but according to his email .....he is not a ticket holder and according to the second photo , its not just as far up as cloghan ...but close.

It's a dry morning but slightly overcast , but good weather is on the way after a shower or two .

whos the lucky angler that sent me these then  .[photos}

7.20 pm
one fish at porthall bridge .

4.pm
Ah what the heck ...it was a full net stretched right across the finn today when i was up there , i took a photo ....i'll definitely put it on the gallery later ....but im not getting involved with the fisheries just incase .

A life bouy thrown into the mourne near christies im told .

plenty of anglers out around the mourne today ...its also very close {warm}

10am
An email just in ..its reads " keep an eye for 6 early morning illegal fishing anglers from drumore who are cleaning the derg river of springers from 4 am ."

7.40 am
A good dry morning for the river and not to bright .
                                                Good tide.s and the nets as i said go on this evening , and when i was at urney yesterday evening on the finn for a walk there was 3 young bailiffs out checking licences and means of fishing ....everything seemed to be fine as they came back down the banking without any rods .

The upper finn seem's to be the place to be for fish at the minute , but they are supposed to be on the coloured side and springers mixed .
It's a huge and vast area to cover if you have to protect it { the foyle system} you would actually need about 50 full timers on the ground .

Back after a look at the river ...........and any photos i can't get on the gallery because of size , can actually be put on the forum ....i've just learned that .

10.40 pm
plenty of fish reported caught at the top of the finn ....that last taste of fresh water seems to have moved everything up to that one area .

2.pm
Lenny from Derry has just landed a 6lb fish from the woodhole , plus some grilse have been caught at the grevenue this morning .

It look's like we are not completely beat after all ....big tides and a few fish on them , and the real story will be told tomorrow evening at the red bridge to see whats really on these new moon tides .

The day is dry .

Another photo of a 9lb fish caught in the grevenue just came in ...the photo is on the wide side if any of you guys can work wonders and square it and resend it back to me .

9.40 pm
The odd fish seen today , but it wasn't a good day for catches ...however this photo coming up is a lad from Galbally with a fish he caught today near omagh .....its his first ever and he is a new member of omagh anglers .


10.30 NO FISH CAUGHT AT SIONS GREVENUE THIS MORNING .

THE WATER IS ALSO IN GOOD ORDER FOR FISH TO BE SLIPPING THROUGH .
MY ADVICE TO THOSE FISHING THE BEARS BURN ..." DON'T BE TEMPTED TO THROW UP INTO THE FISH PASS , IT WILL COST YOU YOUR RODS AND A HEAFTY FINE ...ITS NOT WORTH IT .

THE BAILIFFS ARE DUG IN BEHIND AND IN FRONT OF YOU ON THE FAR BANK ???

10.40 pm
There was only 3 fish caught in my time at porthalls red bridge this evening .....the first shot produced one for harry Porter at 6 pm , the next 2 where caught at 8pm  and there is 4 boats working the same shot in rotation .

No fresh water and the weather is ok ...dry with the odd shower.

When will the people responsable for our rivers take heed and close the spawning beds  for starters ........you are not listening to a simple serious demand ....every body has to take responsability now to save a sinking ship , if you had listened 5 years ago the problem would not have been to bad . Don't leave it for another 5 .



4.40pm
The thunder and heavy rain has passed up at ballybofey now ...it rained for 29 minutes exactly...and even though we have had no rain here yet in the strabane area im sure our turn will come but we have a front seat watching the surrounding fall outs  , and i also hear thunder and see a dark sky in the dungiven direction ........thats the way we are going to see the next 12 hours im glad to say ....i'll settle for 3 inches.

4.pm
Well it looks like the thunder and lightening i told you about 4 weeks ago is here now , its just after hitting cloghan and lough derg but the question is !! will it do any good to the rivers ...you will however get alot of surface water , thats your only chance .....its your last chance by the way for a good while .

7.30 am
Monday morning and ready for another battle for the good of the foyle and her tributaries ..It's just a pitty we have so many Enemies within just intent on linning their own pocket's rather than helping a good cause , well suppose thats all part of Earths game.
Theres something wrong when a government allows her rivers to be constantly destroyed .
As soon as i get all the fact's ....these latest photos will go to the National papers , and the loughs Agency will also be put on the spot when approached .
They have however admitted that they have not got the power to do anything in this particular case .
Its goes higher and into big bussiness deals im told .

Anyway ...the nets go on this evening at 6pm.

4.45 pm
Its a hot and dry evening but there is thunder about , On my way down the banks of the foyle today i could see in a distance where the thunder /lightening and all the rain was falling , and that seemed to be buncrana direction .

The only fish i seen were two fish turning at the same time just below lifford bridge , the next two miles i seen nothing except a sea trout at the mouth of the Deele.

You'll enjoy these photos coming up soon on the gallery because even though this area is very close to strabane and lifford towns ..99.9% of the people  have never been there and its a superb walk .
                          You will also be upset with another couple of photos i took today of the massive sand and gravel extraction from the gravel beds of this upper foyle where salmon spawn near christmass time .
And to finish for now : i was sent a photo of two rainbow trout laying dead along the river finn two days ago ...must get that up also .

7.45 am
We have had a few showers but nothing prolonged .it gives a bit of thunder tomorrow though .
When i was talking to some lads yesterday about the centre fish pass getting poached a few times every week by anglers , they said to me " you don't even have an idea whats coming out of there in a season dan ! "
                                        Even during the night and early morning boys have been going out there and getting piles of fish and you never hear tell of it ........they also added that this has been going on for years .

So i've devised a cunning plan !   { put a hugh metre square grid all the way down the two passes towards the bears burn} a simple thing to do and not so expensive , or even staggered mess obstructions so that you can't angle it without losing your tackle .
And talking about tackle .....i picked up a dozen flying Cs from the pass when the water was low last tues , but i heard that they were picking them out like strawberrys  last mon.

Had a we bevy last night so im of along the banks today starting with the island of the foyle.

Everyone in their right mind will know that last nights rain was only a watering can sprinkling effect to what we really need.

Some interesting reports on the forum for a change .

Yes .....A good point was raised by a member that the grevenue should be rested and fast .
WE all know that if something isn't done fast , it will lead to the near destruction of the atlantic salmon here in the Foyle system .
Sion mills is as i have told you so many times in the past !! the main salmon and trout Station in the whole of the northwest of Ireland , and the sad thing about it is ?   " its not watched 24 hours " or even 12 hours , or even 6 hours , or even 3 hours .....Its a quick visit and away .
Everyday salmon are slaughtered and its not proper fishing .....the loughs agency managers at the top are not very much thought off by the proper minded good folk of the rivers here , they are out of touch with their own local northwest angler and spend to much time going to shows all around the world ...they have completely lost the plot men , we have to do something fast or else your going to lose everything .
Yesterday the Grevenue and fish pass looked like a bank robbery in action , only with a difference !!  When the robbers where heading for the exit " THE DOOR MAN OPENED THE DOOR AND SAID  "  PLEASE COME BACK NOW YOUAL !!!HEAR !!! "    in a down south amercian kentucky type slang.

Don't get me wrong ....The loughs Agency have a good few men and they also have all the gear a fishery would ever need , but they have to get rid of captain blyth and his hench men or the inevitable will surely come about  and hopefully soon because man will only do something when its on the verge of distruction  and then they'll say { we shoulda done this or we shoulda done that } ....its BOUNTY happen.

It looks like " in my eyes anyway " It looks like there is a race on to make the bann a better system , and where is our foyle manager from !!!!!!! NO ! im wrong , sure he nearly recked that place also ............................anyway .....we need to do something , and its hard fighting it on yer own with a web-site and just dishearted voices from the river banks.

11.14pm
Its raining pretty heavy now and has been for the last 40 minutes .

a grilse caught at the grevenue this evening..about 3lb

4.50 pm
information just came in ...A 13lb sea trout caught from the dam at sion mills in an net ...some salmon also .

And poachers are netting trout from moorlough to order .........I have more info also, but can't disclose for legal reasons .

4.30 pm
Three Pollish Migrants have just walked up to the mouth of the middle fish pass at sion mills and pull out two medium size grilse .....my reporter who is fishing there shouted at them , and they have now gone towards the swinging bridge .

The loughs agency should have them on camera , if the camera is working that is .

I got this on as fast as i could .

Two Rainbow trout caught by anglers below clady bridge .
12.30 afternoon
Reports imforming me that there is two men fishing two rods each near clady with floats .............This is as far as it goes , on this blog i mean ....don't be thinking that i'm forever on to the loughs agency ....not at all in fact , this as i say is as far as it ever goes , plus i have no credits on my phone anyway.
Its just between you and me and the rest of the complete hush hush .. World !!

11.10 am
A good size grilse{borderline case} caught near the cylinders on the foyle by a Taz red bloody thing whatever you call them.

And the bears burn is not closing this season , perhaps and mybe at the end of the season but just not now ,,ok ....hope that keeps you all quiet for a few months.

8.am
Fish are being caught in different areas of the lower mourne and foyle recently , a grilse caught and released just before dark last night at the doctors on the strabane/lifford waters.

Its another dry morning and even though we are going to get the odd thunder plump this weekend , i fear its not going to be enough because the ground and the growth will take a good 70% of it , and next week could be back to the hot weather again .

10.30 am
A lad has just landed a fish 10 minutes ago about 5lb's ....i'll tell you where he got it this evening { unbelieveable as the man says]

7.40 am
Another bright morning ....The early bird should have been out this morning just after day-break if he or she were to have a chance of scoring.
I'm going to take a stroll along the upper foyle this morning , back later .

7.30 pm
Even though i noticed fly anglers out today on the strabane / lifford waters ...probably no joy ...but go out tomorrow morning early .

And now that i have the 10ft aliminum boat and newly fixed engine sorted , it is available to all clubs to use and protect their future stocks of grilse and sea trout ....if they need it then come along and do their part on the lower finn / mourne/ foyle/ faughan or roe ....just supply the petrol...its your river { protect it} take turns at least .
Put it like this !   If you want fish on your upper club waters , come down here now and help get them up ..............your loosing a 100 a night ..at least ..if the bailiffs are trolling it at high water , well you do it at half ebb .[the best time]

And P Dudd { the rock} hooked a dog fish today at the woodhole below sion , Yes it was a 4 legged one belonging to T farrell from sion mills when he was out walking it  , a yellow flying C accidently hooked on to the dogs BAL privites and the rock had to take the bail arm off .......fast !

Note the dead flounders and lampreys on the gallery ......water should be eased of an area like this and not in an instant .....i don't want to be complaining all the time , but what kind of people are running the show here ...its awful ...its two steps forward and 12 back ..i noticed 100.s of small dead marine life just like this today .

10.10 am
The only place , and i mean the only place to be ,  is from the blackstone downstream  on the river mourne , and just the tidal areas of the finn and foyle ....I heard there was 6 fish got on the shrimp down the foyle yesterday ...and there was pocket's of catches elsewhere.

Work is in the process of being started at the weir in sion to produce a better flow to what it looks like right now { photos coming up that were taken 20 minutes ago} and fish were lifted out of the shallow pool's yesterday i was told , plus some lads are walking the long streams at the minute looking for either tackle or to spot salmon  .
Please get a warden or someone on this area for god's sake .....it's away to the dog's altogether...................why won't the authorities listen ?.


7.30 am
A dry and bright morning to start , tides are still strong and you should start to hook an odd fish around lifford and strabane now.
Grilse are still slipping through and looking at nothing until they hit sion , this is where they lay at the bottom of the weir and are easy target's for all type's of predators ?..even the otter .

Get out early to get your fish .

After listening to local polititions admitting that they are out of touch with thee most important body of all ... ".their electorate ".!!! ............I wonder if the lough's agency would take a leaf out of their book and get in touch with the local angler ....its as simple as this " WE DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE " all we know is ..you are suppose to help the local angler and local clubs and not act as if we are some kind of menace.
And my personal question to you is ?   WHY DO YOU NOT WANT TOURISM TO SUCCEED !

iM OFF TO CHECK AROUND ..BACK SOON .

2.40 pm
The lost rod and tackle was handed into a radio station in letterkenny co donegal { highland Radio}...An irish lad working in manchester who reads my blog and also listens to highland radio to keep himself from getting home sick { sorry Ciaran Mc Crory} phoned me and said it was mentioned on the radio just now .....so i have contacted the loosers {joking lads}....sorry ......The anglers that left the gear behind .
Its a funny old world , and still some honest people left.!!...the rod was worth over £400 on its own.


2.20 pm
Some businesses and a local charity have contacted me in regards to raising money for lifebouys along the river at sion mill's ...and a local fisherman left two life bouys up with the sion club ..he said he found them in different areas of the mourne last year .

Plenty of anglers all over at lifford fishing .

11.20 am
An angler landed 5 grilse from the bears burn this morning .....I'd better not say anymore , but he's quite famous over the last two weeks with catches .

9.20 am
It's grass cutting season and it only takes one tractor to stop the complete Northwest passage traffic from Dublin and Belfast to Derry City ...just one simple tractor .

7 day's until the commercial net's go on and 14 day's until it starts to get darker in the evening's again , its 6 day's to dead neps with the possibility of no fish , and it could be 5 week's before we get fresh water ... it could be 12 months or 12 years before we get sion mills waters sorted out with a better management team before its lost to us all forever , and what do i do with these booked angling tourists from europe this season to keep them safe from getting hooked around the neck :
IT could be 20 years before we get lifford bridge sorted out for angler's to be able to fish that area without harassment , and it could be another 20 years before the laxy Labour government catch on that the reason they are in debt is because of the silly schemes like pumping money into the pockets of certain silly fisheries that don't do anything possitive with it or involve the local people that really know exactly what the problems are and how to fix them.[ its no wonder they are heading for the exit}
WELL APART FROM THAT EVERYTHING IS QUIET HERE AT THE MINUTE !!!
No one out fishing as its pushing tide and very bright.


7.30 am
A bright morning to start and it looks like a good week ahead bar the odd shower .

  you will get fish around the lower finn and mourne this week is wed morning early.

And about last nights report .......if you know someone that found that fly rod and gear , please contact us on 07763191232  or give creggan country park a call .

And a phone call to advise me to turn the propeller around on the engine .

11.pm
An angler has lost a very expensive fly rod and reel after driving off and mistakenly leaving it behind him when it was up against the vehicle .......he was fishing killpaddies near castlefinn and was parked along the road .....so if you hear of any gear found please let us know .

6.40 pm
Well we took the boat and engine to the river but wait till you hear the crack .The engine only goes in reverse .....no wonder we got it for nothing men.....is there any brain waves out there that knows whats wrong ...its an evinrude 4hp ....the lever for reverse works but when you push it to forward , the propeller does'nt go around at all .
Now tell me its a simple problem or does she go to the skip ....we had a good laugh though ...and at least we're having a stab at it anyway .........Carry on up the Swaney i would say ! There was known poacher's Laying around laughing like Hyena's with sore side's on the donegal side and shouted at us " DO YOU WANA PUSH " i must admit ..i had to laugh also , BUT ........WE WILL STRIVE ON !!!

A Tv network from the USA with a web site called www.outdoorchannel.com have had a we sneak at our foyle web site ......its good to know we are getting attention , i believe we even got a mention in this months trout and salmon .

11.30 am
A young 9 year old lad visiting the area has just landed his first ever salmon from the burn at the lisky road side of the grevenue ......another caught on the fly at the sion side .
And im asked ...." who own's the lisky road side of the grevenue "  my honest answer is!!!  Who know's , cos i don't .....people just come along and fish it , take their fish or two and go back to where ever they came from.

The fisheries don't give a monkies just as long as you have your licence , apart from that the signals are given out to fish away .

And the sea's and ocean's are running short of fish according to a report on the Andrew Marr show this morning .
                               Our lough's agency obviously disagree because They are allowing a grave sin to be committed and some day they will have to answer to the proper Authorities for this uncalled for killing of the summer silver run .

It must have something to do with money or something like that ...has to be ? ......I can't  make head or tail out of this management at the lough's agency ......theres been so many millions of millions of tax payers money spent on realy nothing at the end of the day .
                     Can any of you name me one good thing that the fishery has spent money on ...And don't say Counters !



10.30 am
The water is low and the day is good ......and 4 grilse have been caught at the grevenue and bears burn early this morning before it got to bright ......a 4lb grilse caught at the burn 30 minutes ago by mark from omagh.

Some new members have been activated to go on the forum ...sorry for the delay .please remember your password.
I had to delete 70 faulse applications  and put through 5 .

12.noon
Sorry men ...was at a charity function at maggies near st johnston along the foyle last night .....just surfacing .
                         It rained from around 2 am and was still raining at 6 but it wasn't or didn't seem to be to heavy , and the ground will take all or most of it anyway  ...it has dried up well now and so have i . .......we raised 1300 .00

Plenty of angler's moving down to the cylinders on the foyle to meet the coming grilse .
the odd grilse is also getting hooked near liscooley .

7.pm
The Tope season has come around again and even though the first few trips are fully booked ,  there is more dates in jul and Aug .......There is also 2 dates for shark in oct {11th and 25th}  contact martin from country sports in strabane ,

A 2lb sea trout caught at doctors last evening .

2.45 pm
Plenty of day ticket men out at strabane waters today , and plenty of bailiffs also .
Take my advice and don't shrimp these waters cos the bailiffs are even dressed up as old ladys and even hiding inside over sized prams ....keep an eye out for a big dummy ...........sorry ! he heads over the colraine mountains at the weekend !!! Yo.
The four of us are going £5 each for petrol this weekend for the patrol ......Im serious .......The loughs agency give noboddy anything for trying ...but we have come to except that now , and it wouldn't be the same anyway if we couldn't give them a blast now and again ....just to buck them up a bit .
                                                         And did you hear about the Letrim border FOX thats up working at Carlingford Lough and surrounding area ...............He needs his 4x4 wheels changed every 1000 miles........he must be selling them to brock martin in lifford .!!
9.20 am
Thats a big tide at strabane by-pass bridge just now ....its looking good .

7.40 am
It's bright with the odd cloud , cooler too but not to bad .
                                                                        Full moon on Sun and i'm looking forward to the dropping tides during the week.
No report's of catches but i'm sure i'll be busy from next week on .......we are taking the boat up the foyle and finn this weekend as i said yesterday and i will personally tell you what's going on as far as poaching is concerned , and will hopefully not have any photos to show you of net's and struggling meshed fish..
And if we come across any we will phone the loughs agency and get a few shots of them taking the nets and fish off .
Hopefully all will be clear.

9.pm
A we bit of good news for a change ........There is a quantity of big fish still in the foyle laying around the island ...well up in the double figures .....bailiffs are on the ball and keeping the show on the road as far as protecting them , but or course the odd big one is getting to the poachers pot .............and they are big in size believe me on this .

Sion club is closed until sunday i noticed in the local paper ....so no day tickets ....i don't know what the Dcal situation is at present but show solidarity if ive spelled that right .

We are taking our own new boat out this weekend because we all need to help and chip in and do our part ..................the loughs agency can't cope with all the pressure and demands .
Especially if one third of the inspectors are going home to bed and leaving it all up to their men .
All we hear is .." Your man Mc Cartney is out every night :watch out " or Rolly Is out at sea 24 /7  or Seamus From the omagh squad never sleeps .....but all the rest do { inspectors that is }  An officer never ..and i mean never ever asks his men to do something that he or she doesn't ......NEVER! EVER

7.45 am
Another sunny morning , and the moon is building for the big one at the weekend .

Strabane and lifford waters as i said are your only chance and especially next week when you will even start to see the increasing grilse build up .

Don't be thinking the mourne is to low because this is where your wrong , the lower mourne area will be thee place to be with the fly rod from this weekend on if we don't get  fresh water , and that ain't looking good at the minute for that occurance....The faughan and finn also by the way , they to are looking good . The faughan even had a small run last week , so it's not all mourne this and mourne that !

And again i'll add that the Net's go on in exactly A 11 day's time , starting on mon evening at 6pm and staying on to fri evening at 6.pm ..........Remember what i said before ........The commercial men miss the main run of grilse ....they actually arrive a week before and these are the babies that i refer to coming from sun/mon .

The nets also have the wrong side of the island and the main flow runs down the Sanctuary side.{back Water}So don't get your pants in a twist and think they are going to slaughter everything in sight .

And just to finish for now ...........4 year's ago in these same conditions , a local lad went to the top end of the strabane/lifford water and landed 22 grilse just before dark , releasing 99% of them by the way .

10.30 am
Just the odd angler out fishing the cool of the morning this morning at strabane and lifford waters.
Superb streams here remember for 15ft rods , and if you want to see plenty of  fish showing then next week is your best chance .{ from mon to sat }

7.40 am
It.s another hot morning ........we might get an odd shower at the weekend but be prepared for more of this type of weather after that ...........what we could possibly get to keep salmon stock's secured would be a quick thunder storm during a night soon .

Some grilse are getting caught up and down the strabane water's this week , Marty mc laughlins very young son played and lost a grilse between the bridges.
And Marty Oil Mc Daid is to take