The Dennett, Faughan and Roe Rivers open to angling this Sunday
This Sunday marks the opening of three excellent game fishing rivers in the Foyle system. The Dennett, Faughan and Roe.
The Dennett
The Dennett is a medium sized spate river, running off the Sperrin mountains, dropping through Donemana and then swinging west through woodland and pasture to reach the River Foyle upstream of the walled city of Derry. A very good trout river all season, the Dennett is also good for sea trout (especially June to August) and grilse (best fished for in July and August) with salmon best in August and September. Day tickets for the Dennett Anglers Association are available from Loughs Agency (working hours, week days), Rod & Line in Londonderry~Derry, Bridge Guns and Tackle in Strabane and The Oaks Fishery. Best salmon flies are Wye Bug, Curry’s Red, Gold Shrimp and Apache Bug. For trout, consider Large Dark Olive, Iron Blue Dun, Small Dark Olive, Sedges, Nymphs and Klinkhammers. If you are after sea trout, then think about Teal Blue and Silver, Peter Ross and Black Pennel.
The Faughan
The Faughan rises on the flanks of Sawel, the highest of the Sperrin peaks. It makes its way along a scenic valley through the village of Park and thence Claudy to Drumahoe, where it swings north to enter Lough Foyle. It is a renowned spate river for salmon and sea trout. If after salmon, you can go for small shrimp pattern flies such as the Bann Special, Apache, Curry’s Red and the Faughan Shrimp. Sea trout will be attracted by Teal Blue and Silver, Butcher, Peter Ross and Connemara Black. There is access for disabled anglers at Claudy. Season and day tickets for the whole of the Faughan are available from the River Faughan Anglers association (via Facebook) and FishPal (fishpal.com).
The Roe
The Roe rises high above the Glenshane Pass, dropping rapidly to Dungiven. The spate river then makes its way through the beautiful Roe Valley Country Park before meandering across the broad Lough Foyle lowlands. Good wild brown trout fishing can be had all season. Sea trout anglers enjoy fine runs from late June to August and salmon fishing is at its best from August onwards, proving most productive in spate conditions in the mid-section of the river. The best salmon flies are shrimp patterns such as Curry’s Red, Roe Purple, Bann Special and Apache. Trout will go for Teal Blue and Silver, Peter Ross and Butcher. Day and season permits are available from Roe Angling Ltd (roeangling.com), and DAERA (nidirect.gov.uk/services/buy-rod-licences-permits-and-river-bush-day-tickets).
Rainbow Trout
Loughs Agency have carried out rod based surveys on the Dennett and Faughan and have an ongoing monitoring programme running on the lower reaches of the Faughan River. So far, no rainbow trout have been found in either river.
Should anglers catch any rainbow trout on these rivers, Loughs Agency asks for catches to be logged and reported to the Agency. A log sheet is available from the Loughs Agency website or catches can be recorded through the elicence website (https://elicence.loughs-agency.org). The log sheet is only to be used for reporting on catches of rainbow trout in rivers within the Foyle system and excludes still water lakes. This information will be used to monitor how many fish have been removed, their size and location. Any rainbow trout which are over 30cm in length should be given to the Agency so that we can conduct further analysis. Please contact the Agency directly on 02871 342100 if you catch a fish of this size to arrange for collection.
Anglers are also asked not to discard rainbow trout on the river banks as this can lead to an increase in predator pressures. If there are disposal issues, Loughs Agency Fishery Officers will, if possible, collect fish that have been captured. Anglers are asked to contact the Agency directly on 02871 342100 to make arrangements.