Mourne/Derg Report week ending 4 September 2011
Posted by admin on September 6th, 2011 - Comments Off on Mourne/Derg Report week ending 4 September 2011
Conditions A tale of two halves this week on both rivers! Monday to Thursday saw summer conditions, cloudy by day with occasionally clear skies at night leading to a touch of early morning dew on the grass. When wading, there was a definite drop of a degree or two in water temperature. Overnight rain on Thursday brought the rivers up a few inches on Friday and following more persistent rain on Friday and Saturday saw the Mourne and Derg in good order by Sunday. On Sunday afternoon a three-hour band of rain swept through, bringing all rivers into a decent flood on Monday morning.
Mourne The first part of the week saw very little angling effort. Odd fish were landed from different beats by those prepared to put the hours in; visiting anglers were the most successful landing fish around Strabane, Sion Mills and above Victoria Bridge. Friday to Sunday saw local anglers back in numbers encouraged by the sight of fish taking the weir at Sion at a steady trickle. As usual the hotspots around Strabane and Sion accounted for the bulk of fish landed but the private beats above Victoria Bridge also did well. On Sunday I witnessed about eight grilse fresh off the tide being landed in the upper Mourne, the bulk of which were returned none the worse. It was also noticeable there was a real mixture of fish on the move, small, medium and large, fresh and coloured all visible moving through pools at the same time.
Derg The Derg followed a similar path to the Mourne with water levels rising into flood by the weekend. I have no reports of any fish landed around Ardstraw which would indicate very few fresh fish entering the river. Unfortunately the main topic of conversation on the river bank is the amount of fish being taken in the head waters by shrimpers who have no regard for the future welfare of the river. On Saturday I approached one angler proudly displaying a two pound grilse without a tag, which was as black as your boot at the border bridge. He was carrying a spinning rod which was adorned with float and shrimp for all to see. He informed me in a very distinct accent that he came every weekend and sometimes evenings, proudly he boasted of catching over thirty fish this year, five of which were around ten pound. When I enquired what he did with them he claimed he ate every one of them!
Outlook Heavy rain forecast for Monday/Tuesday should keep the river up allowing fish to be on the move. If the river settles there would be every chance of sport anywhere from all beats. We should be starting to see evidence of true back-end fish beginning to appear soon which would be a welcome sight to everyone. Keep your eye out for a true drop in water temperature shortly and the inevitable fall in leaves that comes with it!
Mark Gough, NM Tackle, Sion Mills
Web: www.nmtackle.com
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