Overview of Lower Bann Catchment
Lower Bann
The thirty-eight mile long Lower Bann flows in a northerly direction from Lough Neagh to the sea, draining the mainly agricultural 4,500 square kilometre Lough Neagh catchment area. This includes almost half of the land area of Northern Ireland as well as part of the Republic of Ireland. As a result of the catchment size, the Lower Bann is a large river in a UK/Irish context, being almost 200 feet wide along most of its length. In consequence, a winter flood can produce a flow of around 300 cubic metres per second (66,000) gallons, one of the largest known in these islands. There are four major tributaries, all of which are ideal game fish habitat; the Clady, Agivey, Macosquin, and Ballymoney rivers, all but the latter joining from the west, having risen in the Sperrin Mountains. The Moyola river enters Lough Neagh only a mile or two from the entrance to the Lower Bann and, for angling purposes, can be considered as part of the Lower Bann catchment.
Another important feature of the Lower Bann is that is a controlled river, to the extent that it contains five sets of locks and 3 sets of sluice gates along its length. These are part of a scheme started 160 years ago, which also included blasting out rock outcrops, to control flows coming out of Lough Neagh, both to help remove excess water levels as quickly as possible in flood conditions, and to maintain navigable flows during drier times. As a result, a large proportion of the river is deep with slow flows and hence is ideal for coarse fish and pike. However, the tributaries and the parts of the main channel circumvented by canals and locks still have ideal game fishing stretches, with fast flows and a good mixture of pools and riffles.
Fisheries Management
The Lower Bann is very important in an Irish context as a salmonid river, with historic catch statistics of over 20,000 salmon per annum taken by nets and traps until the mid-20th century. It still remains important as an angling river with between 2,000-3,000 salmon caught on the rod each year. To help conserve salmon stocks for the future, daily bag limits per angler have been imposed in recent years.
The fishery rights on the Lower Bann and its tributaries belong to The Honourable Irish Society, a 400 year old organisation which uses the income from its assets for charitable purposes locally. Bann System Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Society and has a lease over all the society’s fisheries including the bed of the Lower Bann itself. Bann system Ltd has sub let to local angling clubs all of the tributary rivers, as local management provides the best method of preserving and enhancing the fisheries. Bann System Ltd operates angling beats on the main Lower Bann river, both for game and coarse angling. Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland is responsible for licensing, and the prevention of pollution or poaching in the catchment. Local councils play an important role in helping to develop riverbank facilities, such as coarse fishing stands and providing signage, etc. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is responsible for coarse fishing in the three canal sections of the Lower Bann plus funding general fishery enhancement work when finance is available.
Fish Species
The Lower Bann is an important conduit from migrating eels and salmon. The river also has a population of roach, bream, roach/bream hybrids, perch, rudd, trench, gudgeon and numerous pike. There are brown trout in parts of the main channel and in all the tributary rivers. Sea trout and grey mullet occur in the Bann estuary. In the tributary rivers, such as the Moyola, the dollaghan, a unique species of trout exists, which migrates to and from Lough Neagh.
The shallow area of Lough Beg is particularly good for pike, and the canal channels at Toome, Portna and Movanagher are well known for all coarse fish species, especially when the river is in flood. These are also extensive competition beats near Kilrea, Portglenone, Newferry and Toome.
Methods Of Fishing
(a)Game - Fly (types recommended: Bann Special, Garry Dog and Curry’s Shrimp
- Bait: prawn (available from local tackle shops)
- Spinning: the Flying C.
(b)Coarse - Maggot, corn (red dyed), all usual methods and mixes.
(c)Pike - Spinning, trawling or dead baiting with pollen, mackerel, rainbow and roach. Using live bait is not permitted.
Other Recreations
Cruising, water skiing, rowing, canoeing, wildfowling, bird watching and walking. Thanks to the overall length of river and a zoning system for management, intrusion of these activities into angling waters is minimized.
Water Quality/Quantity
Due to improved agricultural drainage over the past 50 years, water levels in the rivers of the catchment can vary significantly during the season, sometimes affecting the angling. However, suitable alternatives are almost always near at hand. Water quality remains good but can vary, especially in early summer.
Tributaries
The tributary rivers of the Lower Bann are vital as spawning and nursery rivers (there is very little spawning ground in the main river). These have been much enhanced during the last decades thanks to the tireless efforts of local angling clubs, several of which operate hatcheries to augment wild salmon, trout and dollaghan stocks.
