SIXMILE WATER

Hardy Caster · SIXMILE WATER

To Help THE SIXMILE and this rivers fish after the awful pollution ,this Year it has been decided that it will be , Member's and yearly permits only and they MUST Fly Fish only with one barbless fly , so no droppers ,, no Worming or Spinning ,and ALL Fish MUST be released.

here is some help for C&R as many dont do it right,

Tackle

Use a barbless hook (or flatten the barbs with pliers)
Single hooks only.
Playing the fish

Bring the fish in firmly and quickly to reduce the likelihood of severe exhaustion
Use a heavy breaking strain of line or cast that will permit this
Move the fish out of fast currents if possible
Handling the fish

Handle the fish as little as possible.
Keep the fish in the water if possible, Fish should not be brought out of the water on to the bank if possible.
If a landing net is used, it must be knotless. Avoid abrasion of the scales — NEVER beach the fish
You must Wet your hands before touching the fish
Be gentle, do not grip the fish tightly — and take extra care with fish during warm weather, when they are most vulnerable
Remove the hook gently — forceps can help (always take a pair of long nosed forceps with you when you go salmon or trout fishing)
If the fish is deep hooked, cut the line as close to the hook as possible better to lose a fly than a fish,
Never hold up by the tail or hold up by the wrist .
Reviving and releasing the fish

Do not weigh the fish — estimate the weight (the weight of a fish can be calculated from an estimate of the length of the fish: tip of nose to centre of tail. Details of length/weight relationships are available from web sites etc
For photography — stand in the water if not to deep — gently cradle the fish using both hands — and just lift the fish above the water surface for a few seconds
Support the fish gently and steadily in a current, facing upstream. Do not hold the fish too firmly
Be patient, and wait for the fish to recover
Let it swim away on its own when it is ready
Will the fish live?

Radio tracking of released fish has shown that over 90% of salmon and trout, if carefully handled, survive to spawn successfully. and 10 % could have been taken by the fishes natural predators . So a pretty good chance if done right,

apache

I belong to 3 angling clubs. One is the BALLYNURE AC which is the head waters of the 6mile. On each river i belong to they,ve all had MAJOR FISH KILLS !!! We,ve done our best to resolve the problems some successful some not. I know the lower 6mile has been hit hard this time !!! But i think its UNFAIR of the ANTRIM AC taking it out on the DAY TICKET ANGLERS by not letting them fish this year. Why not close the river TO ALL ANGLERS for the rest of the season and let it recover or sell permits stating its catch & release only. I don,t fish the lower 6mile by the way & i dont agree with ANGLING CLUBs stopping or limiting the number of tickets like some clubs do. THE DAY TICKET ANGLER HAS TO FISH ASWELL AND WHEN SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS HE,S ALWAYS THE FALL GUY.

Hardy Caster

I agree it not fair on good day ticket men , but its a mesure made to help our fish , this river was almost going to be closed , this was all voted on , It will also help the top end clubs as more fish will get up . and there will be no spinning and worms when she in flood and most of the fish are running ,. the club will now loss £10,000 to £15,000 on day tickets , also . WE are just trying to do are best for the river and its fish, Its not closed to all anglers as it would be Phouched quite a lot if there was not many on it , We have 60 miles of river if you count Burns running in to the main river ,, so we need eyes on the river , not fishing very much .

thebigandyt

Ah crap, I was goin to pop out there this afternoon. Is there any other similar rivers close by that anyone recomends. I've fished crumblin glen a couple of times but i can't find the person selling tickets now the filling station in crumblin has closed down

Hardy Caster

http://crumlinriver.com/

You also have the Main at Galgrom tickets in the Spar

Permits
Thursday, 02 August 2007
Anglers wishing to fish the Crumlin River must be in possession of a Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) Game Rod License (game) and be a member of the Crumlin and District Angling Association or hold a day ticket issued by the Association. Day ticket prices and availability are as follows.

DayTicket Prices:

1st March - 31st October - £5

Available from:

Mace Supermarket,

61-63 Main Street,

Crumlin,

Tel: 028 9445 2963

apache

Andy BALLYNURE AC own from doagh bridge up as far as you can go. Tickets can be got at the petrol station on the main road heading towards ballyclare. Dont know the price of them!!! I should do as im one of the bailiffs on it Embarassed

.Its a nice little part of the 6mile with runs & pools. Trout fishing on it can be good depending on the fly hatch & with the chance of conecting into a salmon or dollaghan. The club has a RULE that any SALMON caught must be returned. A few years ago we put thousands of salmon fry into the upper reaches so hopefully they,ll be coming back to spawn in our stretch soon. Tightlines if you decide to fish the BALLYNURE waters & if a VERY HANDSOME MAN asks you for your ticket that,ll be me Laughing

. The other bailiffs are Rolling Eyes

thebigandyt

Stevie - i think thats the new mace in crumlin, they don't have a clue about permits or fishing. It used to be an old filling station across the road on beside the police station

Apache - is that the twelth milestone(the one with all the shops) or the one with the chinese restaurant attached to it? and where is it best to access the water?

apache

No ANDY thats templepatrick your thinking about. The petrol station for our clubs tickets is on the main larne line that skirts ballyclare town there's a subway fast food at the garage but i don't know about a chinese there. Fishing can be good at the back of the petrol station. You will see a gate with a carpark but its normally locked but you can park on the grass verge about 1000 yards down river before you come to petrol station near the town sign for Ballyclare near a tall tree. Theres a laneway from the road right down to the river were you'll see a wooden bridge. You can fish either up or down.

Watty's Rock

apache

Just me

thebigandyt

cheers i know where you mean now. i'll have to check it out

Hardy Caster

http://www.antrimtimes.co.uk/news/He...ill.4213654.jp

http://www.davidford.org/news/000214...ish_kills.html

Hardy Caster · PUBLIC MEETING ARRANGED FOR ANTRIM FORUM

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ANTRIM AND DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION

SIXMILEWATER-POLLUTION CASTROPHE. PUBLIC MEETING ARRANGED FOR ANTRIM FORUM

In mid June this year the Province experienced one of its worst fish and wildlife kills in decades when the Sixmilewater from Mallusk to Lough Neagh was severely polluted. 10’s of thousands of fish and millions of insects were killed along the 15 mile stretch of the river. It is estimated that the river will take decades to recover.

The incident has incensed residents and anglers who had warned that this type incident was inevitable following a spate of pollution incidents and problems over a number of years. More than five weeks after the incident, locals have no idea what has happened and no recovery plans have been put in place despite numerous letters and emails to central government and a meeting with Minister Sammy Wilson at Stormont.

Local Communities including anglers have called for a public meeting to develop an action plan and this has now been facilitated by the Antrim and District Angling Association who have arranged for the meeting to take place in the Antrim Forum at 7-00pm on 13 August. The Minister has been asked to address the meeting.

Alison Millar, Vice Chairman of the Templepatrick Residents Association has expressed her anger at the incident and the apparent lack of information to date. “We are determined to get to the root of this problem. It is simply not good enough; this incident has impacted on thousands of people young and old who live along the river and we are fearful that Lough Neagh which is a source of drinking water for the province has also been contaminated.”

Maurice Parkinson, Vice Chairman of the Antrim and District Angling Association says local people and members are dismayed and very annoyed. “Members of this Association with the help of local people from farmers to specialist interest groups for years have invested heavily with their time and money to keep the river in some sort of order; despite the ongoing problems. This has been to no avail. We have been badly let down but I know from speaking to those who have an interest in the river and its surrounds that no stone will be left unturned in bringing this river system back to a reasonable state.”

In addition to the Minister being asked to address the meeting presentations will be made by the local politicians, anglers and a range of interest groups.

For further information on the event please contact:-

Paul Erwin, Chairman of the Antrim and District Angling Association. Email to paul.erwin@btinternet.com

Maurice Parkinson, Vice Chairman of the Antrim and District Angling Association at 02893322952 or email to maurice@ballyrobertcottagegarden.co.uk

Stevie Munn
Professional Angling Guide emial anglingclassics@aol.com