River Quoile anglers gearing up for summer fishing
After a long cold winter, many anglers around Downpatrick will be dusting down their fishing gear from the back of the garage and getting ready to enjoy a few idyllic days fishing by the popular River Quoile.
Although the river has been under some pressure from pollution like most rivers, and has silted up badly in places, there is still plenty of good angling to be had.
Around the Quoile Bridge to Killyleagh, the river has clogged up and that was my favourite rudd spot. I always enjoyed fishing there years ago with a 2BB float, some split shot if needed on 2 1/2 pound breaking strain line and a 16 or 18 size hook.
The large beautiful shoals of well-formed rudd with their red fins are not as bountiful. There are a roach hybrids mixing in with the fish population which changes the profile of the fishery to some extent.
Interestingly, although not every anglers favourite fish, the common eel is making a comeback after being depleted for many years due to bacterial problem which caused them to sink on their way to the Saragossa Sea on the west side of the Atlantic where they go breed. Commercial eel-fishing also took its toll.
And every local angler knows the story of the seal that got in through the lower tidal barrier and predated the pike population. There was definitely a very solid head of pike in the river, some up to 30+ pounds, and dare I say it, possibly even bigger. But it appears the biggies have gone just for the time being.
You can fish for them with a decent rod and 12 -15lb line. You will probably use treble hooks on a trace but do pinch the barbs down or even buy barbless hooks as this prevents damaging the pike. And you will need long forceps, short long nosed pliers, wire cutters and a disgorger and an unhooking mat.
It all sounds like a real toolbox to be carrying along the bank, but I’ve seen quite a few pike dead in my time through careless handling which is a sad shame and totally unnecessary. So be prepared and watch your fingers as they have sharp teeth!
There used to be some decent perch too in the Quoile but they seem to have taken a back seat for some reason. But there are still some around. I can remember local angler Liam Quinn showing me a picture of two three-pounders he caught up towards the lower end of the fishery near the trees. They love to hide in structures and under roots etc.
But one of the biggest changes in recent years to the Quoile fishery has been the dynamic growth in the trout population. They look like sea trout and grow up to a few pounds in weight, and some are quite distinctly like brownies.
A lot of coarse anglers find that these trout take the anglers’ maggot and small baits and they then there is a big fight on with the light tackle. But to be honest, I haven’t yet gone out of my way to fish for them.
There is a high bacterial count in the water given there is WWtW just upstream at the Belfast Road bridge, so much as through I enjoy a bit of fresh, juicy trout, I could not bring myself to eat one… for fear of poisoning! Which also reminds me, anglers if fishing there should carry hand sanitiser to give you extra protection. But they will certainly give you a good fight and a bit of fun!
The pike will have just spawned now and if you do catch any, the females will look quite lean having shed their eggs. But interestingly, the rudd lay their eggs a bit later and the trout seem to feed on these eggs and this may be why there is less quality rudd around.
The river has great potential and if maintained properly, could one again be a great fishery.
The Quoile Angling Club formed just a few years ago fishes mainly at the nearby Ballydugan Lake which has a decent head of pike. Day tickets can be got from the LAkeside Inn or the St Patrick Centre. And you will need to have your coarse angling licence in place as for the Quoile available online from the DAERA Inland Fisheries website.
So that’s a snapshot of what’s going on in the Quoile at the minute. Get the rods and reels out get fishing and get away from TV – for a while anyway!
Below is an article I wrote some tome ago – I interviewed Ian Heaps, world champion, who now lives at his fisherie on the Welsh border. He had fished for rudd at the Quoile Bridge and filled two keep nets. An amazing feat – but stocks were much healthier back then in the 70s.
Tight lines!
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