A quick chat with… Derek Bell Jnr.

There can be few, if any, anglers in Ireland or the UK who have caught more big river trout than Derek Bell Jnr. – a man with a lifetime’s fascination and passion for ‘dollaghan’, a strain of migratory brown trout unique to the waters of Lough Neagh…

 Issue 13 (Nov-Dec 2016)       Derek Bell Jnr. & Off the Scale magazine

Derek, first of all, congratulations on your captures this season just gone. You caught some amazing trout – dollaghan – topped by a monster 22lb fish. Can you tell us a bit more about the mysterious dollaghan of Lough Neagh, why they are so special and why you fish for them?

Thanks for the opportunity to share my story! Why dollaghan are so special to me is the fact that they can grow to enormous sizes, putting on 2lbs per year while feeding in Lough Neagh, the largest lake by area in the British Isles. This gives the dollaghan trout plenty of food to eat like other small fish. A dollaghan is basically a brown trout that is born in ours rivers and when ready will drop down to Lough Neagh in search of food, returning to the river to spawn between July through to January.

For those who don’t know, what time of the year, conditions and methods do you think best? We know you have caught your big fish on the fly…

The best times of year are July to mid-October, at night when the water is low and clear. The darker the night, the better the chance. Usually a 9ft to 10ft rod with an intermediate fly line will cover most situations. Fly choice is relatively simple. A silver and black fly in different sizes from 14s to 8s on singles, doubles and tubes should cover most angles. Spinning can be very productive in the months of September and October which can yield a double figure trout. Worming is also allowed in these months. But in my personal opinion the best method is on the fly in the pitch black of night – you just never know what you might hook.

Do you have any favourite fly patterns? The dollaghan don’t feed when they run the rivers to spawn so what are you trying to imitate?

I do have my own homemade flies based on the Silver Doctor which serve me well, but when the fish are in a taking mood a simple silver and black fly like a Stoats tail should work well. What do dollaghan feed on? Correct, just like a Sea trout they don’t feed, maybe it is some natural safety feature built in so they don’t eat last year’s fry? But my question would be why do they take a fly if they don’t feed? The simple answer is it’s out of habit or curiosity. When we present a fly we are trying to arouse their natural instinct, and a fly that resembles a small fish or something that they have been feeding on while in the Lough is usually taken out of habit.

Give us an insight into your results from this year. Is it a case of catching numbers of fish and waiting for the big one to turn up or is your approach and all out big-fish effort? What sort of time are you putting in or is it a case of picking and choosing your times wisely? How many double figure fish did you end up with?

I’m just totally devout to catching big fish. I can go a week or two without catching anything. My saying is “big fly, big fish” – a big fly will usually pull out the bigger fish. I put a lot of hours into my fishing. Nearly every night I will be on the banks of the Six Mile looking for that big fish and the numbers show that I’ve caught (I think) 15 doubles so far this season and lost a few, too. The key to catching big fish is knowing where they’re at, that’s half the battle. Then a good presentation of the fly is also very important and of course a little bit of luck.

Your season was capped off by an incredible 22lb+ beast. Can you tell us the story leading up to the night of this capture?

Catching my biggest fish of 22lbs is a night I will never forget. It was near the end of July and it was a bit of a cold night. The previous night I hooked into something very large but the hook pulled out of its mouth. I’m not sure if it was the same 22 pounder or another big fish. Anyway, I went back to the same pool the next night to give it another throw. After a couple of casts down the pool I had a mighty bump on the fly and for the next half hour the fish stayed deep. It never broke the surface so I knew it was a pretty big fish. The fight was powerful. It just kept swimming from side to side keeping deep all the time. About 40 mins later the fish started to tire, splashing at the surface. In one last effort the fish swim far upstream and got snagged under some overhanging trees. The top dropper got caught up in the bushes and I thought I had lost the fish, so I decided to wade up-river to see if the fish was still there but at that stage I was very doubtful, I have to say. I got to where the dropper had snagged, cleared some weed away, put my headlight on and looked under the tree and there it was – I could not believe my eyes! Before panic set in I gently put the net under the fish and lifted the net and a stunning 22lb fish was mine. I quickly weighed the fish, took the photos and released it back in the river, a night I will never forget. Truly the fish of a lifetime and the biggest trout to be caught in Northern Ireland.

What conservation efforts are currently ongoing to protect the Neagh dollaghan and is enough being done in your opinion?

Catch and release has been in force now for a few years and each year the success is evident, with bigger fish being caught. A lot of enhancement work has been done further upstream, with spawning beds being cleared and the great work at Ballyhartfield where a new groyne has been put in place along with other club members clearing banks, planting grass seeds and picking up litter. We have a great club which looks out for the river and a number of water bailiffs which protect the water.

That is great to hear, I’m sure everyone will agree. And finally for anyone who may want to have a go at catching one of these monster Six Mile trout next season, how do they go about it regarding tickets etc.?

Anyone looking to fish next season can contact me through my Facebook page Derek Bell Jnr gillie/guide  or contact me by mobile +44 7761 535982. I can arrange for day tickets and licences. Anyone wanting to fish the Six Mile River is more than welcome to have a go at one of the best trout rivers in the country, where the average trout is 3lbs and where there is a real chance to catch the fish of a lifetime.

Thanks so much for your time Derek and let’s hope 2017 season goes even better for you!