Hi,

I have only ever fished ministry run waters here in Northern Ireland where boats float tubes etc are not permitted, you can only bank fish or in certain areas wade out a short distance, most of the dams are abit messy with debris and rubbish and i havent seen a baliff in the last two years!!!

My question is am i wasting my time with these waters??? should i have a go at some of the private run waters in my area, although some are a bit expensive i am willing to pay if your chances are slightly improved.

Also would it be worth it to have a go at some rivers???
Would the same apply to gov run waters in eng/scot/wales/rep ireland

Cheers
Bobbyjo

PS. I DID WELL ON THE WATERS LAST YEAR BUT VERY LITTLE OVER 1lb-1.5lb

Two sides to this really. The DCAL waters are stocked regularly with lovely brown trout and are set in some beautiful countryside. They are also quite amazing value for money. In fact I think perhaps that is one of their problems. If anglers were prepared to spend a bit more money they might receive a better service. I hold the permit for the Woodburn dams near me in Carrick and they do provide some excellent and challenging fishing. BUT, and it is a big but, I have to share it with every idiot who wants to light fires, dump rubbish, ride scramblers, and anglers who catch and kill way above their limit with all kinds of illegal methods. Nicer places to be on week day mornings, I would not even entertain the thought at week ends or school holidays. I think the one over riding impression anyone takes away from these places is the shameful amount of litter.

I also have a season ticket for Woodford. No fires, no litter, no idiots and excellent fishing. The only company you will have is like minded anglers and extremely helpful and friendly staff. Not exactly in the wilds of the countryside and rainbows instead of browns. The fish do tend to be on average much larger. About five times the price.

At the end of the day I think iy is a case of you get what you pay for unfortunately, and although I do enjoy the odd day at the reservoirs I could not do it all the time, it would eventually become depressing. Give one of the private fisheries near you go and see what you think yourself. I have no where near fished all of them, but I have never fished a bad one. What part of the country are you from?

Im from newtownabbey, and until last november i also lived in carrickfergus, i know where woodford is and i also fancy kilgad and tildarg, wot you think???
I was at wee north this morning and there were half wits in tents with fires on the go!!!
Last year i had good success at marshelstown
Today was my first outting of the season and i left thinking " wot am i doing here"