hi ppl, new to the forum. ive been fly fishing for about a year, been to the corrib, the moy, fish some rivers up north, the ballinderry and the 6mile. also tried a few fisheries, tildarg probably being my favourite, moorbrook is a good spot also. now my uncle wants to come fishing with me, he uses bait though and i was just wondering if anyone knows a fishery close to belfast where all methods are acceptable? also neither of us drive, just wondering if theres anywhere accessible by bus? any info would be greatly appreciated. whilst im here i may aswell ask, the 1st rod i bought was a daiwa lochmor x 9ft6 6#, i also purchased the lochmor reel, i love the set up, my casting is dead on and the rod is forgiving because im still learning. bought a better floating line recently a cortland line and think this is a great line. however for next season i wouldnt mind buying myself a new rod and reel set up, a little bit pricier than my daiwa lol anyone have any tips of what rod n reel i should be going for? many thanks, pearse

I know there's a place in Carrickfergus called Woodford that used to have a bait pond. Only been there once and didn't like it, the fly only bit is a small circular pond but hard fighting fish and might suit you.

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And when none bite, I praise the wise
Whom vain allurements ne'er surprise.

A bit further out of Belfast but probably easily accessible by public transport. These support fly and bait...I think

Craigmore Fishery

or

Eskragh Lough Fishery

or

Park Lake, Dungannon

AP

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you can get a bus from belfast to randlestown for craigmore but you'll also needa get a taxi out to it as its out of the town a bit, not worth a walking neither

Try donaldsons in holywood on church road. great fish and allows both bait and fly, well stocked and well run. Tight lines

As mentioned above, Donaldsons is probably your best bet. Both of you can fish the same lake and theres plenty of good fighting fish.

.Hi Pearse
It really hard finding places to fish if you are relying on public transport but there should be plenty of buses out to Antrim or templepatrick where you can fish six mile water with the fly and bait. You never said how much your budget was for the rod. Greys and airflo do some nice rods at the lower end of the scale but if your thinking of something pricer check out the classifies cos there are some really good deals on nearly new rods. I wouldn’t spend too much on a reel just yet unless you’re expecting some serious fish but it is worth investing in a quality line