|
|
|
  Welcome to our clubs web site Please sign our guest book The Kells and Connor Angling Club, as it was known then, was formed when a few of the local anglings came togather to form a club. the very first club meeting was held on 19th June 1948 in a field on the Fernisky road in Kells, where the Spar Petrol Station now stands today, and had 18 members. in 2002 the club changed it's name to incorperate the head waters of Glenwherry river. The Glenwherry river is a spate river rising on the south side of Slemish Mountainhigh on the Antrim Plateau, rain water coming off the natural peat land gives it, it's nutty brown colour, becoming the Kells Water river below Moorfields as it meanders it's way for fourteen miles through the fertile farm land of County Antrim to meet up with the river Main in the townland of Kellswater that gives the river it's name before entering Lough Neagh. Both rivers hold a large head of Brown Trout unfortunately due to the high increase of Nitrates and pollution over the years, there has been a decrease in the numbers of Aquatic Insects resulting in less feeding and smaller brown trout. After a spate we regular get River Main trout running the river these are recognised by their large red spots and buttercup yellow bellies, these to were on decline due to years of pollution from a old sewage works out side of Ballymena,thankfully this matter has been sorted, and are making a come back. The Glenwherry has always been renowned for its runs of DollaghanTrout, Indigenous only to Lough Neagh; they begin their migration from the Lough in mid June to spawn high up the tributary streams of the system. It is though that these trout evolved from Sea Trout that were left land locked thousands of years ago. Dollaghan can be identified by their large black spots with a red edge and their pink flesh from feeding on shrimp on the sandy bottom of the Lough. In 2009 a number of Dollaghan over 10lb caught by club members. The numbers of Atlantic Salmon that run the river had also declined over the years mostly due to deep sea trawlers , coastal nets and illegal netting in Lough Neagh with help from the North Atlantic Salmon Fund most coastal nets were bought off leaving only two on the north Antrim coast, in the mid 1990s through grants from Europe the club started an enhancement program with Bushmills Salmon Station run by the inland fishers section of the Department of culture Arts and leisure for Northern Ireland. Where brood stock Salmon and Dollaghan were taken from our river to their Hatchery for stripping, then returned the fry back to the feeder streams, in 2005 the club set up its own club hatchery on the banks of the river and at the end of April 2010 we hope to return an Approximated 30’0000 unfed Salmon fry back to the river. The number of both Salmon & Dollaghan fry returned to date is in the millions, the rate of adult salmon returning back to our river is estimated to be only 0.01% |
|
|
|
|
|
