Ballinamallard River at Riversdale

I have been wanting to fish this river for quite a while. I purchased my DCAL permit online this morning and after an hours drive I arrived at Kilgortnaleague bridge around noon. I setup my tackle quickly and crossed the busy road to make my way down along the riverbank. What I first noticed about the river was that the banks had been worked at extensively, within the last year. I walked about a hundred yards from the bridge and began fishing down and across with a tungsten bead nymph to see if there were any trout about. Not a sniff! I walked further down the bank, fishing as I went, to no joy.

I walked about a mile downstream to investigate. There is a nice mix of fast riffles and deep pools along this stretch of water, although it does slow up near the end of the DCAL stretch. I noticed that there had been anglers on the river within the past few days, which may have contributed to my lack of success. The work carried out on the river was no small project. About 400 yards of river bank was rebuilt and stone structures were placed under the waterline to control the water flow (and create pools). I am not sure what these type of structures are called, but they create a good flow and look like they might create good holding water for the fish. They are clearly visible in the photo's below.

I couldn't help but notice that there were no fish rising where this work had been carried out. It wasn't until I walked up to Kilgortnaleague bridge (an area where the riverbank hadn't been 'fixed') that I seen a couple of trout rise to small upwings. It was here that I caught a half dozen small trout that saved a blank. 

It was a pleasant afternoon. It was mild and sunny. There was plenty of bird song to listen to and I spotted a couple of peasants. They were tame, which might have something to do with the pheasant hatchery well downstream. I will be back to fish this river, but I may have to try the angling club waters and give this part of the river a chance to recuperate after the extensive work that was carried out.