River Bush

Nearest Town: - Bushmills, Dervock, Armoy
Area/Length: - 38.5km
Species: - Salmon, Brown trout, Sea trout
Season: - 1 March–20 October
Methods: - Fly only from 1st March - 30th June. Fly fishing, worm fishing and spinning from 1st July from Belisle bridge to Walkmills and on the Stracam tributary to to Dervock.
Daily Bag Limit: - There is no bag limit for trout. Daily bag limits for salmon are available from the Permits & Licences section of this web site under General Information
Size Limit: - Minimum takeable size for brown trout is 25.4 cm
Other Restrictions: - A short stretch above Benvardin Bridge is closed to anglers.
Disabled Facilities: - See Disabled Fisheries
Licence: - Fisheries Conservancy Board Game Fishing Rod Licence
Permit: - DCAL Game Fishing

Close to the North Antrim coast the unrestricted stretch of the river Bush offers the chance of a good day’s sport in a variety of delightful settings. From the downstream limit at Walkmills to Stroan Bridge the river is mainly slow moving and fairly deep with isolated fords, and flows between high banks. From Stroan Bridge to Magherahoney the pace of the river quickens and faster flowing water over gravel begins to predominate. However, there are deeper pools and a fair chance of making contact with a good salmon. The brown trout fishing is also of a high order. Above Magherahoney the river changes to a mountain stream with water cascading over large boulders and small but deep pools with extensive bush cover. The chance of a salmon in this reach is much diminished but there is a good stock of small brownies and on the right day the sport can be fast and furious.

How to get there Access to the river is best gained from one of the many bridges or official car-parks. These are signposted and the angler should have no difficulty in locating them. Some of the main bridges and access roads are listed below: Benvardin Bridge - on the B67 between Ballycastle and Coleraine Dervock - on the B66 between Ballymoney and Bushmills Armoy - on the A44 between Ballymena and Ballycastle Stranocum Bridge - on the B147 between Ballymoney and the B67. Access along the river bank has been made easier by the construction of stiles and foot sticks over most of the distance between the downstream limit and Armoy.