Billy's Pool, River Mourne 11 Feb 2024 DSC_1185
This pool is located on the upstream side of the newer Strabane Bridge on the main A5 road from Strabane to Derry / Lifford. The pool is named after a local business man and keen angler, the late Mr. Billy Diver who ran Diver’s Guns & Tackle Shop for many year located in Castle Place adjacent to the Wembley Cafe know locally as Vaccaro's in Strabane town centre.
Billy, along with a few other local anglers were founding member of the Strabane Lifford Anglers Association, a cross-border club for local anglers. Billy’s passion for fishing saw him turn an almost fishless stretch of the River Mourne into one of the finest fishing spots in the area which rivaled the Grevenue Pool also on the River Mourne, however located near the village of Sion Mills.
Following many years planning, Billy and the team’s vision became a reality after the group secured funding to launch the 'Between the Bridges' project in 2002 which saw the creation of a series of gravel groins projecting out from each bank in the river forming a chicane of faster flowing water with still water pools between the groins that had the capacity to hold salmon. This helped rejuvinate a stretch of the river that seldom held fish and which few people ever fished. Additionally, it created much-needed jobs for the local people of the area.
Sadly, over the years, with reguar floods the gravel groins have been slowly eroded and the pools don’t seem to hold the same number of fish as they once did.
Billy's Pool, River Mourne 11 Feb 2024 DSC_1185
This pool is located on the upstream side of the newer Strabane Bridge on the main A5 road from Strabane to Derry / Lifford. The pool is named after a local business man and keen angler, the late Mr. Billy Diver who ran Diver’s Guns & Tackle Shop for many year located in Castle Place adjacent to the Wembley Cafe know locally as Vaccaro's in Strabane town centre.
Billy, along with a few other local anglers were founding member of the Strabane Lifford Anglers Association, a cross-border club for local anglers. Billy’s passion for fishing saw him turn an almost fishless stretch of the River Mourne into one of the finest fishing spots in the area which rivaled the Grevenue Pool also on the River Mourne, however located near the village of Sion Mills.
Following many years planning, Billy and the team’s vision became a reality after the group secured funding to launch the 'Between the Bridges' project in 2002 which saw the creation of a series of gravel groins projecting out from each bank in the river forming a chicane of faster flowing water with still water pools between the groins that had the capacity to hold salmon. This helped rejuvinate a stretch of the river that seldom held fish and which few people ever fished. Additionally, it created much-needed jobs for the local people of the area.
Sadly, over the years, with reguar floods the gravel groins have been slowly eroded and the pools don’t seem to hold the same number of fish as they once did.