Dollaghan are a variety of brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') native to Lough Neagh,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

, and many of its tributaries. They are a potamodromous migratory trout spending much of the year in the lough, returning to the rivers in autumn to spawn. Dollaghan are much sought after by anglers in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retain ...

and

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...

due to their greater size in comparison to the non-migratory trout found in streams such as the Ballinderry River Six Mile Water, Moyola River and River Main. They are often caught in the dark using methods very similar to that of fishing for sea trout. Many anglers regard them as an elusive species and call them 'sea trout of lough neagh'. Their weight varies greatly - from small fish of around 1/2 lb to large specimens of around 20 lb. There are four strains of brown trout in Ireland: Dollaghan, Gillaroo, Sonaghan and Ferox. The Dollaghan is thought to have evolved from sea trout which were land locked many years ago.

References

BBC Nature
Fish of Europe Salmo {{Salmoniformes-stub

See also

References