Chalk stream Fishing

Wherwell Priory is one of the most idyllic country estates in Hampshire’s famous River Test valley, where the river flows through a tranquil parkland setting.

The fishing comprises just over 1½ miles of double bank river, divided into two beats named The Park and The Priory which are cared for by river keeper, Michael Taplin (pictured). All of the fishing is from the bank, though there are some short sections which can be waded. Each beat has a comfortable fishing cabin and is suitable for up to three rods, or you can combine both beats for a larger party.

Watch the 3:31 second Directors Cut of CHALK filmed at Wherwell Priory.

There is a great variety of fishing on this very long beat, double bank along its entire length with the right bank prepared for easy bank fishing. Start from the bottom where the river is not deep, but wide and fast. You are overlooked by the village houses on the opposite bank but they have no fishing rights.

At The Mill there is a deep, turbulent hatch pool and beyond that is the garden section that is only fished by wading. Above Church Lane you return to your fishing hut, a quaint little wooden hut right beside the river under the shade of a chestnut tree.

Cross to the island for the best pool on the beat. Above is a lovely section that is deep and fast, shaded by the woods on the opposite bank to take you to the end of the beat.

The beat itself is the same length as Park, again double bank the whole way but without any houses and fished from a combination of left and right bank, plus a wading section. Start from the downstream end with fast, deep runs that in turn become a shaded glide up to the productive double hatch pool.

Above the hatches is a long straight section that is really good for sight casting to the holding fish. The final section is again shaded by the opposite bank trees and is perfect to fish from the bank or wading.

April 22-May 12

£289 per Rod

May 13-June 7

£391 per Rod

June 8-July 31

£289 per Rod

August 1-October 13

£247 per Rod

Selected dates June/July/August

£465 two days/1 night for two

£865 two days/1 night for four

The Parsonage is one of the original Fishing Breaks beats, dating back over 20 years. It is a unique combination of the main River Test with a long carrier, all within the beautiful setting of woodland and water meadows.

The main river is wide with a combination of long glides, deep pools and some shallow sections. There is a good wild trout population supplemented by regular stocking plus plenty of grayling and the occasional sea trout and salmon towards the end of the season. The carrier, recently extensively restored, is far more intimate fishing and the perfect place to break out a smaller rod.

The beat is ideal for up to four rods or larger parties. There is an excellent fishing cabin overlooking the river and plenty of parking.

May 1-12

£195 per Rod

May 13-June 7

£265 per Rod

June 8- July 31

£195 per Rod

Selected dates June/July/August

£450 two days/1 night for four

Timsbury is a long established fishery that has been in the expert guidance and care of Jonathan Durrant for over 25 years.

Beautifully maintained and very well stocked this wonderful selection of a fast flowing carriers and wide River Test has something to challenge every angler on every visit. Divided into four beats which rotate daily each beat is ideal for one or two Rods or two friends sharing. On some dates we have two beats available to make up a small party.

There is an excellent main fishing cabin overlooking the river and plenty of parking. In addition each beat has its own private hut.

May 1-12

£195 per Rod

May 13-June 7

£265 per Rod

June 8- July 31

£195 per Rod

The Middleton Estate is in Longparish, one of the loveliest villages in the Test valley where the fishing is cared for very much in the tradition of an old-style chalkstream.

The Half Water is one of our longest single beats on the River Test, coming in at just over a mile in length.

Extensively restored in recent years, this is a beat that has a bit of everything: slow sections, fast sections, deep holding sections and, hatch pools. Sections run through the water meadows; some parts are shaded by trees. There is a good head of wild fish, supplemented by careful stocking.

The Half Water has its own fishing hut at Dog Leg Hatch with a parking area. This beat is perfect for two or three rods.

May 1-12

£288 per Rod

May 13-June 7

£359 per Rod

August 1-September 30

£209 per Rod

If sight fishing over bright gravel beds, picking out trout with a dry fly or sight fishing with a traditional nymph pattern between the waving tails of ranunculus is your chalkstream dream then this is the place to head for.

You will rarely find a more beautiful spot than these beats on the Upper Test, where the 2½ miles of unspoilt chalkstream fishing is always crystal clear.

Immaculately maintained, with three picturesque fishing huts and resident keeper Simon Fields, Bullington Manor is excellent for the seasonal hatches we hanker after, where the chalkstream year may be measured by the flies you pluck from your box.

April 24 -May 12

£243 per Rod

May 13 -June 7

£363 per Rod

June 8 -July 31

£259 per Rod

August 1 -October 13

£175 per Rod

October 14 - November 30

£100 per Rod

December 1 - January 31

£77 per Rod

The higher one ventures up the River Test system, the better the hatches, the clearer the water and the wilder the fish. There is no better way of summing up the fishing at Whitchurch Fulling Mill.

Fulling Mill is one of those rare places where you can get up so close to feeding fish that you can sometimes almost pick them up in your hand. The water clarity and the abundance of food are exceptional, and the fish are always on the look out for food.

The beat breaks down into three sections; two wading and one bank plus three hatch pools and one mill race that holds trophy fish. A two-time winner in the River Test One Fly, this beat will often produce the day of a lifetime.

May 1-12

£235 per Rod

May 13-June 4

£300 per Rod

June 5-July 31

£250 per Rod

August 1-September 30

£195 per Rod

Mottisfont Abbey is quite simply the birthplace of modern day fly fishing. It is the very place where F. M. Halford, the man who can truly be said to have done more that any other to establish dry fly fishing as a sport in itself, fished at the height of his fame.

The famous Oakley Hut, where Halford spent all the summers of the early twentieth century until his death in 1914, stands today almost exactly as it was in his day. The photographs in the Hut taken at that time show the river and fishing barely changed today which makes you truly feel you are following in the footsteps of a fishing great.

The Mottisfont Estate comprises of three beautiful beats: the Oakley, Rectory and Main. Each is suitable for two rods and the three may be combined for a small party. The River Dun beat is available by special request.

This is the famous one with the amazing Oakley Hut where Halford held court; every fishing great of the Victorian era came here at one time or another.

The bottom of the beat is fast, wide and shallow and a haven for wild fish. A little further up, the Oakley Oak (the oldest in Hampshire) presides over a lovely series of riffles over gravel and ranunculus and some deeper pools. Upstream, the river ripples through the Oakley Hut garden which beautifully maintained by National Trust volunteers. Beyond the garden the angler has the option of both banks to fish from. Towards the top of the beat, the river glides as it opens out into the meadows ending at the boundary with Bossington.

A truly majestic beat which is as wide as any as you will encounter on the Test between Stockbridge and Romsey. The Main has produced huge fish in recent seasons.

The thatched Round Hut is your starting point, about one third of the way up the beat. Turn downstream to reach the start, staying on the left bank the entire way as you move upstream. At the very bottom of the beat, big fish are occasionally taken in the shadow of the bridge. A little further up, the river deepens and narrows sharply at Cuckoo Clump, then opens out again, but the platforms in the reed beds give plenty of opportunity to cover the water. On past the Hut the food line, under which the fish hang, is mostly on your side or within casting distance. Close to the top the beat shallows, with some great holding water on the final bend.

Off the main River Test, this beat is an absolute delight and vies as one of the most popular with the Mottisfont Fly Fishing Club members.

The beat starts on the right bank (looking upstream) in the Bitterne Grove Woods which give plenty of protection from the extremes of sun and wind, but with a thirty yard open bank corridor casting is rarely restricted to one of the best sections on the entire Abbey estate for free rising fish. At the half way point the woods end and the meadows begin. The fishing is on both banks as you choose, with gentle curving bends, gravelly sections, undercuts and tremendous ranunculus weed growth.

This beat is suitable for 3 rods and has a thatched fishing hut.

A lovely beat that has been extensively improved and restored by the National Trust over the past five years.

The beat starts where the Kimbridge Estate ends with fast water that races over a clear gravel river bed that twists and turns until the junction with Wallace’s Stream, a deep pool for big fish, salmon and sea trout. Through the Chicane the river opens up into the meadows and staying on the left bank this is exciting fishing with a fantastic holding section beside the Fishing Cabin. Beyond the cabin, with still half the beat to go, fish the bank of your choice for most of the way until the turbulent water that races out under the bridge that marks the top of the Rectory beat.

The River Dun is one of the most substantial of the River Test tributaries, rising above Lockerley and joining the main river at Mottisfont. The School Farm beat lies at about the mid-point, gently snaking through the lightly wooded valley and holding fish along its entire length.
 
School Farm is one of the most immaculately maintained estates in the river valley, with five-star facilities for the fisherman. The beat is very well stocked with both brown and rainbow trout, the fishing offering a variety of glides, weirs and a hatch pool in a peaceful setting.

April 27-May 12

£264 per Rod

May 13-June 7

£392 per Rod

June 8-July 31

£280 per Rod

August 1-October 13

£175 per Rod

The River Dun is one of the most important of the River Test tributaries, rising above Lockerley and joining the main river at Mottisfont Abbey.

Dunbridge is a little bit of chalkstream heaven, immaculately maintained with great fishing for one rod or two friends. There are deep pools, fast riffles and plenty of shaded cover from the opposite bank that encourage fish to rise throughout the day. The river holds wild trout, grayling plus some really very large fish. Of all our beats this is one that regularly gets an evening rise.

If you don’t have a car, the train station in Dunbridge village connects to London in around two hours.

April 27-May 12

£195 per Rod

May 13-June 7

£345 per Rod

June 8-July 31

£235 per Rod

August 1-October 13

£185 per Rod

The Broadlands Estate is one of the most famous names in fishing, renowned the world over for the River Test flowing through the estate that was the home of Earl Mountbatten of Burma. The unique Nissen Hut, a welcome retreat for all Broadlands anglers, is lined with photographs and fish, trophies of visits by royalty, diplomats and film stars.

This is a fine section of the River Test; wide, fast, varied and open, renowned for big brown trout, sea trout and the occasional salmon. There are three beats on the main River Test all carefully looked after by the resident keeper, Jon Hall.

Each of the beats, Longbridge, Moorcourt and Grove are available on a variety of different days, each taking up to three Rods

Set in the heart of Hampshire, the gin-clear chalkstream waters of the River Anton are a delight for any river angler.

The Upper Clatford beat is the perfect opportunity for classic sight fishing with the dry fly. A tributary of the River Test the Anton has a natural head of brown trout and large grayling, which are supplemented by carefully selected locally reared brown trout.

Mostly fished from the bank, the beat does however have a wading section from the weir to the top boundary. Please note this is dry fly only until the end of July and restricted to two-rod bookings. There is a fishing hut and parking.

May 1- May 12

£83 per Rod

May 13-June 7

£105 per Rod

June 8-September 30

£83 per Rod

October 1-December 31 (grayling)

£49 per Rod