Tony Riley and his good friend Albert make a pilgrimage South to enjoy some chalkstream fly fishing for the first time.
The call came from Tony around mid November, "Can you sort out some chalkstream fishing for me and an old friend of mine?"
"No problem Tony, what have you got in mind?"
"A couple of day's fly fishing on the Test would be good".
Enough said.... plans were laid and January dates booked. Tony and Albert were coming down from Cumbria to join Jim Williams and myself for a couple of days on the River Test.
Tony explained that it was Albert who had introduced him to fly fishing, in the dim and distant past, they had fished for many years on the freestone rivers and high tarns in their native Cumbria, but Albert had never fished on, or indeed ever seen a southern chalkstream. So after their day with Jim, where they saw and caught more grayling than they had ever imagined possible (sight fishing for grayling or indeed anything, rarely happens on Cumbria’s spate rivers),
the lads retired to the White Lion Inn at Wherwell for dinner and a pint before bed. It was here that I met them the following morning and enquired as to whether they might like to have a brief look round some of the surrounding area, which has played such an important part in the rich history of chalkstream fly fishing. The ‘yes’ came quickly and we boarded the truck and set off down the valley, through Fullerton & Leckford and into Stockbridge which, as the sign says, is the heart of the Test Valley.
Through Stockbridge (with a quick look into the aquarium, which is the fish filled stream that runs alongside the original Orvis shop), and on to Houghton to see Bossington Mill which was formerly known as Houghton Mill and was the place where F.M. Halford stayed during the middle to late 19th century, when he and numerous other members of the fly fishing nobility of the time - Marryat, Francis, Senior and Turle to name but a few - came to develop the chalkstream fly fishing techniques as we know them today.
Bossington Mill: Upper and Lower reaches
Tony & Albert - observations and taking time over fly selection is time never wasted
Clear water nymphing with some surprising results...
Tony's fit rainbow has the ambitions of a steelhead
A cracking brownie for Albert A nice grayling to a dry olive for Tony
A last look for them both before the M6 North and journey home
I think it went well, very well... with next year already discussed for a possible return visit.
Ian May is an AAPGAI Master Instructor based in Hampshire, teaching both single and double handed disciplines for salmon, trout & grayling... contact him here at the Hampshire Fly Fishing School