Timsbury Beat 6River Test Fly Fishing Beat

Timsbury Beat 6 covers roughly 1,000 yards of the main River Test at Timsbury, Hampshire, plus a carrier, with a gravel bottom and a run of shallows where some big wild fish have shown up over the years. It's a five-rod beat, day-ticket water, which is worth knowing because most of the fishing on this stretch of the Test is held by private syndicates and rarely comes up for a day visit. The whole beat can be taken exclusively if you'd rather have it to yourselves. Dry fly and upstream nymph only, fished the chalk stream way: no lures, nothing bigger than a size 10. No wading, bank fishing only, and no sharing a rod between two anglers. The day runs 8am to dusk. You can keep two fish over 10 inches; after that it's barbless catch and release, nets unknotted. Season runs 2 April to 30 September.

Day tickets start from £130 during the main season. Rates step up between 1 May and 15 June for the mayfly hatch, when it fishes well alongside hawthorn, pale morning duns, Adams and blue-winged olives. Everything can be booked in advance: tackle hire, a box of flies suited to the water, a packed lunch brought down to the bank, or a local guide for the day, half day, or by the hour if you want some tuition on the chalk stream method. Bring an 8ft or 9ft rod in a 5 or 6 weight with a floating line, and your Environment Agency rod license. No dogs, radios, fires or weapons on the fishery, and nowhere to park on the riverbank itself. Good beat for anglers who already know their way around a dry fly and want proper day-ticket water on a stretch of the Test where that's genuinely hard to come by.