Fly Fishing on the River Test

Rising at Ashe, near Overton, the River Test runs for 40 miles through Hampshire, flowing south through Whitchurch, Longparish, and Wherwell before the Rivers Dever and Anton join the main channel near Chilbolton. For much of its length the Test is not one river but an amalgam of main channel, mill leats, carriers, and side streams, with two, three, or even four streams running parallel, all fishable, and it can be difficult to distinguish carrier from main river. The valley broadens through Stockbridge and Houghton before the Wallop Brook and River Dun add their flow near Kimbridge and Romsey, with the Test finally becoming a single channel only south of Romsey, a few miles from the sea. The river is one of only 12 chalk streams classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and one of only six that supports Atlantic salmon. It is recognised as being particularly sensitive to phosphate pollution, and conservation work by riparian owners, river keepers, and the Test and Itchen Association remains central to maintaining its ecology.

It was on the banks of the River Test that Frederick Halford honed his ground-breaking ideas that effectively invented modern dry fly fishing in the late 1800s. That tradition still defines how most beats are fished: upstream dry fly and nymph, presented to visible, rising fish. The river supports over half a dozen species of stonefly, twenty-two species of mayfly, and nearly forty species of caddis fly, with grannom and hawthorn fly opening the season in spring and the mayfly hatch in late May drawing anglers from across the country. Wild brown trout are the primary quarry through the trout season, with Atlantic Salmon, Brown Trout, Grayling, Rainbow Trout, Sea Trout all present across the valley. The river holds good populations of wild brown trout and grayling alongside stocked fish, and the salmon beats carry genuine holding pools. Grayling provide sport on dry fly and nymph into winter once the trout season closes.

With 63 beats across 10 fisheries listed on FishingBeats, access to the River Test is broader than its private reputation might suggest. Kimbridge Estate offers seven miles of fishable bank managed to maintain a purist upstream dry fly fishery, while the Broadlands Estate extends for two and a half miles divided into dedicated trout beats and salmon beats. The Leckford Estate on the middle Test, north of Stockbridge, has 16 fishing beats open to anglers from May to October. Day tickets, season rods, and syndicate shares are all available across the valley. Day tickets start from £92.