Five stealth habits for River Test trout
River Test at dusk: brown trout sit shallow and edge-hugging.
Anglers on the Hampshire chalk stream treat those seams like living wallpaper. Shoreline movement matters more than distance; approach the bank slowly, pause before every cast and favour short pitches on soft side-seams where trout often lie right at the feet.
Shadow and angle
Keep a low profile and avoid the skyline. Work from downstream or below the fish where possible so casts come upstream and shadows fall behind. On wooded beats cast from the cover side to stop a silhouette crossing the water.
Use low-profile casting: soft, short deliveries that barely kiss the surface film. Tight line control reduces false casts and keeps presentations natural at dusk when trout key on surface cues.
Leader choice is pragmatic: a short stout leader turns over flies and resists abrasion in the gravel. Many Test anglers splice a short section of heavy tippet with a blood knot into lighter material for balanceāturnover and control beat invisibility as light falls.
Keep a wading net handy and land fish fast and quietly. Light should be used sparingly: only for the fight, the unhook and the release. The trout slips back into the chalk-clear flow, tail fanning under an apricot sky.
Recommended: collapsible wading net