Chalk-Stream Fly Fishing: The River Test Tradition
River Test chalk-stream fly fishing
River Test at Stockbridge is the shorthand for chalk-stream perfection: gin-clear water running over fine chalk gravel, carpets of water crowfoot and trout visible in their lies. The Test and its neighbours in Hampshire and Wiltshire set the stage for a distinctly English approach to fly fishing.
The angler learns to read light as much as water. Dry-fly presentation on a rising brown trout is an art honed here. Frederic M. Halford’s devotion to the dry-fly and G.E.M. Skues’s later defence of nymphing are part of the river’s lore; both shaped tackle choices and technique across Britain.
Water, fish and tackle
Brown trout dominate the conversation, with grayling turning up where streams cool and deepen. Pike lurk in margins and reed beds, a reminder that chalk streams carry more than trout. Polished presentations, upstream casts and delicate leader work beat brute force.
Classic kit matches the river’s temperament: a light fly rod, fine tippets and chest waders to slip into shallow beats without spooking fish. Locals prize stealth, tidy casts and flies tied to imitate tiny olives and sedges rather than flash.
Morning mist lifts from the Test. A trout rises, takes a dry fly, and the angler watches the ripple spread across water that has been guiding this kind of fishing for generations.
Recommended: 9ft 5WT fly rod