River Test June Briefing
Stockbridge beat on the River Test: tails and seams firing this June
Clear chalk-filtered water shows every ripple. Today the tails of pools, soft seams and wadeable riffles below Stockbridge are producing visible rises and confident takes. The broad, dead-smooth midstream glides in full daylight are comparatively quiet; fish there are picky and distant.
Best stretches are the intimate reaches around Stockbridge town and the lower Test valley beats where the river narrows, bends or splits into twin currents. Those bends concentrate naturals and create oxygenated seams where brown trout lie in ambush without leaving cover.
Rigs, flies and windows
Fish match the hatch with classic dry-fly tactics. Use 14–18 ft leaders and a fine tapered tippet with a 5X–7X final section for invisible presentation. Parachute Adams, Iron Blue Dun, CDC emergers and small BWO-style duns are on the menu; switch to a spent spinner as evening dimples appear.
Timing is decisive: first light through mid-morning and late afternoon into dusk give the best chance. When the water runs bright, work the margins and tail-outs with single flies and long drifts rather than blasting the middle with heavy retrieves.
This morning a visible rise line tracked the inner seam below the Stockbridge bridge, a neat dimple every few seconds where trout picked off olives—a calm, precise moment on a classic chalk stream.
Recommended: dry fly selection