River Test morning briefing
River Test below Stockbridge: caddis hatch drives brown trout in shallow seams
Below Stockbridge the chalk stream runs low and glassy this morning, seams barely a foot deep but alive with rising brown trout. A mid-May warmth has coaxed a steady caddis hatch; risers are selective and surface takes are often milliseconds long.
Flow: low and clear, wading limited to stones and shallower margins. Fish are staging in tail of riffles and shallow glides where current drops and food concentrates. Early light finds the best activity between Cold Harbour and Houghton.
Tackle reports point to two reliable approaches: a buoyant dry fly over a short dropper rig, or a single well-presented dry fly when trout are fully committed to the surface. Size 14–16 caddis imitations, teased downstream, are producing the flash of the take.
Seasonal note: The simple answer is: it depends on what you’re after. Year-round options exist across the UK, but river coarse closures from 15 March–15 June and summer peaks from May–September shape angling patterns. Salmon runs favour January–May in some beats and June–August elsewhere.
What’s working at first light
Short leaders, soft presentations, and watching seams pay dividends. A biscuit-coloured caddis pattern trailed by a small nymph is turning heads. Expect hatches to ease as the sun rises; pockets that hold foam and current seams will still produce into mid-morning.
A brown takes a size 14 caddis in a shallow seam; the surface explodes and the line goes tight.