Test Dawn Dry‑Fly Briefing

River Test below Stockbridge — the first 60–120 minutes after first light

Late May on this chalk stream brings short, electric dry‑fly windows. May caddis pulses produce 10–30 minute feeding spells rather than a full hatch; when the morning is mild and still, brown trout will move onto gravel seams and shallow glides to pick off adults.

Where the rises show

Inside bends, shallow gravel tongues and the soft edges of faster lanes hold the earliest risers. Heads and tails of runs are prime: fish sit where flow softens and the current delivers emergers. On clear Test water expect rising trout in roughly 2–4 ft of flow when the light first lifts.

Tackle and presentation matter. Rod: 8–9 ft #4 or #5. leader: 9–12 ft, tapered to 4X–6X. Fly sizes #14–#18 for caddis and small mayfly dries; drop a size if refusals start. Cast upstream or quartering with a low line and minimal drag; on flats a long leader is worth more than a bulky fly.

Read the river: clear with a faint green tint and slightly up but not overflowing favours dry‑fly work. Expect uneven surface activity — short, sharp pulses — and pick the seams where caddis congregate. A brown trout sipping off a gravel tongue at first light, line whispering through the rings, is the picture of a Test morning.

Recommended: tapered fluorocarbon leader

Moon phase today