WHERE TO GO FISHING.
Having spoken of the _how_ and _when_, next comes the _where_; and under
this head I feel bound, in the interests of friends, not to describe,
other than in very general terms, the localities where good fishing is
to be had. Walton, from frequently visiting Winchester, where his
remains lie, and where a statue of him has lately been erected by
anglers, (the movement for which I had the honour of starting), was
doubtless well acquainted with Hampshire--or, as he quaintly calls it,
"Hantshire,"--which, he says, "exceeds all England for its swift,
shallow, clear, pleasant brooks, and store of trouts." In his will he
mentions part of his books as being at Droxford (about eleven miles from
Winchester), where it is presumed he resided occasionally. I know no
better trout stream than that in this locality. Many a basket of goodly
trout have I had from it in days gone by. It was near here that I caught
the two large trout at one time, before alluded to.
I suppose at the present time the Avon, the Test, and the Itchen are
unsurpassed in the United Kingdom. All the north, or what is commonly
called the _upper_, part of Hampshire, forms part of the south-western
edge of the basin of the Thames, and is drained into it by the Wey, the
Enborn, and the Blackwater. The district east of Alton and north of the
South Downs is drained by the Rother, which is a tributary of the river
Arun, and discharges into the English Channel, near Arundel, in Sussex.
In all these rivers, springing out of the chalk hills, there is good
trout fishing, but not equal to that on the south side of the South
Downs, where the country, sloping away to the southward and westward,
either drains into the Solent or the river Avon; and it is to these
southern rivers and streams that Walton more particularly alluded. The
Test, or Anton, rises in the neighbourhood of Andover and Whitchurch,
and falls into the Southampton Water to the westward of the town of
Southampton, while the Itchen, rising near Alresford, and passing
Winchester and Bishopstoke, discharges into Southampton Water to the
eastward of the town. The Avon, entering Hampshire from Wiltshire, and
passing Fordingbridge and Ringwood, discharges into Christchurch Bay,
where the Stour also empties itself. There are also several smaller
streams rising south of the hills which stretch from Winchester to
Petersfield, and discharge themselves into the Solent. All these streams
are well stocked with trout, and some of them contain roach, perch,
pike, and grayling, and the larger ones also salmon. If greater
facilities were given to salmon to ascend they would doubtless do so, as
they are occasionally caught in stake nets while working their way along
the south coast, evidently in search of rivers, up which to ascend for
the purpose of spawning. But the river proprietors do not provide means
for the salmon to go upwards, it being generally considered that salmon
and trout do not thrive well together, and that if the breeding of
salmon was encouraged it would be at the expense of the trout fisheries.
Nearly all these Hampshire rivers are strictly preserved, and some of
those in the vicinity of Andover, Stockbridge, Houghton, and Winchester
are in the hands of first-class clubs, the subscriptions to which are
high, and access difficult. Still, there are a few pieces of free water
at Winchester, Bishopstoke, and Romsey; and Mr. Currell and Mr.
Chalkley, both of Winchester, rent considerable portions of the river
there, and issue season and day tickets. At Bishopstoke, where there is
some splendid trout and grayling fishing, season and day tickets are now
being issued by the proprietor of a large estate, who has hitherto
preserved very highly, and would scarcely allow his own friends to fish;
and several instances have come to my knowledge lately where landed
proprietors, only able to obtain a reduced income from their farms, have
been glad to supplement it by making a few pounds annually out of their
fishing. So that, to the angler as well as the land owner, agricultural
distress is not an unmitigated evil. And if more attention was paid to
the stocking and preserving of rivers, the incomes of landed proprietors
might be considerably increased, and a very important addition made to
the food of the country. The Avon, at Ringwood, in the New Forest, about
100 miles S.W. of London, has some good salmon, trout and grayling
fishing, and also very fine roach and perch. Day tickets can be obtained
of the hotel keepers. The Beaulieu river, the tidal portion of which is,
of course, free, is noted, not only for its coarse fish, but also for
quantities of sea-trout that frequent it in the autumn months.
Fishermen have increased so rapidly in the last few years that those who
have fishing rights take care of them, and where one could formerly go
unchallenged, he now has to ask permission for a day, and very often may
consider himself lucky if he gets it. There are now about 180 angling
societies in and around London, consisting of nearly 5,000 members,
besides a large number of anglers who do not belong to any society;
consequently fish have been becoming more and more scarce year after
year, and the increase of population and pollution of rivers have also
tended to drive them away. But, in order to supply to some extent the
deficiency, artificial breeding has become very general. The National
Piscicultural Society breed and distribute immense numbers of young
trout every year. Greater efforts are also being made than formerly to
prevent poaching, the destruction of undersized fish, and taking them
when out of season; therefore, the prospects of anglers are beginning to
look brighter.
In describing the _where_ to go fishing, I have alluded more
particularly to Hampshire, not only because it is the best part of
England for trout, but because it also happens to be the county with
which I am best acquainted.
Throughout the whole of the county, fishing for trout with anything but
an artificial fly is considered unsportsmanlike, and is strictly
prohibited in all the clubs.
Still, there are many other localities where, if the angler does not
mind going farther afield, good trout fishing can be obtained. For
instance, Scotland and Wales, where, from the hilly conformation of the
country, the streams are rapid and therefore suitable for trout;
Devonshire, where the trout are small, but very numerous; the
neighbourhood of the Peak, in Derbyshire, than which there is none much
better; the upper portions of the Thames and Lea and their
tributaries--all these are worth the fly-fisher's attention, and many of
them will repay him for the time and trouble spent in visiting them.