Fishing on the Test & Itchen

These Hampshire rivers are regarded as two of the finest chalk streams in the world with their crystal clear waters supporting a rich diversity of mammal, bird, fish, invertebrate and plant communities, providing the right environement for abundant fly hatches.

Famous for there high quality fly fishing and gin clear streams, the Test & Itchen are characterised by rolling chalk downland interspersed with flat valley floors. Both are classified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) throughout their courses, with the Itchen additionally designated as a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC).

Here are some highlights of what you can expect from the Rivers:

• Rich in insect life, and in excess of three hundred species of invertebrates recorded on the main channel of the River Itchen
  
  
• Best salmon season since records began in 1954 on the Lower Itchen
  
  
• Prolific hatches of Grannon, Hawthorn, Mayfly Blue Winged Olive, Sedges, Daddy Longs legs during the season.
  
  
• Excellent stocks of coarse fish including chubb, tench, bream and bream.
  
  
• Exceptional Autumn and Winter grayling fishing
  
  
• Wild and stocked brown trout, some of significant size

Both rivers are stunning and hold any number of opportunities for visiting fishermen for most of the year, keen to enjoy the experience of challenging, exciting fishing on gin clear streams.

Excellent road, road and air access and with London only 70 miles away, salmon, trout and grayling fishing are closer than you think.