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.