[JohnH]

tonio1962, you know the answer as well as I do. Anyone who lives in the area or has visited often is discounting Timsbury. The best of the fishing on the Test, certainly if you want to have a hope of catching a wild brown in the main river, is above the downstream boundary of the Houghton Club at Stockbridge, and in the tributaries and carriers - miles above Timsbury.

And on the subject of stocking the Test, Charles Bingham's book "Chalk Stream Salmon and Trout Fishing" is an instructive read. Although not if you just want to sound off, as opposed to learn.

 

[ant77]

I tried a new stretch on one of the local urban rivers on Sunday trying to avoid heavy-nymphing for grayling. The bank is fairly accessible although I would stop a long way short of saying it was manicured. Baitmen can get their trollies down it for 50 yards or so. I hadn't been casting long when I heard a chap behind me ask if fly-fishing was easy. I turned round and there was a fella with a rod and a carrier bag. I told him a little about nymphing and then he showed me his rod, a stout-looking thing of about 6' which he said he'd made himself from two bits of old rod. He pointed at the cork handle and said that the mice had eaten most of it and then told me about a spot where he'd hooked into something big which had snapped the line. He apologised for not being able to get his words out properly but he'd had his two front teeth knocked out at Christmas. I didn't ask why but I couldn't help notice the wreak of stale booze in the air and noticed that in his carrier bag were 4 cans of Special Brew. I wished him all the best and off he toddled up to a quiet spot.

He was there for half an hour or so before he returned to say he'd had enough because he was far too ******. The clock wasn't far past eleven in the morning. By this time the two fellas I was fishing with were having a ***-break on the bank and we passed the time with him talking about the cost of replacing his teeth (£4k!). He told us a few more stories before saying, 'I'm not a real fisherman like you lot, I haven't even bothered to set up, I just like being by the river'. We wished him all the best and headed upstream where a 'proper coarse fisherman' was tackling down after a slow morning. He was having a good laugh about how our friend had just sat down at a swim and thrown handfuls of maggots in every few minutes, not even bothering to fish. He said he knew where the guy lived and he was always an absolute mess but then said, 'But his girlfriend is fit as fook, I just can't believe how he does it!'. I had to turn to my mate and say, 'Well, you don't get a morning like that on the Test'. He was a charmer though.

 

[tonio1962]

And on the subject of stocking the Test, Charles Bingham's book "Chalk Stream Salmon and Trout Fishing" is an instructive read. Although not if you just want to sound off, as opposed to learn.

I want to learn, and have an informed opinion. 87p from Amazon, just ordered on "one click"!

 

[JohnH]

Charles Bingham is old school, but I do like the tone of gentlemanly understatement in his writing. Bit like Peter Lapsley in some ways.

 

[guest21]

There is obviously plenty of snobbery in fly fishing, it's there for all to see in several places on this thread. Reverse snobbery, that is.

I don't think it's reverse snobbery,for well over a hundred years dry fly fishing on chalk streams was looked upon as the ultimate test of angling skill,a myth perpetuated by the dry fly purists. Gin clear water ,well stocked and you can even see the take. I think fooling a wild brownie in a highland loch or a remote stretch of river takes a lot more skill . Until fairly recently,30 years or so,the vast majority of anglers fished fairly close to home so their chances of fishing southern chalk streams were hampered by the travel involved and the cost of fishing.
I,like 90%of anglers ,will probably never get to try it out, and certainly not at that price and i dont think i am missing out (hope this does not appear as reverse snobbery,not meant that way)

 

[JohnH]

well over a hundred years dry fly fishing on chalk streams was looked upon as the ultimate test of angling skill,a myth perpetuated by the dry fly purists

50 years ago Oliver Kite was writing that nymph fishing in chalk streams is a good deal more difficult and demanding than fishing the dry fly. My own modest experiences bear this out.

I,like 90%of anglers ,will probably never get to try it out, and certainly not at that price and i dont think i am missing out

There's a flaw of logic here, surely. If you've never fished a chalk stream, how can you tell it's not for you ?

 

[tonio1962]

I think fooling a wild brownie in a highland loch or a remote stretch of river takes a lot more skill . Until fairly recently,30 years or so,the vast majority of anglers fished fairly close to home so their chances of fishing southern chalk streams were hampered by the travel involved and the cost of fishing.

A couple of years ago, I stayed in Innerleithen for a few days and walked my BT out on the bank of the nearby River Tweed. Beautiful stretch of water, then I saw the sign in the carpark nearby. Peebleshire AC season ticket, £40, trout and grayling fishing.

I've caught wild brown trout from Lochs in the Western Isles and on the Scottish mainland. Paid £5 for a day ticket on Loch Buidhe last September, fished for free in my in-laws' burn and caught wild browns there.

Unfortunately, things generally are a bit more expensive in Hampsire than other parts of the UK (for reasons touched on earlier) and fishing is no exception. A colleague of mine in London is incredulous at the amount I spend on my season ticket to London. He lives in Beckenham. I've explained to him that I like living where I live and accept the time and cost involved as part of doing so, whilst also being priviliged to have a job in London that I really enjoy, working with some great people.

We do have wild fish on the Chalkstreams, still. I've found wild browns on a stretch of the Itchen that I've been fishing, but as JohnH says one needs to go further up the Test than Timsbury to have a chance of wild browns on that river. I disagree that chalkstream fishing is easier, but it is an interesting point of view.

 

[moulinp]

It's not for real fishermen, it's for the same people who want to say they've got a rod on the test old chap. The same ones who need supermodel girlfriends etc. I doubt they actually ever go.

If any of them are reading, don't take any notice of that stuff about the Usk. It's a terrible river. No fish left, just shopping trolleys littering the river bed all the way from Brecon to Newport, and menacing hoodies everywhere. Stay away.

OK...OK...I'll stay away. Might send my supermodel wife instead...if that's OK with you?:wine:

 

[guest21]

Unfortunately, things generally are a bit more expensive in Hampsire than other parts of the UK (for reasons touched on earlier) and fishing is no exception. A colleague of mine in London is incredulous at the amount I spend on my season ticket to London. He lives in Beckenham. I've explained to him that I like living where I live and accept the time and cost involved as part of doing so, whilst also being priviliged to have a job in London that I really enjoy, working with some great people.

I fully appreciate the situation, living where you do ,and fishing is a hobby to the vast majority of us, and has to take second place to life in general.
Some of us ,living further north ,take for granted the amount and variety of fishing available at very reasonable cost ,and dont comprehend the limitations ,
availability and cost ,place on anglers in other parts of the country.
Retire early and head north . Regards.

 

[tonio1962]

Trion, believe me when I say that is very much in the 10 to 15 year plan....but not until I've met Mrs Moulinp......

Regards

Tonio

 

[derelicte]

Mrs. Tonio spent £30k on a fully spec'd 1.6 litre car last year - a Timsbury syndicate share is cheap by comparison. And that more reasonably-priced fishing is out there, it just needs a bit of researching, making of contacts and action to be taken to find it.

What is your definition of a "real" fisherman? Have you fished Timsbury often, and experienced the situations/ stereotypes to which you are referring? Or are you generalising and making assumptions without any first-hand experience or knowledge of the place and the people that frequent it?

No problem tonio, I used to live in Hampshire and work in Nursling and I have fished on the Test, Itchen, Meon and Ebble, with and without the owners permission :thumbs:

 

[salmofisher]

Fellow Fishers,
I felt depressed to read so much reverse snobbery from some respondents in this thread. I have fished Timsbury as a Guest on a number of occasions. Fellow guests have included a broad range of folk from Fitters to Company Directors. The thing they all had in common was their pleasure in fishing and a tendency to evaluate others on how much they enjoyed their days on the river.
For the record £24k buys a share in the ownership of the beats in perpetuity And the right to fish every other week on the day you purchase. There is also an annual maintenance fee. The value of the shares have increased over the time I have known the fishing.
The river is stocked but with Browns as is most of the Test.
I have fished Timsbury with a number of top class fishers including an ex England Team Captain and all have agreed the fishing is challenging and far from easy.
Perhaps it's best to recognise that as Walton said we are all Brothers of the Angle and as such let each enjoy his own.
Many tight lines,
Salmofisher ( and ex Mainlaying Instructor and Company Director)

 

[derelicte]

Fellow Fishers,
I felt depressed to read so much reverse snobbery from some respondents in this thread. I have fished Timsbury as a Guest on a number of occasions. Fellow guests have included a broad range of folk from Fitters to Company Directors. The thing they all had in common was their pleasure in fishing and a tendency to evaluate others on how much they enjoyed their days on the river.
For the record £24k buys a share in the ownership of the beats in perpetuity And the right to fish every other week on the day you purchase. There is also an annual maintenance fee. The value of the shares have increased over the time I have known the fishing.
The river is stocked but with Browns as is most of the Test.
I have fished Timsbury with a number of top class fishers including an ex England Team Captain and all have agreed the fishing is challenging and far from easy.
Perhaps it's best to recognise that as Walton said we are all Brothers of the Angle and as such let each enjoy his own.
Many tight lines,
Salmofisher ( and ex Mainlaying Instructor and Company Director)

Nothing personal mi owd but there is only so many times you can stand being told to clear off their land by the barbour clad before you begin to loathe them.

If you want real fishing for a song, get to Wales. If you want to look good standing around on the banks of the Test with all the gear, you are in the right place.

 

[JohnH]

Retire early and head north

Or west - Dorset and Devon both have some nice fishing at reasonable prices. In particular the River Piddle has plenty of wild browns, and the 3lb 12oz wildie I caught there in 2010 on size 14 Parachute Adams is high on the JohnH lifetime list of memorable fish.

 

[david murray]

Nothing personal mi owd but there is only so many times you can stand being told to clear off their land by the barbour clad before you begin to loathe them.

So you'd turn up and fish at Rutland without paying?

 

[derelicte]

So you'd turn up and fish at Rutland without paying?

I wouldn't fish at Rutland if they paid me

 

[moulinp]

Trion, believe me when I say that is very much in the 10 to 15 year plan....but not until I've met Mrs Moulinp......

Regards

Tonio

Sorry to disappoint you Tonio, but that bit was a slight embellishment of the truth. "Super" certainly, "model"....well, sort of! Anyway, I just wanted to highlight the fact that there are people on here that are happy to pay to fish The Test, and I'm one of them.

Due to family commitments it is also the case that I don't always use all my rod days. When that happens I offer them to friends, and in return I am sometimes lucky enough to get days on far more glamorous beats than the one I fish. For the record though, I am far from wealthy, don't work in the City, drive a knackered old car, and vodaphone just paid me to keep my old mobile because it's such a relic. I don't have a much spare time though, and I would rather spend my money on fishing the Test (and the Itchen) because they are my local rivers, and they are beautiful - I don't need to travel further.

Among the people that I fish with are a teacher, a roofer and a neuro-surgeon. I consider myself lucky to live where I do, and like the other people in our club (I would hesitate to call it a syndicate) I am happy to pay for the privilege of fishing a private beat on a southern chalkstream.

Of course, there are more affordable and no doubt more spectacular places to fish, but frankly I have neither the time nor the inclination to go and fish them - at least not until I retire. So, if someone feels that £24K is good value (which it probably is) then good for them. I can't afford that, but it's a drop in the ocean for a lot of people, so why shouldn't they get on with it and enjoy their fishing.

I'll get back in my box now. Philip

 

[tonio1962]

Sorry to disappoint you Tonio, but that bit was a slight embellishment of the truth. "Super" certainly, "model"....well, sort of! Anyway, I just wanted to highlight the fact that there are people on here that are happy to pay to fish The Test, and I'm one of them.

Due to family commitments it is also the case that I don't always use all my rod days. When that happens I offer them to friends, and in return I am sometimes lucky enough to get days on far more glamorous beats than the one I fish. For the record though, I am far from wealthy, don't work in the City, drive a knackered old car, and vodaphone just paid me to keep my old mobile because it's such a relic. I don't have a much spare time though, and I would rather spend my money on fishing the Test (and the Itchen) because they are my local rivers, and they are beautiful - I don't need to travel further.

Among the people that I fish with are a teacher, a roofer and a neuro-surgeon. I consider myself lucky to live where I do, and like the other people in our club (I would hesitate to call it a syndicate) I am happy to pay for the privilege of fishing a private beat on a southern chalkstream.

Of course, there are more affordable and no doubt more spectacular places to fish, but frankly I have neither the time nor the inclination to go and fish them - at least not until I retire. So, if someone feels that £24K is good value (which it probably is) then good for them. I can't afford that, but it's a drop in the ocean for a lot of people, so why shouldn't they get on with it and enjoy their fishing.

I'll get back in my box now. Philip

Philip

I wouldn't dare comment further re. Mrs moulinp but would agree with everything else you say. Very well said.

Nothing more to add.

Regards

Tony

 

[gooner71]

I'd love to see one of these days being sold in a couple of years for £30k or more.

Compared to the current rate of interest on most savings plans, most of us would be rueing a missed opportunity.

 

[Bond........Bug Bond]

Can get a dozen LAW vices for thatmg: