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Subscriber Kenneth Spint is very pleased with a brief afternoon fishing session he scheduled on the Test River in England this past July. He was in Britain for a family wedding, he writes, and contacted a company called Fishing Breaks (www.fishingbreaks.co.uk).
“Their Web site is excellent. The fishing options were easy to understand, plus it was a great source of pre-arrival information including maps, fly selection, and local accommodations.”
Spint says he caught about a half dozen fish, mostly browns but with a few grayling mixed in, all caught casting upstream with a floating fly. The main appeal was not the fish but the overall experience of “fishing and seeing the fabled waters of the chalk stream made famous by F. H. Halford and others and said to be where modern dry-fly fishing originated.” He goes on to describe the experience as follows.
“I needed to be in England for a family wedding, and I took advantage of the opportunity to fish the Test River for about three to four hours on the afternoon of July 7. The better fishing time, at that time of year, would have been toward sunset but that didn’t work out with our wedding schedule. There was no hatch at the time I fished, and since the strategy of this fishing is only upstream, dry-fly presentation to rising fish, my potential for success was somewhat limited. At this time of year, there is no nymph or streamer fishing. My catch consisted of a few fish in the 10- to 12-inch range. I saw many larger browns but they were simply not actively feeding.
“My beat was the only one that allowed for wading. That happened to be easy to do, I should note, as the riverbed was firm. There was plenty of room for back casts, and I never got wet even though I was using only thigh-high waders. The scenery was beautiful and the overall experience a most enjoyable one. I very much look forward to going back. Next time I hope to schedule a full day.”
Postscript: Spint gives the cost of his outing as 200 pounds sterling, about $320 at the time.