I02 SOUTH COUNTRY TROUT STREAMS 



from Landford and the other from the New Forest 

 near Lyndhurst, and at Redbridge broadens into 

 an estuary. Southampton is three miles down, 

 built on a sort of isthmus formed by the estuaries 

 of this stream and the Itchen. 



I may as well deal at once with the angling in 

 these lower waters of the Test between Romsey and 

 Redbridge. The chief proprietors here are the 

 Right Hon. Evelyn Ashley, of Broadlands, Romsey 

 — where Lord Palmerston once lived — Captain 

 Beaumont, of Testwood Hall, and Mrs. Vaudrey. 

 The Test between these points may be regarded as 

 the salmon portion of the stream, though as a 

 matter of fact there are a certain number of brown 

 trout a little below even Testwood Mill. These 

 fish run big, and are rarely taken with any but the 

 May-fly. The salmon fishing is very valuable, and 

 in good seasons the fish are fairly numerous, those 

 killed averaging about l6 lbs. a-piece. Sometimes 

 a much heavier fish is killed, and last year a noble 

 salmon of 38 lbs. was taken at Test-wood. The 

 salmon fishing opens on February I, and closes on 

 November i. But, besides salmon, sea trout come 

 up the stream some way above Test-wood Mill, 

 affording good sport with the fly about the end of 

 July. There are no angling clubs below Romsey. 



Between Overton and Bransbury trout of 2 lbs. 

 weight are not very often taken, and in general it 

 may, I think, be very safely stated that the average 

 weight of the trout taken in the upper Test is 

 not above a pound. On Mr. Melville Portal's 

 water,^ which is now in the hands of Mr. Archibald 



^ I fished Mr. Groves' length at Freefolk on May 27, 1898, 

 and found the trout extremely numerous : Freefolk is a 

 charming spot. 



