no SOUTH COUNTRY TROUT STREAMS 



i888,i and " The Weirs " ; whilst all the rest of the 

 river, from source to sea, is strictly preserved. 

 Generally speaking, the fish above Winchester run 

 rather heavier than those below ; above they are con- 

 sidered sizeable if i lb. in weight, and below if J lb. 

 There are no grayling, I believe, above Shawford. 

 and below these fish run up to 3 lbs. The true Itchen 

 trout are pink-coloured in flesh when boiled, but 

 owing, no doubt, to the introduction of yearlings 

 from other streams, there are now a good many 

 white ones. The May-fly is plentiful in parts of 

 the stream,- and the fish take it, as a rule, pretty 

 well in the first week in June. Dry fly is now 

 almost invariably practised on the Itchen, but in 

 rough weather the wet fly is sometimes effective. 



Among the common patterns of flies used are the 

 olive dun, dark hare's ear, yellow dun, apple-green 

 — a famous (Derbyshire) Wye fly — sedges, white 

 moth, red ant, blue quill, March brown, Wickham 

 fancy, olive quills. Flight's fancy, red quill, jenny 

 spinner, blue-winged olive, little Marryat, ginger 

 quill and badger quill. The cinnamon quill, claret 

 spinner, furnace, Hammond's favourite, orange tag, 

 red tag, and claret bumble are among the grayling 

 flies. 



The angler may make his headquarters at 

 Alrcsford for the upper, Winchester for the middle, 

 and Bishopstoke for the lower portions of the 

 Itchen. Anglers who are interested in natural 

 history, and especially in ornithology, will be 



* This huge trout was killed one evening by a townsman 

 angling with a plain hazel rod and with a minnow as bait, 

 after a struggle which lasted a matter of hours. Some great 

 fellows have also been taken from the Alresford ponds. 



2 It is rarely seen above Chilland. — Ed. 



