122 SOUTH COUNTRY TROUT STREAMS 



plentiful, averaging something between a quarter 

 and half a pound, and it is not uncommon for a 

 small basket to average in the month of July half 

 a pound a fish. Red and black palmers, March 

 brown, blue uprights, iron blue dun, and hare's ear, 

 are the flies which appear to kill best. The Char 

 contains a few eels, but no other coarse fish. 

 There are no angling clubs, and the water is all in 

 private hands. 



The Shreen is a tributary of the Upper Stour, 

 which it joins at Gillingham, some six miles below 



The Stour Head Pond. The Shreen, which 

 Shreen rises at Mere, has only a short course, but 

 its trout are plentiful. Fish run up to 2 lbs., and 

 within the last four years several much larger ones 

 have been obtained, three of these weighing respec- 

 tively 4I lbs., 5 lbs., and 6| lbs. The water is fished 

 by the Gillingham Fishing Association, which allows 

 other lures besides the artificial fly, and has a ten- 

 inch trout limit. The Association's season for 

 trout is from April i to September 30 inclusive, 

 and the use of the spinning minnow is restricted to 

 the period between August I and September 30 

 inclusive. The favourite flies would seem to be 

 alder, willow fly, and Wickham fancy. The Shreen 

 flows slowly through a rather flat country, and it 

 contains perch, roach, and dace. The stream was 

 restocked with the first-named fish a few years ago. 

 The angler's headquarters are at the Phoenix Inn, 

 Gillingham. From Gillingham the Upper Stour 

 and the Lidden — formerly, by reason of its leaden, 

 sluggish waters, called the Ledden — may be fished. 

 Both streams contain some good fish. The waters 

 in this part of Dorsetshire have perhaps been 

 somewhat neglected. 



