SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



already. The pool is still called Hankey's 

 Pool, and many fish have been caught there 

 since. Soon after this Mr. Montague Guest, 

 Mr. C. Hambro, Mr. Sidney Osborne, and Mr. 

 Fred Fane took the best of the fishable water, 

 from Stoke Mill to Wareham. In their best 

 season, in spite of the nets below, forty-seven 

 clean fish were taken on the rod, besides a large 

 number of kelts returned to the river. Of late 

 years the number of salmon coming up in the 

 spring and summer months has for some quite 

 unaccountable causes greatly decreased, and if a 

 dozen fish are caught in a season, it is considered 

 a good year, and that with no nets on the water 

 at all. It is true that in the old days more 

 trouble was taken, a water bailiff was kept on, 

 the farmers cut the weeds once and often twice 

 in a season, pike were netted in the lower 

 reaches constantly, and steam tugs coming from 

 Poole to Wareham kept an open passage free 

 from weeds and mud, which is not now the 

 case. And yet quite as many fish are seen in 

 the winter months, November, December, and 

 January, making their way to the spawning beds 

 even as far up the river as Highford Common. 



One most remarkable feature of this river is 

 the fact that grilse or parr have never been seen 

 in it, and only fish of very large size are taken. 

 So large are they that it is the opinion of many 

 who have fished the water that, had a record 

 been kept, the average would have been between 

 27 and 30 lb. As proof of that, a year or two 

 ago Captain Radclyffe fishing in the early part 

 of the season, took seven fish on the fly averaging 

 29^ lb. The record fish taken on the rod are 

 one of 46 lb. caught by Mr. Osborne, using a 

 prawn, and one of 41 lb. caught by Captain 

 Radclyffe, using a fly. 



The Frome as a coarse fishing river would 

 take a very prominent position, were it not for its 

 more important salmon fishing. There are pike, 

 roach and dace in quantities and of good size 

 between Wareham and Moreton ; above that 

 they give way to trout preservation. At Holme 

 Bridge between Wareham and East Stoke we 

 have seen enormous catches of roach and dace, 

 some running up to i^ lb. and over. The pike 

 fishing is extremely good, fish running up to 

 about 20 lbs. Mr. R. Butler took one of 21 lb. 

 quite recently in the Hethfelton Water, which 

 is strictly preserved by Captain J. W. T. Fyler. 



There is good trout fishing at Moreton, 

 where Mr. Frampton by careful and systematic 

 netting has destroyed most of the pike and has 

 stocked the river with good sized trout, which 

 are doing well. Going on through West Staf- 

 ford the river improves more and more towards 

 Dorchester. The best water is that belonging 

 to the Dorchester Club, which has a world-wide 

 reputation, and the stretch belonging to Mr. 

 Sheridan of Frampton Court. The Dorchester 

 Fishing Club, which has done a great deal for 



the preservation of trout, is limited to twenty- 

 four members. The extent of fishable water 

 belonging to the club is about six miles, which was 

 reclaimed from the hands of netting poachers 

 through the energy of the late Captain Mansel, 

 who for many years was hon. secretary of the 

 club. Among its most renowned members have 

 been Mr. Selwyn Marryatt, Mr. W. H. Pope, 

 and Major Cumberland. Of the first-named it 

 has been said that he could place his rod between 

 his arms behind his back and in that way cast a 

 fly as deftly as most ordinary fishermen. At 

 one time there were some immense fish below 

 the town, and Major Cumberland caught several 

 of them up to 7^ lb. in weight on the artificial 

 fly. Since, however, the new drainage system has 

 been finished in Dorchester, these big fish have 

 disappeared. Mr. Sheridan's water is extremely 

 good and most carefully preserved ; the water is 

 well stocked and full of large fish, which rise 

 well to the dry fly. 



The Piddle 



The Piddle, which runs parallel with the 

 Frome, has also a reputation for salmon, but as 

 the only good part is tidal, little has been done 

 by rod — the biggest fish recorded was taken in 

 1898 in the nets and weighed 42 lb. As in the 

 case of the Frome, many fish are seen in the 

 winter months on the spawning beds. This 

 river is undoubtedly, without exaggeration, one of 

 the most prolific of trout-yielding streams in the 

 south of England. The best part of it lies 

 between Brian's-Puddle and Binnegar, the very 

 pick of it between Chamberlayne's and Hyde. 

 There is more than one record of a good rod 

 taking forty brace in the Hyde water, and 

 on one occasion Captain Radclyffe, to prove 

 its capacity, caught 58^ brace in one day, 

 of course returning most to the water. They 

 run a fair size, and on most of the fishings 

 there is a I lb. limit. On the lower reaches 

 there are some very large fish, and the writer has 

 twice killed, on the May Fly, fish of nearly 

 5 lb. and many of 3^ lb. A few years ago 

 this portion was seriously depleted of fish, but by 

 judicious management the water is now well 

 stocked with large fish. Mr. Lindler, the pre- 

 sent tenant, has established a fish hatchery at 

 Bere Regis, the only one in the district, which 

 is doing remarkably well. Going further up 

 there is very fine fishing through Affpuddle, and 

 right up to Puddletown, all the water being in 

 the hands of private owners who preserve it 

 most carefully, more particularly the water at 

 Southover, and Tolpuddle which belongs to 

 Mr. Crane. Mr. Homer's water at Burleston 

 deserves notice, large-size trout being caught here, 

 the record fish in 1906 being 3 lb., while the 

 average for all years is 45 lb. 

 321 41 



