SPORT 



turesque stream of typical Kentish pat- 

 tern, provides sport of very fair quality 

 with the trout, and very high prices are 

 obtained for a few of the best stretches along 

 its wandering banks. 



Other rivers in the county, besides the 

 three already mentioned, are the Lesser 

 Stour, the Cray, the Beult, the Teise, and 

 the Eden. Most of them are deep running 

 and in places very muddy, while they are 

 weedy and difficult to fish by reason of the 

 steepness of their banks and the growth 

 of bushes and trees which overhang the 

 water. 



The trout-fishing throughout the county 

 is everywhere strictly preserved, and the same 

 may be said in some instances of the ' coarse ' 

 fishing. Roach, pike, perch, and bream 

 are met with in practically all the Kentish 

 rivers, and some vety good specimens of 

 each kind are taken every season. The 

 close time for coarse fish is from 15 March 

 to 15 June, both dates inclusive, the dates 

 applying generally to the whole of the 

 rivers within the county. 



Besides the rivers there are a number 

 of lakes and ponds, most of which are open 

 to the angler for the asking, but permis- 

 sion to fish must in nearly every case 

 be obtained. In a few instances a small 

 charge is made for week-end or day angling 

 tickets, application a few days in advance 

 being necessary. The Hythe Military Canal 

 offers exceptional advantages to the angler, 

 and is considered one of the best pieces of 

 water in the county for tench, which run to 

 a good size here. There is also fishing to be 

 had in a number of ' fleets ' or drains in the 

 marshes close to the seashore. Visitors from 

 London will find the Medway and the Stour 

 the two most accessible rivers for those 

 who do their angling with the assistance of 

 the railway. 



Of late years fish preservation in the Kentish 

 rivers has received considerable attention, 

 and the few streams which contain trout 

 have been very much improved by re-stock- 

 ing, and the enforcement of stringent rules 

 concerning the size of the fish that may be 

 taken. Similar regulations have been intro- 

 duced in regard to the coarse fish — roach, 

 dace, chub, and bream being well looked 

 after in this respect. Even the murderous 

 pike, whose friends are few in most parts 

 of the kingdom, is encouraged, and runs to a 

 good size in the weedy waters that he inhabits. 



The metropolitan angler has always been 

 encouraged by the railway company to visit 

 the streams of Kent, and a number of London 

 societies avail themselves of the week-end 



and cheap day ticket facilities provided on 

 the South Eastern and Chatham system. 

 Local clubs and associations are also numer- 

 ous, chief among these being the Stour 

 Fishery Association, the Lesser Stour Fishery, 

 and the Model Angling Club, each of these 

 bodies having their head quarters in Canter- 

 bury. There are also the Tonbridge, Maid- 

 stone, Tunbridge Wells, and Yalding societies 

 connected with the Medway ; and the Heme 

 Bay, Ramsgate and District, Deal and Dis- 

 trict, and Folkestone societies are to be met 

 with in succession along the coast. These 

 latter bodies include a number of anglers 

 who besides being followers of the sport in 

 fresh water also spend a good deal of their 

 time in salt-water angling. 



At Harrietsham near Maidstone there is 

 a well-managed piscicultural establishment, 

 known as the Fario Fishery, and owned by 

 Mr. L. Mason. The chief fish reared here 

 are the large English brown trout and the 

 rainbow trout of America. A special study 

 is made of natural fish food, and a large 

 number of water plants of various kinds, 

 suitable for river planting and useful in 

 attracting different species of insects, are 

 grown. Several of the private waters of 

 the county have been restocked from this 

 establishment, and the fish have done well. 

 It is interesting to note, by the way, that 

 there are no grayling in any of the Kentish 

 rivers. 



Kent's principal river, the Medway, rises 

 near East Grinstead in the vicinity of Ash- 

 down Forest, Sussex, and in the course of 

 its meanderings towards the Kentish border 

 the angler will find many a little quiet brook 

 where moderate baskets of trout may be 

 obtained. Some of these little tributaries 

 run far more briskly than those lower down 

 the river, and although the fish are small, 

 they are of excellent quality and quite cap- 

 able of aff^ording good sport. The trout 

 fishing in these secluded brooks reminds 

 one of the sport to be had in the trout 

 streams of the West of England, but the 

 use of the fly is impossible upon some of them 

 owing to the overgrowth of bushes along the 

 banks. A few of these tributaries contain 

 also roach and bream. The most notable 

 angling stations for these parts and the best 

 centres for visitors are Ashurst, Penshurst, 

 and Groombridge — all near the Sussex 

 border ; and Wateringbury, East Farleigh, 

 Yalding, East Peckham, and Tonbridge, 

 farther along the Medway's course. About 

 two miles above Maidstone there is a par- 

 ticularly good piece of water. For the most 

 part the river is preserved — some of it by 

 505 <54 



