Chalk - River Meon

Managing to swing a last minute day off work I figured why not try one of the beats offered by Simon Cooper at Fishing Breaks. Having worked in Fareham for a few months I crossed the River Meon near Exton on the way to work and back. On a few occasions I stopped to have a look at the river and was instantly captivated. After scouring the web for information regarding this stretch of water I found the beats running near Exton on Manor Farm property as administered through Fishing Breaks: http://www.fishingbreaks.co.uk/chalkstream/meon.htm. Booking was very straightforward, received a confirmation email including three pdf's offering advise on flies, tactics etc for the time of year which was very useful. The website described the beat as follows: "This is an all wild trout, all catch and release beat that rewards delicate presentation and careful fly selection. It is best fished with speculative casting in the riffles alongside the weed beds or waiting for a fish to peck the surface. Dry fly accounts for 95% of the fish caught or risen." Just my kind of fishing !

Weather forecast for hot and sunny weather - not ideal trout fishing weather but being of South African extraction I'm not one to complain about having sunshine - especially after the winter we've just had.
I got to Exton at about 09h00, parked up and walked a short stretch of the beat which included a small fishing hut. I couldn't see anything rising but noticed a few flashes as fish darted for cover.

Manor Farm - Exton

Small fishing hut

Waders on, trusty Hardy 2wt tackled up I was on the river figuring I'd try a speculative dry fly despite not seeing anything rising. Having only fished two small sections of a chalkstream in the past I needed to get my head right and game on - the water is gin clear and as a result the fish are long gone by the time you spot them. For the most part they hide beneath the Ranunculus weedbeds that are synonymous with chalkstreams in the UK, only to dart out when you are literally on top of them. Needless to say my first hour or so produced nothing other than a fear of being skunked and completing my entry on the fishing record book with a fat 0 !  

Tea break (including a read of the comments in the fishing record book in the hut in a somewhat desperate attempt to garner a few tips), a rethink and a short stroll down to the lower section of the beat that starts next to the "The Shoe Inn" pub beer garden. Another hour with nothing to show - not even so much as a knock. Several flies on and off and finally decided on a small (18) parachute adams. As I approached the upper beat boundary with thoughts of that 0 and lunch, something smashed the fly about 10 feet from me and a steam train took off sideways producing a very impressive bow wave !! After what felt like an eternity I managed to land a solid size brownie which must be nudging 12oz. Thank goodness !!! Feeling a sense of relief I figured it a good time to grab a bit to eat.

Back on the water half an hour later and it was like a switch had been flicked - a lot more trout visible and a number of rises, some of which aggressively so. The next two hours I'd have to put down to some of the most exciting fishing I've ever done - watching fish rising through the gin clear water to smash into the small blue wing olive on my line only to tear off under the nearest bank of weed. 

One notable fish I spotted about 10 feet in front of me skirting along a bank of weed running parallel with the river bank casually sipping small emergers off the surface. I watched bemusedly for a few minutes before having a stab at landing him. First cast was a touch off target - second cast landed a few inches to his right - he nonchalantly swam over, inhaled the fly and the game was on !! I had him on for about a minute or so when he shook loose - I guess another in the region of 12oz or so. Simply awesome !

I'd estimate the biggest fish to be in the region of 14oz - overall I managed to land seven beautiful chalkstream brownies - I lost probably double that number though as they are feisty little numbers (some not so little)  ! 

My fishing companions for the day - a few hairy encounters with hissing parents !!

Gate to the bridge near the beer garden

One of the seven I managed to hold onto...

Managed to snap this one taking a breather after an almighty tussle !

Fly of choice

Little guys !

One of the smaller but no less impressive trout

No zeros (thank goodness !)

I cannot recommend this small stretch of chalkstream enough - an emerald gem in the Hampshire countryside - wild brown trout, some of the biggest I've caught to date - I'll most definitely be back... but for now I need another chalkstream fix !