Hi all ,
Just wanted to say hi and ask a question as I'm new to the site. I have sea fished and shot all my life and I live in hampshire. I would like to fish for some salmon and I have already started to fish for trout and have become addicted to fly fishing, more so than any off my other pursuits. Please excuse me if my question is stupid and obvious to seasoned fly fishers but is there anywhere in hants that I am able to fish for salmon and keep one for the pot?

All replies appreciated and thank you .

Well the hampshire avon is worth a shot i suppose - big spring fish apparently, I think I heard of a 30 this season. Obviously you can't keep the springers due to EA byelaws about fish before june 16th but there's a grilse run in summer i think and they get seatrout too. However from what I heard they had a pretty dire season just past - something like 30 - 40 fish.

Don't live or fish in the area so not sure about ticket availability/price. I'm sure someone will be able to give you a better answer!

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Well, all of the chalkstream salmon have to be put back, so that's the Test and Itchen out of the question. The only real chance of a fish for the pot as has been stated is the Hampshire Avon, but very few fish, dire in fact, with a very restricted season, and all the accessable beats are catch and release anyway. Also, and a very good chance of someone lumping you one if they saw you keeping a salmon from any of the Hampshire Rivers.

Best bet is to go west to either Devon, or South Wales.

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I have fished for more years than I care to remember for Hampshire salmon mpk although I stopped last year. Mainly on the Test at Testwood and Nursling and a few times in Broadlands. Nursling was always my favourite and a beautiful place to fish. Ten years ago Testwoods average salmon catch was about 350 and Nurslings 125 - nothing compared with the astonishing catches of the fifties and sixties but enough to keep me interested. Sea trout numbers at Testwood were fantastic - almost a thousand fish up to 16/17lb.
It all started going horribly wrong at Nursling a couple of years ago when the keeper was forced to resign. The once beautiful Nursling beat quickly became an unfishable, and heavily poached, mess and most of the paying anglers have left. Thankfully the lease holders Testwood Salmon Fisheries have now gone bust so it might be worth keeping an eye on whoever takes over. (Nothing can be worse than the previous management) I think they caught less than 40 fish at Nursling this year.
The Lower Itchen Fishery had a record year so also well worth a consideration although as has already been mentioned - it is all mandatory catch and release on the Test and Itchen.
Don't know too much about the Avon I'm afraid mpk.

Reg Wyatt

Thank you very much for all your rapid replys. I thought this would be the case with lack of info on the Internet about salmon in hants. I may be popping down to devon to see family next year so i may have a go at them then.I think Tuesday I may try a fly at a local estuary entrance that is quite a bottle neck, I'll let you all know how it goes and pop some pictures on IF I catch anything.

Cheers Matt

Oy posh gits what about the Royalty fishery, c and r i presume though and would hope

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For a moment my wife thought the 5lb Rainbow I caught in Hants and brought home was a salmon!

Was the keeper that was forced to resign Graham something or other? I was deerstalking in Devon a few years ago with the keeper from either Nursling or Testwood, can't remember which, but his name was Graham.

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Oliver Kite
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You are thinking of the cause of all the trouble sewinbasher, Graham Purbrick. He was the holder of the lease and based at Testwood although not really a keeper. The Nursling keeper, Donny Donovan, was forced to resign and subsequently awarded constructive dismissal at a court hearing. He was also awarded compensation and unpaid wages but because of the demise of Testwood Salmon Fishery Ltd will of course never get paid. A real shame because he was a great keeper and Nursling has imploded since his departure.

Reg Wyatt