About
I live smack in the middle of West Sussex in southern England.
It's a lovely place to live but for one crucial downside - the muddy Weald beneath my feet.
The soft undulating hills of ancient woodlands and mediaeval patchworks of small fields and scattered farmsteads certainly have something going for them. Some might even call it perfection.
But they would not be catchers of river trout.
The Weald's geology of sandstone and clay makes it largely unsuited to trout. Its rivers have cut deep into the soft soil over aeons, serpentine and sedate. If you didn't know they were there you might even miss them in the landscape, although sylvan corridors of alder, willow, oak and hazel are a giveaway. They flow with the sediment of the ground and spotting trout is normally impossible. They are prone to spate when it is wet and drop to their bones in dry spells.
I know of at least two rivers in the Weald where hardy trout can be found. Possibly one or two more if I think really hard about it.
Not exactly prime trout territory, then, but I like to keep their whereabouts a secret nonetheless. It was none other than John Gierach who wrote that "secrets are the soul of fishing."
But fear not, the Weald is perfectly sandwiched between various chalk escarpments where trout abound in streams made in heaven.
The essence of chalkstream fly fishing
Chalkstreams are almost entirely unique to the south and east of England. A fascinating geology shaped by the remains of millions of long dead marine organisms has created watercourses of the most unimaginable beauty. Chalk filtered waters bubble from springs and flow over bright gravels and sumptuous weeds where trout rise freely and grow fat.
They take a bit of a trek to reach from Sussex but I do my best to fish them when I can. It means that when I do visit, I plan for a full day - early morning starts, the pleasure of coffee from a flask, packed lunches, finger-dinner for the car, and best intentions of returning home before my two young boys fall asleep.
The chalkstreams call for a measured approach. Reading the water. Seeing the trout before they see you. Observing their feeding habits. Selecting the correct fly. Going with a dry fly over a nymph if that is at all possible. Above all, recognising that the catching of trout is very much secondary to the fishing for trout. There is wider enjoyment in the dainty blue forget-me-nots at water level, delight in the rare sightings of vole, otter, and turquoise dart of the kingfisher. There is pleasure too in the storied history of chalkstream fishing and in following the footsteps of the greats.
Time and worry are entirely erased if done properly.
This is just something of what I believe is the essence of chalkstream fishing, and what I hope to share through this website.
Contact
Feel free to contact me by email at theriverbeat@yahoo.com with any comments you might have about this website or newsletters. I do receive the most interesting emails from all four corners of the globe - thank you!
Justin McConville