NEILL’S TOP CHALK STREAM TIPS
Get some good Polaroids Perhaps the most important tool for chalk stream anglers. You don’t need to spend a fortune. I’m a devout fan of yellow lenses all year round.
Have patience
A careful approach always pays dividends. Chalk stream fish can be the spookiest of all. Legendary River Frome river keeper John Aplin taught me to touch each foot in front of the other when walking the bank, something I’ve always remembered (but impatience still sometimes wins!).
Use balanced tackle
Chalk streams aren’t the place for crude presentation, because in clear water it’s often the difference between success and failure, and you might only get one chance. However, neither are they the place for overly fine lines. One wrap around the weeds and the fish of a lifetime can be gone. Before casting, think carefully about both presentation and your strategy for landing that special fish.
Visit in the summer and autumn months
Often, anglers leave the chalk streams until winter. This is a shame, because while not all chalk streams allow sight fishing all year round, nearly all do in the summer and autumn. As well as being at their most beautiful, this is the best time to learn about the river’s features, its inhabitants and the areas they prefer.
Learn to fly fish
It’s exciting, affordable, a lot easier than you think, and not the preserve of aristocrats. Most importantly, it will open up so much more of our great chalk streams to you.