Species

The River Itchen Holds a variety of species you may encounter during your day fishing not just the iconic Brown Trout. The river is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation due to the variety of species present. Below are some of the more commonly encountered species of fish present however the list is not exhaustive and plenty more may be encountered.

A lovely wild Brown Trout Falls to a Sedge pattern on the River Itchen.jpg

Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta)

Brown Trout are synonymous with chalk stream fly fishing and are what the majority of our anglers come to catch. The river contains a good head of wild and stocked fish with a few 3lb plus specimens being caught each season.

Angus with a lovely fly caught sea trout.jpg

Sea Trout (Salmo Trutta)

The migratory form of the Brown Trout, the Test & Itchen have an increasing population of sea trout. Challenging to catch in daylight hours these are often targeted at night, 10lb plus specimens are seen every season. These secretive fish start to move through the system from May onwards.

A lovely grayling caught on the Lower Bi

Grayling (Thymallus thymallus)

Once treated as a pest and culled to make room for trout, these silvery fish flourish in the clear waters of the chalkstreams. They are the second most common species caught on our waters with fish up to 3lb caught most years.

Chub (Squalius cephalus)

This scaley coarse fish can be found in shoals up and down the river, they will readily take a fly presented to them and are a frequent feature in anglers catches. Our waters host chub into the 6lb range/

Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

A North American species commonly stocked for angling all over the world. We do not stock these however a few do appear in the river system each year so you may encounter one.

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar)

These iconic fish were the primary target on our waters until very recently, they are now endangered and are no longer specifically targeted. Historically specimens in excess of 30lb have been caught on our waters.

Carp

Whilst unusual a variety of carp species have been caught over the years, usually common carp or mirror carp but goldfish have also been a regular fixture. Carp are hard fighting and will readily take a well presented fly including dry flies, they likely come from escapes during times of flooding as well as illegal releases from garden ponds.

Barbel (Barbus barbus)

A bottom dwelling species golden in colour with red fins, rarely caught on fly but often seen sitting on gravelly patches amongst the weeds. These fish caught be caught on tungsten headed nymphs bounced along the bottom, specimens in excess of 10lb can be found

Eel (Anguilla Anguilla)

An endangered species, these elusive creatures can be seen swimming between the weed beds. Thus far no one has caught one on a fly but it may yet happen.

European Bullhead (Cottus gobio)

One of the listed features of the SSSI these small fish are often known as the Miller's Thumb due to their shape. They are present throughout the river hiding amongst the Ranunculus however they rarely feature in catch records.