Wilde Trout is the company founded by fishing guide and river keeper Jamie Pankhurst, forged in his lifelong mission to protect and preserve Englandβs precious chalkstreams while making world-class fly fishing accessible to all.
When you book with Wilde Trout, youβll experience some of the finest chalkstreams in England, including the legendary River Test and the charming fly-fishing village of Stockbridge β the beating heart of quintessential rural Hampshire.
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Whether youβre planning a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to the English chalkstreams or dreaming of a peaceful fly-fishing break in Hampshire, weβll create a bespoke trip tailored to your every need.
Choose to be accompanied by a Wilde Guide β your personal ghillie, equipped with expert local knowledge, premium tackle, and hand-tied flies β or set out on your own with all the kit and equipment you need for the adventure of a lifetime.
Our Fork and Feather good food guide helps travelling anglers find the perfect country inns, riverside lodges, and gastropubs across Hampshire. And when the fly hatches are heavy and the fishing too good to leave, weβll deliver fresh riverside picnics straight to your fishing cabin or lodge. Everything β from guided fly-fishing experiences to accommodation and dining β can be booked 24/7 online, by phone, WhatsApp, or email.
At Wilde Trout, conservation lies at the heart of everything we do. We proudly support the Wessex Rivers Trust, the Wild Trout Trust, and our own River Stewardship Programme, empowering river owners to restore, rewild, and maintain these iconic waters.
When you fish with Wilde Trout, youβre not just casting a line β youβre directly contributing to chalkstream conservation and restoration for generations to come.
“Wilde Trout is the company I founded iron cast in my mission to protect and preserve our precious chalkstreams, and make worldclass fishing available to everyone in the UK and abroad.”
Like all good stories, mine starts way back in my childhood. Dad and I did the father and son fishing trips, for mackerel, bass and flounder in the Exe estuary, and later for trout in the rivers and lakes all over Devon. I have never wanted for more or less, but deep down he has always been a sailor.
He built his first boat before he was 21, and has owned and sailed boats in the UK, France, Spain, and the Mediterranean ever since. Some of my earliest memories are of peering over the guard rails to watch the porpoises playfully tussling with each other under the bow, and perhaps the fondest of all is witnessing one of the great natural phenomenons of the world, planktonic bioluminescence, when a pod of dolphins put on a magical firework display while we crossed the inky black Biscay in the dark of night. We have long since crewed together on many occasions but the call to fly fishing and freshwater was never a silent voice.
As kids, my friends and I were utterly obsessed with the river Exe. Every day before and after school we would race the sun, rise or set, to the river on our bikes with fishing rods, tackle and bait wedged under our arms or balanced precariously over the handlebars. We fletched our own floats from goose quills and duck down; hoping to outwit a trout, grayling, dace or chub, and at the weekends we turned to den building in the woods or cycling to ponds, lakes and rivers further afield. We chased pike and perch along the canal tow paths and bouldered through the bournes of Exmoor for Sea Trout and Salmon. Within a 20 mile radius, we must have explored every patch of water on the map and more. It was the call of the wild, and it had us by the scruff of our necks.
Fishing for me has been like sailing to my father, it is who I am, but it wasnβt until I discovered our chalk rivers that I unearthed my lifelong ambition. For there is surely no greater connection with nature than to study a trout, to watch him as he feeds, and to trick him into taking your carefully presented fly then finally, to coax him to the riverbank, all the while immersed in nature at the most intimate level. And thus fishing, guiding and river keeping on these beautiful streams quickly became my first love.Β
Wilde Trout is the company I founded to protect and preserve these precious chalkstreams and make world class fly fishing available to everyone in the UK and abroad by bringing a new level of professionalism to the whole business.Β The experience of our customers is our chief and obsessive focus and we pride ourselves on upholding the highest level of service with every client, so if I have one piece of advice to any of our prospective customers it is this: whatever your query, big or small, I hope you will feel that you can contact me at any time; via telephone, email, whatsapp or website enquiry, and expect a swift and timely reply. You will chat with me, a real person with real experience, and never again be lost in the ether of dodgy call centers, automated emails, or AI chatbots.
I have spent many happy years as a guide, river keeper and fly fishing agent on the glorious UK chalk streams, so there is truly no question about angling I have not been asked. For honest and impartial advice, or just a jolly good excuse to chat about fishing, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Welcome to the Wilde Trout family, I hope a special fishing trip is about to begin!
