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The chalk streams of Hampshire lure fishermen from around the world. Tessa Gates meets water bailiff Michael Didlick, who manages a stretch of the Itchen
IT'S ALMOST 33 years since Michael Didlick became a river keeper on the Itchen - a Hampshire chalk stream that has its source at Cheriton and runs through Winchester to meet the sea at Southampton.
Michael is based at Highbridge and is responsible for six miles of the river on both banks as water bailiff for the Bishopstoke Fishing Club, founded in 1947.
"The Itchen, Test and Avon all have proper keepers and we watch for abstraction, pollution and vandals," says Michael. But there is much more to it than that.
He knew the Itchen well, long before he took the job. "I was having a pint in the Dog and Cock in December 1971 and the old river keeper, Commander Jack Jones, said he was looking for an underkeeper.
"He knew I was always fishing: sometimes I helped him out and sometimes I tickled a trout. When people heard he was offering me a job they joked that it was like putting a fox in with the hens," recalls Michael (63).
He officially started in March 1972 and received a long service medal at this year's CLA Game Fair.
"When I started there were very few trout and everything was overgrown. I...