5 July

Posted by Chris Plumb, Yesterday, 12:13 PM

Newbury AA Stillwater - Thatcham

0500-1100

Showery and breezy 15ºC

2 Carp (3-4lb), 2 Crucians (both circa 1¼lb), 1 Tench (scraper pounder), a dozen roach & perch.

Slow morning. Long periods without a bite interspersed with short bursts of activity - even struggled for bites on maggot at times. All fish caught float fishing

2 July

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jul 3 2008, 07:21 AM

River Kennet nr Newbury

1830 - 2315

Dry, following afternoon rain - clearing skies 19ºC -> 12ºC (but felt cooler in the heavy dew!) River in good flow with some colour and debris free until the Canada Geese started feeding just upstream!!

3 Barbel (8lb 11oz, 5lb 14oz, 4¼lb), 2 Chub (5lb 1oz & 3lb 13oz).

Bigger chub 1st cast, biggest barbel 2nd cast! 2 smallest fish in last ½hr. 5lb chub - very lank and spawned out - will be MUCH bigger in the winter! All fish on pellet.

28 June

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jun 30 2008, 07:44 AM

River Kennet Nr Newbury

0415 - 0815

Overcast and breezy - temp a balmy 16ºC. River in good nick, good flow with a tinge of colour - normal for this time of year. Also good to see some ranunculus returning to this stretch - it was barren last season.

6 Chub (4lb10oz, 4lb6oz, 4lb4oz, 4lb 3oz, 3lb 14oz & a chublet), 3 Brown Trout (1lb2oz X 2 - same fish??), 3 dozen dace, ½doz roach, 2 grayling and A gudgeon!

Lovely early morning session spent upto my thighs in mid river, trotting (and home for breakfast!) All fish on double red maggot.

23 June

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jun 23 2008, 01:58 PM

Newbury AA Lake Thatcham

0430 - 0930

Hazy sunshine, 10ºC - 14ºC

6 Carp ( 14lb 11oz, 7lb 7oz, 6lb 12oz, 3X5lbers), 4 Tench (1½lb-3lb), 1 Roach (14oz), 2 Rudd, 1 Perch.

Pleasant session. Fish on a variety of baits and methods. Meat, s-pellet & floating crust all caught. Biggie was a opportunist fish right at the end - was packing/packed up when I saw the fish had moved into the margins to hoover up some of my groundbait that had dropped in. Re-tied a hook and lowered a piece of meat onto its nose - to be snaffled immediately!

20/21 June

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jun 21 2008, 11:55 AM

Newbury AA Lake - Thatcham

1330 - 0830

Overcast and almost no wind. Light persistent drizzle started at 1600 and continued uninterupted until 0400 when heavy persistent drizzle kicked in! 12º - 16ºC

9 Bream ( best 5lb 13oz, 7 between 3.08 - 4.10 & a skimmer), 6 carp (smallest 5.08, biggest 8.01), 2 Tench 1½lb & 4lb 10oz, 2 doz roach and rudd (mainly rudd), 1 perch.

Very pleasant session - despite the rain!! All carp on ledgered pellet but most other fish on float fished margin tactics. Red maggot or sweetcorn catching most of the fish. Paul had a similar haul of carp and bream - though didn't find any tench.

19 June (Part 2)

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jun 20 2008, 07:56 AM

River Kennet - Near Thatcham

1800 - 2330

Still breezy and cloudless 18º->12ºC. River 'full' quite coloured with quite a bit of floating rununculus (very annoying!)

4 Barbel 8lb 2oz, 4lb 15oz, 2X 4lbers

Fished with Paul who had a 9+, 8+ and a 3. Two of my fish in the 1st hour, two in the last - all of Paul's fish came after 2200. Ledgered Halibut Pellet as per usual!

19 June (part 1)

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jun 19 2008, 02:13 PM

Northcroft Backstream - Newbury

0930 - 1200

Bright and breezy - 17ºC

A dozen Chub (4lb 14oz, 4lb 9oz, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 3oz, 2lb 14oz - & 7 chublets), 3 Doz Roach, Dace & Gudgeon (in roughly equal nos.)

Had a morning to kill in Newbury whilst the car was being serviced and MOT'd so a pleasant chubbing session was most welcome. All fish on trotted single red maggot - from a swim I last fished in 1982!!!!

17/18 June

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jun 18 2008, 03:22 PM

Newbury AA lakes - Thatcham

1430 - 1100

Sunny becoming overcast. Breezy becoming VERY breezy. 13ºC-18ºC.

9 Carp (3½ - 8lb) 3 roach and a rudd.

Disappointing session on a usually prolific water. Paul did much better (eventually) and had a dozen on The Method - including a brace of 10's. Had hoped to do some surface fishing but legions of terns, ducks & geese made this sadly impossible - the buggers were insatiable - and did we try and sate them! Float fishing the margins - another - usually -winning formula, produced not a single bite - poo!

16th June 2008

Posted by Chris Plumb, Jun 17 2008, 06:46 AM

Marsh Farm

0730 - 1930

Sunny, becoming cloudy and breezy. Temp 10ºC -> 20º -> 16ºC.

5 Crucians (1lb 13oz, 1lb 10oz, 1lb 8oz, 2<1lb), 4 Tench (1½lb - 4lb 11oz), 3 Bream (1½ - 2½lb), 2 Roach (best 1lb 2oz), 2 Perch, a dozen+ Rudd.

Started on Harris and struggled all morning for bites (even using maggot) though did manage the bigger of the crucians from here. Paul started on Richardsons and faired much better so I joined him in the afternoon - just to see my float move occasionally! Most fish on 6mm S-Pellet, float fished TIGHT to the margins - lift method.

The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories

Posted by Chris Plumb, May 1 2008, 12:31 PM

The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories - Edited and Introduced by Nick Lyons, Foreword by David Halberstam.

OK, I admit I'm a bit of a 'sucker' for angling anthologies - in fact I've just counted up the number of such volumes in my modest angling library and realise I already have 10 such books, not counting this one. Of these, my favourite 3 - and most comprehensive - are BB's, Fisherman's Bedside Book, The Magic Wheel, & Fish, Fishing & the Meaning of Life. I like anthologies as they are a great way of introducing yourself to the works of other authors (its how I discovered the delights of Sheringham's writing). It's not surprising, therefore, that I couldn't help but pick up this book when I happened to be in W.H.Smith's a couple of months ago and given its size it's unlikely to go unnoticed in any bookshop!
What was a surprise was the range of authors and writers I hadn't even heard of - let alone read, before. I expected to flick through the book - see lots of familiar authors - with stories, oft repeated in other volumes - and lever the book back onto the display shelf. And whilst there was a few names I recognised and the odd article, most looked to be new material for me. A note on the back of the book stating that part of the proceeds were going to support ACA clinched my purchasing decision.
The book its-self is literally a heavyweight. Measuring 9½ inches by 7¾ and 2¾inches thick, its 800 pages weigh in at wrist wrenching 3¾lbs. It's not the sort of book to slip into your hand luggage for a long flight. Which is a pity because the writing would keep any angler of any piscatorial preference absorbed for any number of hours. The book is not just expansive in sheer physical size but in its scope and range of articles. We have authors from across the centuries and across the Atlantic covering a multitude of topics in a wide variety of locations.
This anthology differs from most others that I have (including the three mentioned above) in that it features only whole articles and stories - allowing its authors to ‘get into their stride'. Most other such books mix this up with much shorter contributions - sometimes no more than a paragraph or a quotation. Lyons' chooses to give us the whole narrative from each writer. The only shorter pieces being the odd bit of poetry.
There are over 100 authors featured including such notables as Hemingway, Zane Grey, Kipling, Izaak Walton (of course) and many more besides. There are also many notable absences, no Yates, no Sheringham not even anything by Arthur Ransome (something from Rod & Line appears in every angling anthology - its compulsory!!). In many ways this makes the book more buy-able – not less – if you already have the volumes I’ve already mentioned. If, like me, you enjoy a good angling anthology then this still IS a good angling anthology - go buy and enjoy.

ISBN 1873674120. Published 2007 by Skyhorse Publishing & Merlin Unwin Books. £20.00 (www.whsmith.co.uk currently have it for £13.20)