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Chris Plumb's Blog

26 November (Part1)

Northcroft Stream - Newbury 1030 - 1200 Cool, bright and breezy with a heavy shower to finish off. River low and clear. 2 Chub; 1lb 13oz with the other less than half that. 2 Doz Dace - most quite chunky - around 6oz with 2 or 3 bigger. With a dodgy forecast for the weekend and a day off work - the first of a couple of impromptu trips. I wanted to be quite near the car in case I needed to make a dash for it when the showers came - but the worst of it passed to the east of me.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

21.11.21 - Willows

Well, like a fool I'd been listening to the hyperbolae of  recent weather forecasts, warning us of a huge drop in temperature. Sure, it was 6 degrees, but the sun was beautiful when I pottered in the garden potting up bulbs and sweeping leaves this morning, so I hurried up and made my way to the lakes. After my disheartening river stint on Friday, and believing the canals to be no-go zones at times of temperature drops, I elected for Willows thinking the sun on the shallow water might at least m
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Chris Plumb's Blog

20 November (Part 2)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0900 - 1245 Mild and overcast - with the earlier drizzle thankfully stopped. AT 11ºC. River low for late Nov - but then we've hardly had a drop of rain for the last 3 weeks! 2 Chub: 2lb 15oz, 1lb 8oz. 1 Perch 1lb 7oz. 5 Roach. 1 Dace. 1 Brownie 1½lb- sigh! I hate trout! Having tip-toe'd into the top of a favoured chub swim and trickled maggot in for 10 minutes I managed to pull off the perfect cast - and had the float running down just the line I wa
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

20 November (Part 1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0710 - 0835 Mild, overcast with an annoying (and unforecasted) fine drizzle. 11ºC 5 Perch; A couple of 'pounders' - though not by much. Disappointing little session by recent standards (and expectations) - especially as all fish came in the first 10 minutes or so - and I then went well over an hour without a bite. In truth I'd have preferred a dusk session as I have more confidence that perch feed more at dusk in the winter months - regardles
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

19.11.21 - River Kennet - Aldermaston

While other bloggers were piling our perch further downstream, Aldermaston was giving me a hard time. I'd started pike fishing on a slow bend where the river starts meandering, but my first cast snagged a root and cost me a trace, bomb and beloved 20 year old pike float. The second brought back 3 large and brutish crayfish clinging to what was left of my mackerel strip. Pointless deadbaiting, so I put on a crayfish lure and twitched it along the bottom. Result: another blinkin' cannibalisti
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Aldermaston

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

17 & 18.11.21 - Willows

With the unseasonably mild weather lasting a little longer, I managed a few hours in the late afternoon/evening on consecutive days. Along with the full moon and a water temperature of 10 degrees, I was optimistic that the carp hadn't gone to bed quite yet.  I managed to lose one on the centrepin after a good 10 mins of battle before nabbing a 6lb 6 bream that didn't bother even making a splash. As I packed up by torchlight, I squeezed the very last pip out of the session, putting everythin
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Chris Plumb's Blog

19 November

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1515 - 1645 Mild, calm & cloudy. 11ºC - A lovely, benign, autumn afternoon. 12 Perch; 5 over a lb - best three: 2lb 6oz & 2lb 3oz & 1lb 8oz Another quick, post work, session to make the most of the mild weather before next week's cold snap put the stripeys off their food for a while. Had bites for most of the 90 minutes but the dinner bell rang for the bigger ones at 1615 - when I had all my best three in consecutive casts!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

12.11.21 - Willows

Ok, Ok, I know you must be bored with the same old Willows entries, but with morning rains due and a stiff breeze, I opted for a huddle under the brolly than face the exposure of the rivers. I was the only one fishing there all day, which, as a true misanthrope I loved, but then the fish were mainly of similar thinking. The first swim brought just a handful of roach (to a fair 7 ounces) and some skimmers. A change of swims to get the wind out of my face brought more of the same before
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Chris Plumb's Blog

13 November - Part 2

River Kennet - Thatcham 1100 - 1330 Mild and overcast - 12ºC. River up a couple of inches - with surprisingly little leaf litter here compared to what I had to contend with further upstream (see pt1). 1 Chub; 2lb 14oz. 2 Dace & 1 Roach. Scratchy couple of hours - not helped by the usually reliable weirpool seemingly stuffed with minnows and little else. Thankfully one of the 'semi-reliable' chub swims gave up one of its occupants!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

13 November (Part 1)

River Kennet - Hambridge 0800 - 1030 Mild, overcast and breezy. AT 12ºC. River at normal levels - up a tad on a month ago - and full of leaf litter - which is to be expected at this time of year! 1 Chub; 2lb 3oz. 30 Dace and Roach (slightly more roach) nothing to trouble the scales. 1 Grayling. 3 Bleak. 1 Brownie 2lb+. Chub first cast (as per normal!) quickly followed by the brownie - which went ballistic, going airborne repeatedly, to ensure I didn't get another!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Flying Tench's Blog

River Severn - lots of mud, no roach 10-12 November 2021

I booked myself a couple of nights in a B&B in Bewdley in the hope of catching some Severn roach and maybe beating my river roach pb, a modest 1lb 2oz. Alas, things didn't go to plan, but as with all failed angling trips I'm hoping I can learn from the experience! Wed: arrived at 2pm at a BAA water, Blackstone Farm where I'd been reliably informed I could drive along the bank, only to find BAA hadn't sent me the lock combination. Just past office hours so I couldn't phone them up. Grrr.
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench in general

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Chris Plumb's Blog

12 November

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1530 - 1645 Mild (13ºC), overcast & breezy. 6 Perch: 3 over a lb - biggest 1lb 11oz. Bunked off work an hour early to make the most of some ideal autumn perching weather - alas the 2lbers stayed away!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

9 & 10.11.21 - Willows

9th - 3:30 til 7:45. Had just a few tentative bites, then, at last, a solid one. I struck, there was strong resistance and I brought in...a large branch. Did the vegetation really make a grab for my bait? Then I struck into a carp which pulled yards from the centrepin. I played it for a minute or so, but sensed that it wasn't firmly hooked. I was right, and off it fell. After that, while I always felt the fish were close - though not as near as the rats than were scampering around the undergrowt
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

06.11.21 - Willows

A Saturday morning to fish, and yesterdays frosts gone (though still requiring a fleece, waistcoat and thick coat). With the winter rule of 2 rods being allowed on the lake, I fished a light float to my left, and a boilie on a bomb in the margin to my right. I've never used a boilie before, but these were kindly donated to me and with it still nippy, was not sure the fish would be bothered to break into the cargo of a method feeder. Nothing on float, not even a bite on maggot/caster or
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

05.11.21 - Speen Moors then Enborne

I walked straight to the moors, having opted against my planned early morning start on the canal as the frosty minus two degree temperature would certainly keep the perch firmly under their duvets. Had a fun first hour at the weir pool, bringing in a 10oz stripey (I guess river fish can't afford to be as lethargic as their canal based cousins), two roach, two gudgeon (hurrah!), a 14 ounce chub and a 2.5lb brownie.  When the bites dried, I moved to parliamentary draft, baiting up each of the
Chris Plumb's Blog

5 November

Dorset Frome - Wool 0730 - 1400 Clear frosty start with rod rings icing up for the first hour or so - proper grayling weather! Sunny morning, clouding over by lunchtime. AT -1º -> 11ºC. River at near normal winter levels - 1.01m on the East Stoke gauge. 9 Grayling; 3 'gooduns', biggest 1lb 11oz. 8 Brownies - all around 6-8oz. A scratchy sort of day on a venue that is never prolific (but which can throw up some huge ladies which is why I keep coming back!) most fish from ju
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

3.11.21 - River Lambourn

My gardening work is slowing down now, so I got to squeeze a 2-hour sesh in this afternoon. After so much rain recently, I'm surprised to see the water low, so low that I don't even bother with the very shallow first park-bench swim. At the first spot with more than a foot of depth, get a 4 ounce brownie as an angler stops to say he's caught 30 today, having been fishing the stretch for 5 hours. Hmm, hope he's left me some. At the bridge, catch the smallest trout I have ever seen, I thought it w
The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

2.11.21 - Willows

My first evening session after the clocks went back. With a light frost that morning and the threat of even lower temperatures tonight under still, clear skies, a blank would have been disappointing, but not inconceivable.  Nothing for an hour, before I brought in a very welcome 5lb 10 common, one of those fish that broke the surface as soon as it was hooked and insisted on surfing throughout the fight. With the swim still reeling from the disturbance, my float, not 10ft from my feet, gave
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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The Flying Tench's Blog

Thames Perch 25 Oct to 1 Nov 2021

25th Oct Same approach (lobworms on straight lead and Liquid Worm attractant). 3 nice perch 2lb 6 oz, 2lb 8 oz and a smaller one approx 1lb. 28th Oct and 1st Nov Just when I thought I'd got the perch sussed, 2 blanks. Today it felt very cold to me, I'll have to get the thermals out. I got several bites, though. In two cases they bit off the worm just below the hook!
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench in general

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

26 29 & 30.10 - Willows

I thought I'd save you yet more of the same thing by condensing the last three trips into one post. My plans to migrate to the rivers/canals for winter were delayed for a further week as (1) my Tuesday afternoon slot takes my only evening slot and I just feel more comfortable fishing lakes than the crayfish-filled rivers in the dark and (2) the forecast for Friday and Saturday were billed as being very wet, and I felt hiding under a brolly was slightly less uncomfortable lakeside. Tues
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Chris Plumb's Blog

30 October

River Kennet - Speen Moors 1000 - 1530 Bright and mainly sunny after early morning rain. AT around 13ºC all day. River still quite low and clear despite a wet October (109mm and counting!) 6 Chub; 4lb 10oz, 2lb 0oz and 4 in the ½-1lb bracket (of course!). 1 Perch 1lb 11oz. 17 Roach - only one troubled the scales (as I thought it would make a pound!) @ 14oz. 3 Dace. 1 Bleak. 2 Brownies; a 2+lber and a smallun. First hour and a half on Parliament Draft which accounted for both
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

25 October

Lower Itchen Fishery 0830 - 1730 Bright and breezy save for a shower when I arrived and another torrential shower around lunchtime. AT 10º-16ºC. River at normal autumn levels though it coloured up noticeably after the lunchtime downpour. 30 Grayling; Most around 8-10oz. Biggest 'just' 1lb 5oz with another half a dozen or so a couple of ounces, shy of that. 7 Chub: All well over 1lb - best 3: 4lb 8oz, 4lb 5oz & 3lb 10oz. 7 Brownies 1½- 3½lb. 2 Roach - small. 4 Salmon parr and a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

23.10.21 - Willows

A mixed day. I predominantly fished the margins on a virtually deserted lake. Within 5 minutes, I'd hooked a good carp on float fished single corn dipped in my top secret ingredient, that had the centrepin screeching and took me right, left and central before falling off the hook, unseen, after around 10 minutes of fun. If this wasn't annoying enough, I then missed bite after bite after bite, the float dragging under every 5 minutes or so, yet I couldn't hit any of them. I began to suspect crays
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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