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31 January

River Lambourn - Shaw 0930 - 1200 Cold and cloudy. AT 0º-2ºC. River very full but, as always, crystal clear. 10 Grayling - all small with a couple around 8-10oz. 11 Trout - a netter (probably close on a lb) with the rest parrs - bit of a nuisance - in the same way minnows are! Repeat of last weekend with the Kennet completely out of sorts after 1¾ inches of rain since Weds. A couple of hours on the bank to cure cabin fever - after being stuck at home yesterday with no electri
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23 January

River Lambourn - Newbury 0830 - 1130 Cold & bright. AT -2ºC -> +1ºC, line freezing in the ferrules most of the morning. River 'full' and crystal clear as always. 17 Grayling; 4 'pounders' - best 1lb 9oz & 1lb 5oz. 6 Brownies a pounder (actually probably nearer 2lb) and 5 smalluns/parrs. Default venue when the Kennet and conditions are sub-optimal and a much better return than my last two trips here - the extra depth of water clearly making a big difference. Still m
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17 January

River Kennet - Hambridge 0915 - 1315 Cool, calm and bright. AT 3º - 6ºC. River at normal winter levels and quite clear - looked in great nick. 1 Chub; 1½lb. 3 Perch; 1lb 9oz, 1lb 6oz and a sub lber (but not by much!). 7 Roach - all handsized. 7 Dace - 3 in the 6-8oz class. 4 Brownies - a lber and 3 smalluns. Usual tactics to snaffle a decent chub from the off meets with a rare failure (I'm blaming the bright conditions and a trout first cast!) - only chub I did get turned up
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13 January

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1500 - 1630. Mild, overcast with a stiff downstream breeze putting quite a chop on the water. 9ºC 3 Perch; 1lb 5oz and a couple of 6-8oz. 1 Pike; 2lb 12oz Quick return to yesterday's venue hoping for a bigger stripey (achieved by around 4oz!) Dropped into a different swim - one in which I saw some scattering fry as I walked back to the car yesterday evening. All fish in the first 45 mins - Pike was last caught and didn't get another bite
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12 January

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1330 - 1630 Overcast and Mild(er) 7ºC. Canal gin clear!. 6 Perch; 4X14oz(± a couple of ounces)& 2 tiddlers. Birthday trip to make the most of the milder weather. Up until Sunday the mean average temperature for January (locally) had been a lowly 1.1ºC so with temps up as 'high' as 9ºC this Mon/Tues I was hopeful that the perch would have woken up. And the session started off promisingly with the 2 tiddlers in the first 20 mins - howev
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8 January

Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham 0915 - 1345 Cold, calm and cloudy. Temps hovering around 0ºC all day (-1º when I arrived, +1º when I packed up). River in fine winter condition - gin clear and at normal levels. 9 Chub; 6X2lb+ - best 3lb 3oz (first fish caught!). A doz Roach - all a 'nice' size but nothing to trouble the scales. 5 Dace; best a clonker of 13oz. Half a doz Brownies - most around the 2lb mark - with one nearly double that. Got a few days off either side of this comi
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2 January (Part 2)

River Lambourn - Shaw 1200 - 1400 Cold with 'milky sunshine. 2 Grayling - a 'netter' and a tidller. 3 Brownies - one close to 1lb, the others only slightly bigger than parrs. Bit of a struggle - with none of my usual swims producing so much as a bite - probably because 2 other anglers had already worked there way up the water!  
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2 January 2021 (Part 1)

Northcroft Stream - Newbury 0845 - 1115 Cold and bright. AT 0º - 3ºC. River still up a tad but with little colour. 2 Chub: 4lb 5oz & a chublet of around a pound. 6 Dace - a couple of gooduns. 3 Roach - handsized and a 1lb+ Brownie. Successful plan to start 2021 with a good chub achieved within 5 mins of wetting a line (though had been trickling in maggot for a good 15mins before starting to fish). Smaller chub turned up amongst the dace and roach and being a little washed
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30 December

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0800 - 1430 Cold and bright - clouding over after lunch. AT -1º - 3ºC. Line freezing in the rings for the first couple of hours! River up a good 6+inches on last visit (over the bank in several places) and carrying quite a bit of colour - way more than I expected to see! 2 Chub; 2lb 14oz, 2lb 9oz. 6 Roach - all small. 2 Dace - one good fish of 8+oz and a tiddler. 1 Brown trout (though it was bright silver - sea trout???) 1½lb. Plan for today was ori
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26 December

River Kennet - Hambridge 0900 - 1230 Cool & overcast (4º - 7ºC). Calm before the storm! River up a good few inches with a tinge of colour - looked in great winter nick! 3 Chub: 3lb 14oz, 2lb 15oz & 1½lb. 5 Roach - all quite small. 4 Dace - one clonker of 10oz the rest all small. 1 Grayling & a Brownie (both around 10oz), 1 Bleak. Pre-emptive strike before Storm Bella arrives this evening and stuff's the river up for the next few days!  Slow but steady sport all mo
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24 December

River Lambourn - Newbury  0800 - 1045 Bright and cold (2ºC) with a 'fresh' northerly breeze! River up a couple of inches on last visit but gin clear despite heavy overnight rain. 9 Grayling - best 2 weighed in at 1lb 1oz & 14oz - the rest around half this stamp. 2 Brownies - a 'pounder' and a parr. Usual pre Christmas jaunt to use up some bait due to the bait fridge getting its annual deep clean - as the maggots get evicted for a few days and it's comandeered for Christma
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19 December (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1345 - 1615 Bright with squally showers. AT 10ºC 9 Perch; 5 over 1lb - 3 not by much and two that went 1lb 12oz & 2lb 8oz. 1 Roach (small - the lob worm it took was longer than it!) With a very mild end to the week I reasoned that the perch would be on the munch - and I was right. Didn't even need to wait until dusk for some action - in fact most fish caught with the swim bathed in sunshine - though (of course) the biggest one WAS as
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19 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Thatcham 0915 - 1245 Bright with squally showers. AT 9ºC. River up a few inches with a tinge of colour. 1 Chub; 1lb 13oz. 1 Grayling; 1lb 5oz. 5 Roach, 2 Dace & 4 Brownies - an old warrior of 4lb 12oz & 3 parr fish. My first visit here this season - mainly due to the fact that the venue has been closed whilst a new foot bridge across the Kennet was built. I usually consider this more of a summer venue so quite pleased with this morning's return especial
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12 December (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 1400 - 1600. Bright & breezy. AT 7ºC 4 Perch; 2lb 14oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 6oz, 1lb 2oz. So Plan B was to fish the witching hour on the canal hoping for a big stripey - though as so often happens in the winter it's a witching 20 minutes around 4.00pm just as the light is fading. Had all 3 bigger ones in this 20 minute spell culminating in the biggest - which was a very last cast fish as I'd already packed up my bags. A season's best as well.
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12 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0745 - 1345 Overcast start (drizzling when I left home) becoming bright and breezy. AT 7º-9ºC. River at normal levels. 8 Chub: 4lb 7oz, 3lb10oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb 11oz & 4 small ones. 7 Roach - most hand sized, 4 Dace, 1 Gudgeon, 1 Bleak & a 2lb Brownie. Pleasant morning playing hunt the chub, started off with the 3lber from a spot that only usually gives you one chance - and so it proved as resting it for an hour produced nothing more. Fished a
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6 December

River Kennet & Carrier - Marsh Benham 0745 - 1315 Cool, calm & cloudy. AT 1º - 3ºC. River quite full - though somewhat surprisingly (and contradictory!) the carrier was on the low side. 4 Chub; 4lb 10oz, 3lb 1oz, 2lb 2oz and a chublet. 18 Roach - few of any size bar one which went 12oz. 4 Dace, 1 Perch, 8 Brownies - 2½ - 3½lb & 2 Rainbows 2½lb & 4+lb. Pleasant morning's trotting - chub as ever were the target - though most of my 'banker' swims were full of tro
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28 November (Part 3)

River Kennet - Aldershot Water (Brimpton) 1400 - 1530. Still misty and overcast. 10°C. River at normal levels. 1 Chub; 3lb 3oz. 1 Dace. 3 Brownies; 2XPounders - (probably same fish!)  So the plan was to end the day as I'd started it - hunting chub, and a return to a spot I last fished back in September. Chub first cast which was an excellent start - alas trout then trashed the swim - had all 3 in quick succession and they all jumped and caused a commotion on the surface - res
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28 November (Part 2)

River Lambourn - Shaw 1030 - 1300 Still dull and misty. AT 9ºC. River on the low side. 11 Grayling; A real mix of year classes (and hence sizes). Biggest 1lb 13oz (!!) with another 3 an ounce or so either side of 1lb ( the usual maximum size here). 6 Brownies most 6-10oz with one well over 1lb. Well I wasn't expecting that! Pretty sure that's my biggest grayling from this stretch - I've gone back over 20+ years of diaries and can't find a bigger one! Caught from a very shallo
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28 November (Part 1)

Northcroft Stream - Newbury  0745 - 1000 Misty & murky 7ºC. River at normal levels and quite clear. 3 Chub; 2lb 14oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 5oz. 6 Dace &  2 Roach - all small. Successful chub hunt - though was hoping for something a little bigger. My usual 'banker' swim here produced not so much as a bite - thankfully they were all in my back up swim!
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21 November (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal (flowing), Thatcham 1100 - 1330 Dull and breezy. AT 11ºC. River at normal levels and quite clear. 6 Dace; 5 over 8oz - biggest 15oz !! 1 Gudgeon. Another trip to an infrequently fished (and less than reliable) venue but one which has thrown up decent dace and chub in the past. Nothing quite in this class however -  a female almost in full breeding condition (3 months early). My biggest dace for 11 years, since this day.  
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21 November (Part 1)

River Kennet - Arrowhead (Thatcham) 0715 - 1030 Dull and quite breezy, temps around 10ºC. River at normal levels with little colour. 6 Dace, 1 Roach & 2 brownies - all small. Scratchy session to a venue I only visit every other year or so but which in the past (well 13/14 & 14/15) was a nailed on banker for big chub and perch ( see here as an example). Strange as the place still screams fish but I've caught very little here since those 2 winter campaigns (And not a wh
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13 November - Part 2

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0930 - 1415 Bright and breezy, clouding over with the wind dropping. Mild. River in good nick. 4 Chub 4lb 14oz, 3lb 12oz, 2lb 6oz & a chublet. 4 Roach - best c8oz, 2 Dace, 1 Gudgeon & a brownie. Had planned to do quite a bit of wandering today but ended up refamiliarising myself with a favourite swim of old. Back in 2004 (25th Sep to be precise) I had 4 chub for over 21lb from this spot (fish of 6.05, 6.0, 4.11 & 4.06), plus 2,5lb bream
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13 November (Parts 1 & 3!)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0700 - 0915 & 1445 - 1630 Squally rain to start, overcast and becalmed to end. Quite mild. 18 Perch; Most 8-12oz with around half a dozen in the 1lb class save the biggest which went 1lb 10oz. Dawn and dusk session to top and tail a trip to Speen and there appears to be a LOT of perch in the 12oz class this autumn. More fish during my dawn session than dusk - but that may have been due to pike as was bitten off twice.
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