Jump to content

Blogs

24.11.23 - Port Talbot Docks

My second trip to my local venue having been given prior permission by land manager, Dai the Worm. And a second run-less blank. As I left, the chap pole fishing for silvers a few swims away told be he'd been bitten off by pike 'at least six times'. This is a common complaint of matchmen here, so I didn't doubt it. I've been told that only live baiting works here, but that's against my personal fishing creed.  Wasn't a total disappointment as I did find out that the enormous brick

24 November

River Lambourn - Shaw 1215- 1500 Sunny spells - quite breezy and getting chilly. AT 8º-5ºC. River very full but crystal clear as always. 11 Grayling: 5 over a lb. Best two @ 1lb 10oz & 1lb 9oz. 8 Brownies; one 'pounder' the rest all quite small. Looks like being a great year for Lambourn ladies - another couple of fish well above expectations for this venue - and both first cast fish from a couple of usual hot-spots. River very pacey which meant some of my other favoured

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

17.11.23 - Marsh Benham

A rare trip back 'home' to Newbs allowed me a visit to one of my favourite stretches, albeit the high water level put pay to a few of my favourite swims. I arrived after a cold night to bright sun which, as well as making float trotting blindingly impossible,  contributed to many of the resident fish taking shelter. Except for the trout, of course. I landed three of the snarly-faced swim-trashers but lost another seven, each one leaving the swim in tatters. A handful of roach, dace and

21 November (Part 2)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1245 - 1500 Overcast and drizzly. AT 9ºC. River VERY high up yet another couple of inches on my last visit (11 days ago) - but with hardly any colour. 2 Chub: 3lb 6oz & 3lb 2oz. 1 Perch: 3lb 1oz (SB), 1 Dace:(small), 1 Grayling;(ditto) Usual 'flood swim' bonanza - 2nd winter in a row I've had a 3lb+ perch from here. Started  downstream of my usual swim which produced the 'smaller' chub and the 2 'silvers'.  

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

21 November (Part 1)

K&A 'flowing' Canal - Thatcham 0900 - 1200 Cool, overcast and drizzly at times. AT 8ºC. River VERY full, flowing quite hard (for a canalised section) but clear. 2 Dace: 1lb 1oz (!!!) 😲 & 11oz WOW! I visit here quite infrequently as it isn't a particularly prolific stretch - though it has thrown up some big autumn dace in recent years - and that sort of what I was hoping for - but wasn't expecting anything quite so jaw dropping.  I'd started on The Arrowhead - for

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

17 November (Part 1)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0900 - 1330 Cool and sunny, clouding over late morning. AT 2º-10ºC. River very high but with only little colour. 3 Perch: 2lb 2oz and a couple around ¾-1lb. 1 Dace, 1 Roach. 1 Brownie - 2½lb. Bit of a gamble with the river so high - but I reasoned if I could find some 'quiet' water I'd find some fish. Morning got off to the worst of starts - trickling in small amounts of maggot for 10 mins didn't bring the hoped for first cast chub but another ruddy

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

15 November

Middle Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0800 - 1300 Bright and sunny - clouding over for last hour. AT 7º-11ºC. River VERY full. Main river over the banks and carrier bank high but with little colour. 2 Chub: 2lber and a chublet. 30+ Dace & Roach roughly equal nos - nothing particularly noteworthy some of the dace were quite chunky and one of the roach needed the net. 1 Perch - small. 5 Brownies: all between 2½-3½lb. Sparkly morning in West Berkshire - though I was thankful

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

11.11.23 - Port Talbot Docks

My debut at my local water, a large expanse of water alongside the steelworks. Though I moved to Wales in July, I'd not fished it yet because of my apprehension of Dai the Worm. In order to fish it, one must obtain permission a day or two ahead from this local legend. However I'd been warned to make sure I 'only phone him when he's in a good mood' -which sounded a bit arbitrary, so I thought it best to make a personal acquaintance first and perhaps get him used to my English accent before callin

6, 10 & 13.11 - Treoes Lake

Three more trips to my mainstay lake while I work out what the heck I'm going to do for my winter fishing. Monday - Not a touch on pike rod, but the other brought commons of 7lb 8, 6lb 12, 6lb 9, 7lb 10 and 6lb 8 plus a 7lb 12 mirror and a single small bream. A good day. Friday - Didn't bother with the pike rig put put on prawn pieces hoping for perch. A slower day but 2 commons both of 11lb 6 and a mirror of 6lb made it a fair day. Monday - With Storm Debi blowing for Wales, the

Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Treoes lake

10 November

River Kennet - Hambridge 1230 - 1515 Sunny spells after morning rain. AT 8ºC (felt a lot cooler!). River still very high - if anything up and inch or so on last Friday but with nearly all the colour dropped out and LOTS of leaf litter. 3 Chub: 5lb 1oz and a brace of 2lbers. 1 Perch: 2lb 15oz. 1 Roach - handsized. Favourite flood swim produces the goods yet again! Took it nice and slow resting the swim for at least 10 mins after each fish and keeping the bait trickling in - se

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

7 November (Part 2)

River Kennet - Brimpton 1145 - 1445 Bright and breezy. AT 8º-10ºC. River still very high - though most colour has now dropped out. 6 Brownies; a fish of around 2½lb - the rest all around 8-10oz, all almost identical in size - kept thinking I was catching the same fish. Normal service has been resumed - alas. My Nemisis turning up 'early doors' in every swim I tried - thwarting all attempts at attracting a chub or 2!

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

7 November (Part 1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 0715 - 1045 Bright, crisp morning, though the breeze picked up a lot and was clouding over when I packed up. AT 2º - 8ºC 1 Pike: small (very - see pic below!). 1 Perch c6-8oz. 1 Roach - handsized. A cold start with bright sunshine above and grass frost under my feet are not the most ideal conditions for autumn perching! Another exploratory session and I fished 4 swims along the length of the section - but regardless of where I cast, bites

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3.11.23 - Lliw Reservoir - Swansea

A new venue for me - a huge reservoir said to contain trout and pike. I fished various dead baits, one under a drifting pike float, the other popped up from the apparently 58ft depth.  With autumn in full force, it's a beautiful venue and being far from any decent roads, is the quietest place I think I've ever fished. It was just me and my tinnitus. Sadly the fishing was equally quiet as though I changed depths regularly and explored all of the very wide and open swim, neither rod got

28 & 30.10.23 - Treoes

Autumn may bring mellow fruitfulness and waterlogged pitches, but it also brings a hit-and-miss nature to lake fishing. That's despite all the angling press telling you that the fish are desperate to fatten themselves up like turkeys for Christmas. With no rivers or canals in easy reach, I persevered with the lake I've been plundering since my arrival in summer. Friday - One pike rod (though it may still be too warm for them to really get going) and one float rod. The dead bait wasn't touch

3 November (Part2)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1230 - 1430 Mainly overcast, quite breezy with a couple of lumpy showers. AT 13ºC. River up over a foot on my last visit and the colour of 'builder's tea'! 1 Chub 3lb 5oz. 1 Bream 3lb 2oz. 3 Roach - all small. 1 Gudgeon. Fished my 'banker' flood water swim - but even I was surprised I caught. River was really coloured up after Storm Ciarán had dumped an inch and a half of rain on West Berkshire in the past 24 hours - and didn't look at all promising.

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3 November (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0800 - 1200 Bright and breezy with a few light showers. AT 7º - 13ºC. River very full - but crystal clear as always! 16 Grayling with 7 around a lb or better - 2 of which were substantially better at 2lb 2oz & 1lb 14oz 😲(!). 8 Brownies - one real lump of around 3lb the rest all small/parrs. Default venue when the Kennet is in flood and my first 2lb+ grayling from the Lambourn in over 2 decades. (Last time was 27/12/01). Took red corn for a change

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

31 October (Part 2)

Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 1000 - 1400 Bright and sunny with heavy showers to finish! AT 10ºC - 15ºC. River at normal levels with a hint of colour. 7 Chub: 3lb 3oz, one of 12oz+ and 5 chublets. 1 doz Roach: all small. 4 Dace: one good-un of at least 8oz. 1 Perch - small. 'Popped' into my syndicate stretch on the way home from Avington. And as I had my lobs with me I started out with them to try and snaffle a decent perch from here - though they produced not a single bite.

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

31 October (Part 1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Avington 0630 - 0930 Brightening up after overnight rain. AT 6º - 10ºC. 2 Doz perch. Nothing noteworthy - though they weren't tiddlers - most around 6-8oz with a couple twice that. I had great plans for this week - and they didn't involve prospecting for perch on my club's most westerly venue. The coarse season on the Frome opens tomorrow and I had intended to travel down to Dorset to make the most of the opening day. Alas heavy rain over the past we

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

27 October (Part 2)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 1000 - 1400 Bright and sunny (for the most part!), AT 9ºC - 13ºC. River up 3 or 4 inches on my last trip here but with little colour. 7 Chub; 3lb 6oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz, a 'pounder'  and 3 chublets. 5 Perch: all between ¾-1¼lb. 1 Roach - small, 1 Gudgeon, 1 Brownie; 3lb+. A lively morning - went for a wander initially, though ended up relying on my favourite spot on the weir pool, with all fish of substance coming from it. It's becoming a bit of a b

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

27 October (Part 1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0730 - 0930 Continuous rain for the entire 2 hours I was bank-side. Started just as I made my first cast and eased off just as I made my last! AT 9ºC 13 Perch - with the majority a lb or better - the six I weighed went: 2lb 12oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lb 3oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 14oz & 1lb 12oz with most of the rest in the 12oz-1lb class. First part of a favourite 'double-header' and a repeat of my trip here at the start of the month - with 3, 2lb perch in

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

21.10 & 23.10 - Treoes

Saturday morning didn't start as planned. My new neighbour showed me a spot where the bass hoard up on the tidal River Afan 2 hours before high tide. There I was, but the tide had already spilled over the obstacle allowing the bass to head upriver and despite spinning for an hour, I didn't get a touch. Drove on to Treoes lake instead for some calming coarse fishing. At my favourite swim I had commons of 7lb 2, 8lb 2 and 5lb 6, a lovely 12oz roach, a bonus 1lb 14 tench and a handful of bream of a

22 October

Lower Itchen Fishery 0830 - 1700 Bright start - clouding over somewhat after lunch - with a brief shower, AT 5º-15ºC. River full - bank high in places - though, thankfully not too much colour. 20 Grayling - very few under 12oz  and quite a number around the 1lb mark. The three I weighed went 1lb 10oz, 1lb 15oz & 2lb 6oz. 1 Chub 4lb 10oz. 7 Brownies - 2-3½lb. Super day's sport and thanks to Neal for organising. We had permission to fish the upper beat - alas the river was

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.