Willows Lake - Thatcham
1800 - 2300
Warm evening (though temps were starting to plummet when I left) 21º->12ºC.
2 Carp: 13lb 14oz, 7lb 2oz. 2 Tench - both quite small but pushing a lb. 3 Crucians - handsized.
A session topped and tailed by the 2 carp. The biggie snaffled my float fished maggot within 20mins of starting and with a 16 to a 4lb bottom I was grateful for the help of a fellow angler for its netting! In truth the carp were a pain - especially until it got dark a
River Kennet - Marsh Benham
0700 - 1200
Cool and sunny - felt quite autumnal first thing. 9-15ºC
4 Chub; a brace of 2lbers and a couple of chublets. 30+ Roach & a doz+ Dace - nothing particularly big. 5 Bleak. 3 Rainbows 2½-4½lb. 1 Brownie; 3lb+
A morning hunting chub but finding mainly rainbows 🙄 - I also lost 3 - one of which was nailed by a huge pike as I brought it in!
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1745 - 2215
Overcast, quite breezy at times and the AT actually went up a degree from 15-16ºC
1 Bream; 4lb 14oz. 1 Tench - c1lb. 2 Perch - both 'half decent' around 8-10oz. 3 Rudd.
Bites a-plenty for the first couple of hours (though I think a lot of them were rudd attacking the shot) - went very quiet as it got dark - exact opposite to what usually happens. Only bite after 2000 was the bream - which was very much a last cast fish - and meant I had a ve
River Kennet - Widmead
1015 - 1215
Sunny spells and still cool - 14ºC.
1 Chub: 1½lb. 13 Dace: most a really nice size - biggest 12oz. 1 Roach.
A real pain getting through the minnows - but once you did there were some quality dace on offer - still hoping this swim will produce decent chub - but had just the one modest sized one early in the session to show for my efforts. Best dace of the season (so far!)
River Kennet - Hambridge
0615 - 0930
Cool (9ºC) and overcast - more like late October than late August! River higher than normal for this time of year - but reasonably clear given all the rain this week.
2 Chub; 3lb 14oz & a chublet. 1 Pike; 8lb 12oz. 7 Dace, 5 Roach and a couple of brownies - 12oz+.
Chub first cast ( as per usual) after trickling in maggot for 15mins before starting. One of the dace was an absolutel clonker - a season's best for all of 2 and a bit hours
River Kennet - Brimpton
1800 - 2300
Warm, still evening (calm after the storm!). River up a tad and carrying a bit of colour (and the odd branch!)
2 Roach (handsized). 2 Dace. 3 Gudgeon & a Brownie (small).
An hour's trotting - hopeful of a chub - but really just a blank prevention measure (!) followed by 4 hours staring at a couple of isotopes willing one of them to wrap around with a three foot twitch. Alas the only excitements came from the crayfish and numerous bats c
River Kennet - Padworth
0600 - 1230
Bright and blowy! River at normal summer levels and carrying a bit of colour.
1 Chub, 7 Roach & 7 Dace. 3 dace in the 8-10oz class (nice!) and a couple of the Roach were 12-14oz as was the chub. 2 Gudgeon, 1 Bleak.
After my success here trotting last month I promised to return and have a proper go on the float. Fished around 10- to a dozen swims and only had fish from 2 of them with the chub and all the bigger silvers coming from the fi
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1900 - 2330
Warm, clear evening (Great views of Jupiter, Saturn & Mars) 21º-16ºC
3 Tench; 3lb 11oz, 2lb 13oz and a smallun (though would have been close to a lb). 2 Rudd (small but not micro-small!)
Slow evening which burst into life a little after 10pm when I had all 3 tincas in quick succession - prompted me to spend an extra half an hour beyond my intended pack up time - but had no more bites after 2245. Last blackberry haul of the summer!
Harris Lake - Marsh Farm , Milford.
0630 - 2330
Warm (still 18ºC when I got home at 0100), overcast and DRY - despite the forecast and the downpours the day before. There was some VERY annoying light drizzle for the last hour or so - but overall conditions were very benign - thankfully!
2 Crucians; 3lb 1oz & 2lb 9oz. 4 Tench - [email protected]+ - biggest 4lb 9oz. 3 Perch. A doz+ Rudd (micro!!)
3 Time lucky! This is the 3rd IAC fish-in I've organised in 2020 and the first one to actu
Middle Kennet Weirpool - Marsh Benham
0600 - 1200
Hot and sultry - 19º -> 27ºC. River a little on the low side but not as bad as it can be in August!
12 Chub: 6 over lb, best 2 both went 4lb 3oz (different fish) - nice to see some small ones. 3 Bream; 2¾ to just under 4lb. 30 Dace. 20+ Roach. 4 Bleak. 1 Brown Trout - 6lb 1oz (!!) & 2 Rainbows of 2½ & 3½lbs.
Cracking morning's trotting - though the big brownie was on ledgered meat and had me convinced I was into a b
Willows Lake - Thatcham
1830 - 2230
Overcast and breezy with showers for the first hour. 21º - 18ºC bit felt chillier in the breeze.
1 Tench; 2lb 5oz. 3 Crucians - 2 'hand-sized' the third slightly bigger. 3 Perch.
So at last I've caught a crucian out of Willows this season - just not quite the size I was after! Most fish in the first couple of hours and I should probably have had more has the bites were quite tentative and hard to spot in the heavy ripple. Only one fish afte
Willows Lake - Thatcham
1800 - 0200
Hot and sultry. 28ºC and still 18ºC when I packed up at 2am. Bit of a breeze at times but not enough to keep off a veritable plague of mossies - plenty of Jungle Formula was called for!
4 Tench; 3lb 4oz, 3lb, 2lb 13oz, 2lb11oz. 1 Carp; 6lb 11oz. 2 Roach - handsized. 4 Perch.(and another 3lb of blackberries!)
Steady evening's sport on one of the warmest nights I've ever fished. Rotated between maggot and prawn - all the small stuff on mag -
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1830 (by the time I started fishing) - 2300
Warm, slightly overcast evening. AT 23ºC down to 16ºC when I packed up.
1 Tench (small), 2 Rudd (very small!)
This evening's venue choice was dictated by the quality of the blackberries rather than the fishing! Another 3lbs picked which Mrs P will be converting into her rather lovely bramble jelly! Fishing was pretty dire - my worst return from Alders this summer. All fish around 2130 when I had half an hour
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1800 - 0000
Warm, overcast and breezy. AT a balmy 18ºC at midnight!
2 Tench; 3lb 5oz & 2lb 7oz. 1 Crucian - handsized.
Surprisingly slow evening with bites at a premium, though nice to get another of the lake's small crucians. Tench were 3 hours apart (8&11pm) with the crucian putting in an appearance just after 10pm. Alternated between prawn sections and maggot - though all fish falling to maggot. Had intended to fish longer but driving drizzle
River Kennet - Padworth
1745 - 2215
Warm (22ºC) and sunny - though temps were dropping sharply after sunset. River at normal summer levels.
5 Chub: A 2lber and 4 fish in the 12oz-1lb class. 2 Roach; 1lb (on the nose!) & 14oz (!!), 3 Dace - all quite chunky ones. 1 brownie - c12oz.
Bit of a 'recce' trip as I haven't fished here since 2017 and whilst I didn't really expect to get a barbel, when I switched from trotting to ledgering, I certainly didn't expect such a fine bra
Jubilee Lake - Thatcham
1830 - 0400
Warm clear night with a slight breeze to keep the dew and mossies at bay. Still 14ºC when I packed up at 0400. Lovely night for star/planet gazing - with a double dose of the ISS.
1 Carp 6lb 2oz.
Really quiet night - not at all what I expected - only bite came at around 2200 on my float fished prawn section in the margins (hoping for a tinca to show up) - the alarm on my other rod ledgering pellet or boilie was silent all night apart from t
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1830 - 2315
Overcast and warm(ish). AT 15ºC when I packed up.
1 Bream; 5lb 10oz. 2 Tench: 2lb 15oz and a smallun. 1 Crucian - small - handsized - but a very welcome sight. 4 small Rudd.
First time in a few seasons I've had tench AND bream in the same session from here - the bream was very much a last cast fish - was starting to pack my stuff away when I noticed my float dithering around and I assumed it was another crucian or even a crayfish - so very p
Harris Lake - Marsh Farm - Milford
0000 - 0500
Cool and clear. (Thermo in the car was at 4ºC when I left - and it felt chuffing cold - thankfully the fish kept me busy!). Good night for observing the night sky - lots to see. ISS went over twice, perfect visibility of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Venus rising at dawn was stunning - and could clearly see Comet NEOWISE just before sunrise in the eastern sky - twas visible for around 20mins at around 0320 - and I even saw a stunningly long m
Johnsons Lake - Milford
1500 - 2315
Sunny spells and quite cool (16º-17ºC) for the 2nd week of July.
1 Tench (small) and 1 Rudd.
Dismal session - lake was rammed again and yet again had to drop into the only available swim - and it was little consolation that few others - apart from some of the carpers were catching. Brian - 2 swims down (in one of my favourite spots!) didn't even register a bite!
River Kennet - Hambridge
1800 - 2030
Cool (14ºC or there-abouts), overcast with drizzly rain at times for the first hour. River down and inch or so on 3 weeks ago but still with good flow for this time of year.
3 Chub: 2lb 15oz, 1lb 11oz & a chublet. 30+ Dace & Roach - in roughly equal numbers - slightly more roach. Nothing particularly big - a couple of the dace were in the 6-8oz bracket - but good to see so many 'silvers' in the river. 3 Gudgeon (also a welcome sight - t
Willows Lake - Thatcham
1400 - 2015
Bright and breezy (actually blowing a hoolie!), clouding over with persistent rain from 1730 and much cooler - making for a thoroughly unpleasant evening!
4 Tench; 2lb7oz & 3 small uns. 4 Roach - all a 'nice' size, the one I weighed went 12oz the other 3 weren't much smaller. 5 Rudd. (And no carp - don't think I even had a bite from one)
So there are some 'silvers' in Willows as well (Have these rudd been recently stocked???) Again was
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1830 - 2300
Coolish, overcast with rain from 8-9pm - not a good evening to forget the brolly - had taken it out of my quiver as a weight reduction measure for my roving session at Brimpton last weekend and forgot to put it back in!🙄 Temps down to 13ºC when I packed up.
3 Tench: 3lb 13oz, 2lb 5oz and a small-un. 5 Rudd, 1 Roach, 1 Perch.
Damp but rewarding session - first time for a while I've had any 'silvers' from here. Also had a crayfish which is al
River Kennet - Brimpton
0500 - 1200
Cool, bright start - becoming VERY windy and showery. AT never above 16ºC - so the fleece never came off! River with good flow and a little colour.
1 Chub 2lb 2oz. 6 Dace - a couple of chunky ones (6-8oz). 1 Grayling - circa 10-12oz. 10 Brownies - most around 12oz with a couple much bigger to 2½lb.
Pleasant mornings trotting despite the wind and I also had a couple of fruitless hours ledgering meat - without a touch (not even from the crayf
