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30 January (Part 2)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1300 - 1400 Mild and overcast. AT 7ºC River very high and clear, but down a few inches on last week. 1 Chub 3lb 10oz. Bit of a recce to see if I could actually access the river. Pleased to say I could (just), so it would have been churlish not to have a few minutes with my grayling gear. One bite, one fish - normal service is resumed!!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

30 January (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0900 - 1200 Mild and overcast. 7ºC. River very high. 1.85 on the Shaw gauge upstream. Clear as always though. 12 Grayling with half over a lb. Biggest two 1lb 10oz & 1lb 6oz.. 4 Brownies a 'pounder' and 3 parrs. Usual catch a couple and move on tactics - waders needed to get access to most swims. The Lambourn has been very slow to run off after hitting record levels at the beginning of the month it has 'only' dropped 20cm (the Kennet has dropped 4
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

26 January

River Kennet -Speen Moors 0900 -1200 Bright and sunny and quite breezy. At 6º-9ºC. River gin clear but still in the fields here and breaching the banks at multiple points -  highest I've seen it this winter but it has still dropped considerably looking at the state of the fields surrounding. Found some dead, stranded fish in the field between the two weirs ☹️. They were quite decomposed, but looked like trout parr.  1 Roach (small). 1 Brownie - 4lb 14oz (yes I actually weighed a t
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

24 January

Middle Kennet - Marsh Benham 1000 - 1400 Mild with milky sunshine and very windy (remnants of Storm Jocelyn). AT 9-12ºC. River very high with a hint of colour after recent rains. 3 Chub: 2lb 11oz, 3lb 10oz, 4lb 5oz. 1 Roach - c6-8oz. Long walk to fish the south bank of the main river of my syndicate stretch paid off with 3 nice chub. Started with the roach with the 4lber next cast. Resting and returning resulted in winkling out another two - with the added bonus of no trout s
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

22.1.24 - Treoes

My first trip out since consecutive blanks a week ago. After a few nights of freezing temperatures, storm Isha piled through yesterday, strewing my recycling all round the garden, but melting the ice on the lake top.  It was still pretty windy, so I sat in the west corner and let it blow over my head. Knowing the water temperature to be pretty chilly, I kept it light and small, float fishing a single piece of corn on a size 18 1.5 rod lengths out. I slobbed in a walnut-sized lump of groundb
Chris Plumb's Blog

19 January

River Frome - Wool 0830 - 1400 Cold with  unbroken bright sunshine. AT when I started was -6ºC warming to a balmy 5ºC when I packed up. River high - barely within its banks, VERY pacey and quite clear (though not as clear as the Kennet ATM!). 1.36m on the East Stoke river gauge (highest I've ever fished the Frome). 7 Grayling: the two that went on the scales went 1lb 13oz & 1lb 6oz the others all around 12oz. 1 Sea trout - circa 2lb +. The river gauges on the Frome have b
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

17 January

River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse stretch) 0900 - 1200 Cold, calm & cloudy. AT -2º - +1ºC. River very pacey and crystal clear. 2 chub: 4lb 1oz & 3lb 7oz. 1 Brownie: 2lb+. This is rapidly becoming my new favourite winter venue! Started in my '5lber swim' but couldn't get a bite which was repeated in my next 2 swims which produced the silvers on previous trips. So more in hope than expectation I went exploring further swims. The river is fairly featureless so I was loo
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

1 - 15.1.24 - Treoes & The Fendrod

January 23 was a time of short mid-winter trips to Marsh Benham to plunder its chub and a great many fat trout. This year in South Wales, we sadly have no such river within 30 miles radius (well, none that are not fly fishing only or seen devoid of fish) so it's lakes for me with their inherent poor behaviour in cold weather combined with my lack of ability. 1.1 - Treoes. Scaled down on the tackle and winkled out 4 bream, the biggest of 3lb 2. 5.1 - Treoes. Having spent the cold evenin
Chris Plumb's Blog

9 January

Middle Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham. 0930 - 1430 Cold, cloudy to start clearing to bright winter sunshine. AT 1º-3ºC but feeling MUCH colder in a biting North-Easterly wind. River VERY high - clearly down a few inches on the last couple of days based on all the debris on the bank but still higher by far on my last trip here - gin clear however. 2 Chub: 3lb 2oz, 2lb 13oz. 7 Brownies 2-3½lb. Started on the south bank of the main river with trotted red corn - which met
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

4 January (Part 2)

River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse) 1330 - 1430 Started raining the second I cast out and got progressively heavier - blowing in my face so becoming deeply unpleasant!! AT 5ºC. River bank high, really pushing through and very coloured up. 1 Chub 5lb 10oz (!) Well, as I was parked around the corner for my Lambourn jaunt I thought I'd at least have a look at the slack that produced my SB chub last week. With more water and a LOT more colour it didn't look at all promising - but
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

4 January 2024 (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0930 - 1300 Cool and bright to start - clouding over. AT 5ºC. River VERY high (1.78m on the Shaw river gauge) I donned thigh waders and needed them to get to most swims I fished!! 19 Grayling: 9 over lb - best two; 1lb 10oz & 1lb 8oz. 4 Trout - all small/parrs. I usually like to start the New Year with a chub but on a recce yesterday I deemed the Kennet unfishable (I was wrong - see part 2!) so opted for the Lambourn as a safer bet. All my usual h
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

2023 - My Year End Summary

The end of another year, the fourth after my 20 year+ hiatus from the sport that has totally recaptured me like a gudgeon to a pinkie. July 2023 brought a move from Berkshire to Wales and a completely different set of options. Beach fishing has come into the equation (something I really haven’t got to grips with yet) but my nearest coarse fishing river is an almost implausible 45 mins drive away - too far – and even that seems devoid of fish. So a largely disappointing year for me, in angling te
The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

29.12.23 - Treoes

A last session of the year at my default lake.  A fun trip, though thank goodness for bream. After a slow start a shoal found me, and in groups of two or three I ended up wit eleven, ten of which came in between 1lb and 4lb 4. With a bonus carp of 6lb 6 and the rain keeping off me all day, I would have settled for this before hand.
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Treoes lake

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Chris Plumb's Blog

29 December (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon 'Flowing' canal - Thatcham 1345 - 1545 Bright and breezy. AT 8ºC. River very full with a tinge of colour. 14 Roach. 1 Dace. All small. Another rarely visited swim which can be very hit or miss - usually miss - but which I knew would be a large slack on a flooded river. Lots of silvers in residence but no signs of anything bigger.  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

29 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse) 0900 - 1300 Bright and breezy with heavy showers. AT 8ºC. River very pacey with a tinge of colour. 1 Chub: 5lb 14oz. 9 Roach - all a 'nice' size - the one I deemed worthy of the scales went 14oz - with all the others around half that! 2 Dace - small. A quick return to my pre-Christmas venue. When I walked back to my car last week I spied a slack which simply screamed 'here be chub' and I wasn't wrong! First trot through the float buried at
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

21 December (Part 2)

River Kennet - Newbury ('Whitehouse' stretch) 1230 - 1430 Mild, overcast and windy. AT 12ºC. River full and clear. 8 Roach - all quite chunky - in the 6-10oz class. 1 Dace: a good-un - worthy of the scales at 13oz. Been yonks since I last fished here - but rumours of good silver fish catches (including big dace) had me investigating on a recent visit to B&Q and vowing to return with rod in hand. Had originally intended to fish down the length of the Lambourn again - but i
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

21 December (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0900 - 1200  Mild, overcast and very windy due to Storm Pia - some swims had some jeopardy due to falling branches! AT 11º/12º. River very high and clear. 1.67m on the Shaw gauge. 8 Grayling: half over a lb - best 1lb 11oz. 3 Brownies - all small/parrs. Bit of a 'scratchy' morning with most of my more reliable swims hardly producing a bite. Think all the extra water has pushed the fish into some unlikely spots. Eventually found some fish and had 4 fro
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

18.12.23 - Aberavon Beach

With rain due this afternoon and the tides in the right direction, I headed for the local beach. A steady sou' westerly was driving quite a surf and being a newbie at this sea fishing lark, I don't yet know if the cold-water fish come as near to the shore as the summer bass do. Anyway, I cast as far as the wind and my poor technique would allow into the meaty waves. At least with the tide coming in, the bait (a two-hook flapper rog, one holding a sandeel, the other a bit of squid) would eff
Chris Plumb's Blog

18 December

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0845 - 1400 Mild and overcast - quite breezy. AT 10º-12ºC. River VERY high, up another 3 or 4 inches on last month and with a hint of colour. 4 Chub: 2lb 14oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 3oz, 1lb 10oz. 4 Roach, 3 Dace, 1 Perch (all small). 1 Brownie 4½lb Morning got off to a cracking start with all four chub caught in the first ½hour - then switched to a slack on the weir-pool that has been throwing up nice perch all autumn - but they weren't in residence - thou
Chris Plumb

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15 December (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 1400 - 1600 Cool, calm with some milky sunshine. AT 7ºC 10 Perch; most quite small - with one good-un @ 2lb 4oz. 1 Pike c2½lb Successful dusk session after a big stripey, in a canal basin that is something of a winter aquarium - for predators and prey - as evidenced by a couple of the club's seasoned match anglers who were also fishing it when I arrived. They kindly let me drop in above them - and I was quickly having problems with pike - I g
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

15 December (Part 1)

Middle Kennet (& Carrier), Marsh Benham 0900 -  1315 Cool, calm and cloudy - a lovely benign winter's day. AT 5º-7ºC. River very full and clear - though down a couple of inches on 10 days ago. 2 Chub: 3lb 5oz & 2lb 7oz. 3 Brownies; 2½-3½lb. I had a cunning plan for today - return to the south bank flood slack I found last week - pre-bait with copious amounts of red sweetcorn and empty the swim of big winter chub - or at least that was how it played out in my imaginati
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Chris Plumb's Blog

13 December

River Lambourn - Shaw 0930 - 1330 Cool, overcast and drizzly. AT 6ºC. River full and clear. 1.68m on the Shaw river gauge. 6 Grayling - a couple of 'pounders' - biggest 1lb 6oz, 3 around 8-10oz and a tiddler. 12 Brownies - all small/parrs. I had planned to fish the Kennet today - but another 14mm of rain yesterday will have completely stuffed up even my most favoured flood swims. Somewhat of a scratchy morning - largely failing to avoid the small trout which were everywhere.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker

8 & 11.12 - Treoes lake

Having abandoned any further 1hr 40 minute round trips to my 'local' river which seemingly holding no fish, and my very local Port Talbot Docks mysteriously having last week closed to all further fishing, it's my usual lake again. Friday. With the frosts a few days past now I was hoping the fish will have woken up hungry. Well, they sort of had. Got a handful of roach and bream, but in heavy rain did get a bonus 13lb 6 Common. Monday. A chilly but often sunny day. I chose to sit on the
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Treoes lake

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