River Kennet - Nr Newbury
1830 - 2330
Overcast with drizzly showers. 14ºC. River quite low - needs a drop-o-rain!
5 Barbel (6lb 10oz, 6lb 2oz, 5lb 9oz, 4lb 3oz, 3lb 15oz), 1 Chub 1½lb
A return to the 'Fryingpan Swim'. 3 barbel in 1st 45 mins then 3 more fish between 21-2300.
River Kennet - Speen Moors
0630 - 1100
Bright sunshine after a cool and misty start. 5º -> 15ºC. River quite low.
1 Pike (5lb 14oz), 8 Chub (4lb 9oz & 7 chublets), 3 Perch (1lb12oz, 1lb 5oz and a smallun), 1½ doz roach, gudgeon and dace (mainly roach).
First session of the autumn hunting for big perch - though jacks and chub seemed to be occcupying their haunts from last year. All chub and the pike on lobs, most of the chublets were in th 12oz-1lb range - which is a good s
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
1845 - 2315
Cool and clear - high hazy cloud. Full moon. 15º -> 10ºC (But felt chillier with a very heavy dew!). River lower than I expected after the heavy rain last Friday.
2 Barbel (4lb 10oz, 4lb 7oz)
A return to the hotspot I discovered last autumn (see last seasons enteries for 29 Sep, 1 Oct & 15 Oct) - though not so much joy this time! Both fish at dusk - either side of 2000.
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
0930 - 1230
Overcast, 15ºC. River at 'normal' levels - carrying some colour after the recent heavy rains.
3 Barbel (6lb 13oz, 4lb 5oz, 3lb 11oz), 3 Chub (3lb 4oz, 2lb & a chublet)
Great session on trotted maggot - (and I also bumped a couple). Fed swim for ¾hr, then had all the fish in a little over an hour - no bites after 1130.
River Kennet nr Newbury
1915 - 2315
Very breezy, 15ºC, Drizzle for last ½hr. River down as low as I've seen it all summer (but still with good flow and a little colour).
7 Barbel, (8lb 4oz, 6lb 7oz, 6lb 2oz, 4lb 10oz, 4lb 4oz, 3lb 14oz, 3¼lb), Chub 3¼lb.
Fished a rarely visited swim - though it won't stay that way after last night's haul!!! 8lber first cast (and a frying pan 2nd cast - see picture!) - all fish in the first 3 hours - no bites after
Newbury AA Lake - Widmead
1900 - 0700
Warm and overcast, temp didn't get below 17ºC all night (Just as well as I'd forgotten my shelter AND thick shirt!)
2 Carp (10lb 9oz, 8lb 15oz), 2 Tench (5lb 6oz, 3lb), 2 Rudd & a perch.
Another slow night after tench in seemingly great conditions. Biggest carp early - on float fished meat other & tench on Method Feeder/Pellet.
River Kennet - Thatcham
1900 - 0000
Warm, overcast and breezy. 17ºC (even at Midnight!) River at normal levels.
Blanked
Lovely balmy evening to be by the river amongst the bats (the air was thick with them!!! ) Very frustrating swim this!! On my 1st ever visit in July 2004 I had 3 fish from it; 7+ Carp, 8+ barbel and my PB barbel of 12.04. Went back a fortnight later and had a 7+ barbel. Thought at the time I'd found a great little hotspot. However I returned twice more that seas
River Kennet - Nr Newbury
0600 - 1000
Bright and sunny under a cloudless sky (makes a change!) 8º ->15ºC. River at normal levels - a couple of inches down on a week ago.
2 barbel (1lb 7oz, 1lb3oz), 1 Chub (2lb), 4 doz Dace, 1 doz Roach, 4 Grayling, 4 Gudgeon, 1 Salmon Parr.
A morning's trotting - alledgedly for chub - and although I bumped a couple they weren't in a feeding mood - though a couple of baby barbel from the fast shallows were fun! All fish on trotted mag.
River Kennet - Nr Newbury
1900 - 0000
Windy - with frequent heavy showers for first couple of hours. Clearing to broken cloud and a (near) full moon. 15ºC. River carrying some colour after recent rain - no debris though.
3 Barbel (7lb7oz, 5lb 0oz, 3¾lb), 1 Chub (2¾lb), 1 Dace (on a 14mm Pellet hair-rigged to a size 8!!!)
Most fish caught during 1st couple of hours (Biggest barbel during the heaviest downpour - so got rather wet!). Only one fish after 2100 - smallest barbel at aro
Blue Pool - CEMEX Burghfield
1000 - 0900
Breezey with showers, cool night (down to 8ºC), bright morning.
1 Carp 27lb 6oz (new PB) 10 small perch.
Mini IAC fish-in. (Thanks to Neil). Though for a while it was nearly an IAC 'blank-in'!!! Only 2 carp caught between 7 of us, The other fish, (13lb14oz), to Neil. My fish came at 0400 and took a ball of hemp (stuck together with Kryston bogey) fished with a method feeder. Had been getting knocks on the
Newbury AA Lake - Widmead
1800 - 0500
Mainly cloudy - breezy at first. 20º - 13ºC
14 carp - (best 4; 10lb 5oz, 8lb 2oz, 7lb 15oz, 7lb 3oz all others in 5+ - 6+ bracket), 5 Bream (5lb 6oz, 5lb 2oz, 4lb 14oz, 4lb 2oz, 3lb 11oz), a doz rudd, roach and perch (mainly rudd).
A busy night!! Most carp on pellet, though had 4 carp and 4 of the bream on float fishing margin tactics - meat, corn and maggot all catching. Packed up at 1st light to beat the rain!
River Kennet - nr Thatcham
0700 - 1100
Sultry 17º - 21ºC. River in good flow with more ranunculus than I've seen on this stretch for 5+ years...
2 Barbel, 3lb14oz, 1lb 1oz (!), 1 chub 1½lb & 6 chublets, 1½ doz dace, 5 roach, 3 gudgeon.
Trotting session - all fish on single red maggot.
Newbury AA Lakes - Thatcham
0500 - 0900
Bright and sunny - warm (even at 0500) 15º - 19ºC
2 Carp (10lb exactly, 6lb 3oz) ½doz perch & roach
A frustrating morning chasing crucians - had big ones rolling in the swim but no hittable bites. Both carp in last ½ hour when I switched to floating bread in the margins just to get a bend in the rod!!!
River Kennet - Padworth
1900 - 2300
Clear, 19º->12ºC River with good flow and some colour.
Blanked!
A dozen other anglers on the venue when I arrived - so had no real confidence dropping into just about the only free swim. (I bet it was quieter at the weekend!) No sign of any fish - though very few others catching either....
Newbury AA Stillwater - Widmead
1900 - 0600
Mild (min16ºC) , overcast and drizzly - dry during dark hours, breezy. WT 19ºC
2 Carp (13lb 2oz, 8lb 14oz), 1 Tench (4lb 5oz), ½doz Perch - best 1lb 6oz.
Very quiet night - place seemed lifeless despite conditions seemingly being OK for fishing! My night was rescued by a busy hour just after midnight when I had all three fish. Tench on float fished meat both carp on pellet. Perch on maggot in the morning. Paul fared no better - a solita
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
1900 - 2330
Warm and overcast 19º ->17ºC. Shirtsleeves all eveing! River in good flow with some colour and little debris.
3 Barbel (6lb 13oz, 5lb 6oz, 4¼lb)
All fish caught between 2200 - 2230. No bites before or after ! Privileged to witness at very close quarters a Barn Owl hunting on the opposite bank then swooping over to 'quarter' the field behind me. Awesome sight - and more than made up for the 3 biteless hours. (1st sighting was shortly after
Newbury AA Stillwater - Widmead
0500 - 0900
Bright and breezy - water levels well up after yesterday's rain - and lake looked rather lifeless.
1 carp (4lb 13oz), 2 tench (2-3lb), 7 Perch (one of 1lb 6oz), 2 Roach (13oz & 1lb) (!), 3 Rudd.
Fished VERY,VERY tight to margins - hoping - in vain for a crucian. Most on meat - roach on floatfished bread.
Newbury AA Stillwater - Thatcham
0500-1100
Showery and breezy 15ºC
2 Carp (3-4lb), 2 Crucians (both circa 1¼lb), 1 Tench (scraper pounder), a dozen roach & perch.
Slow morning. Long periods without a bite interspersed with short bursts of activity - even struggled for bites on maggot at times. All fish caught float fishing
River Kennet nr Newbury
1830 - 2315
Dry, following afternoon rain - clearing skies 19ºC -> 12ºC (but felt cooler in the heavy dew!) River in good flow with some colour and debris free until the Canada Geese started feeding just upstream!!
3 Barbel (8lb 11oz, 5lb 14oz, 4¼lb), 2 Chub (5lb 1oz & 3lb 13oz).
Bigger chub 1st cast, biggest barbel 2nd cast! 2 smallest fish in last ½hr. 5lb chub - very lank and spawned out - will be MUCH bigger in the winter! All fish on pellet.