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tomhaggett's Blog

Just another day in my life..

18th Jan - Speen Moors and the K&A canal.   After rekindling my interest in fishing the rivers and fishing a few sessions on a stretch that I'm familiar with I decided to give Speen a shot. Having read a fair bit about it in Chris and Rusty's respective blogs I decided to take a loaf of bread and wander around to get an idea of the swims etc.   Things didn't start ideally... I'd loaded up with tackle after baiting a few swims and just two steps from the car I slipped and ended up with
tomhaggett

tomhaggett

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Chris Plumb's Blog

4 February

River Kennet Newbury   0800 - 1045   COLD and clear. AT -9ºC when I drove off confirmed by a reading of 16ºF when I arrived on the bank. WT a balmy 35ºF - coldest day I think I have ever been fishing. However dressed appropriately and standing IN the river for warmth I was really quite toasty apart form the thumb and index finger on my right hand -which kept 'sticking' to the metal of my Witcher. Thought that frozen rings would be a mare but in fact the water froze on the
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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The Flying Tench's Blog

Lambourn 30.1.12

Quite cold (AT 3degC dropping to 0degC). I decided to have a crack at ledgering for grayling. The main reason was so I could have gloves on to keep my little handy pandies warm, but I also wondered if I'd be able to get a bait into one or two places that my trotting skills aren't adequate to reach.   I'm aware that some anglers reckon you shouldn't ledger for grayling because of the risk of them swallowing the hook, but I tried it a few years ago on a different river and didn't have any probl
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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AddictedToScopex's Blog

Sunday 29 January, Nippy Pike

A long time since I last got round to making a blog entry. Today saw me make a snap decision to scrap the gym session in favour of picking the spinning rod up and heading for the canal for a spot of lure fishing.   I headed down to my usual stretch in the hope that I could extend my knowledge about it and try and find some perch swims ready for the warmer weather. I decided to begin at the bridge where I had caught my perch on the drop shotting gear and work my way back down towards preston.
AddictedToScopex

AddictedToScopex

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Rusty's Blog

After the Lord Mayor's Show

River Thames, Saturday 28th January 2012   “One bite is all it takes”; “I missed a couple of bites”   How often have you read those words in any angler’s account of his fishing day? I’ve written the latter a few times and glibly dismissed them as lost opportunities but driving home after today’s blank I thought about it a bit more. On Thursday I had just one bite and as a result I could take photos of a monstrous chub, everything was good in the world. Tonight I had two bites and didn’t c
Rusty

Rusty

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Chris Plumb's Blog

28 January

River Lambourn - Newbury   0800 - 1130   Cool and Overcast. 2-5ºC. River low, VERY low for late January.   26 Grayling; 10 over 1lb(!). Best 2 both 1lb 10z.   Change of plan due to footy being re-arranged for this afternoon had pencilled in a Speen session. Scratchy sort of morning until I found a shoal of nice, feeding, grayling - had only caught 7 by 1030 - so had a manic last hour (from the same spot too!)
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Rusty's Blog

Lost for words

River Thames, Thursday 26th January 2012   A short late afternoon session only possible because the training I’d undertaken earlier in the day had finished sooner than anticipated. The course content was learning how to drive a 4x4 vehicle off road and the venue was Salisbury Plain so you can imagine that it had already been a really enjoyable day.   The plan was to ledger breadflake into dark for chub but I could get to the river with an hour of light left and so I decided to take the tro
Rusty

Rusty

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The Flying Tench's Blog

Benham Lock 23.1.12

I suffer from a weak back which limits how far I can walk, and have been looking for a good perch swim on the canal that doesn't involve too much of a walk. I decided to try out the far western end of a main NAA stretch which ends just below Benham lock. The main aim was reconnaisance, but I took my tackle along. Hmm, not ideal in my view. Although you can park near the canal, there were no near swims which looked to my non expert eye as being particularly perchy. Still, I walked as far as the n
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Chris Plumb's Blog

20 January

River Frome - Wool   0830 - 1645   Overcast, mild and breezey (rather too breezey at times). River clear and quite low.   16 Grayling; best 3 1lb 11oz, 1lb 10oz, 1lb 9oz. The rest mostly small. 5 Brownies - most small with a couple of pounders.   Ever since my first visit here in November I've been bending Paul's ear to come and join me - and the premise of a belated birthday trip was the perfect excuse. However work (his) threatened to get in the way and
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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tomhaggett's Blog

An introduction

Hello all,   I've only recently joined the forum but after becoming encompassed by Chris Plumb and Rusty's blogs I've decided that it would be nice to set up one of my own.   I guess to get the ball rolling I should set the scene a little.. I'm 23 years old, living in Wiltshire but doing most of my fishing in Berkshire, both on the Kennet and the surrounding lakes. I've been an angler around 15 years on and off, with the last 10 years or so seeing me on the bank at every opportunity.  
tomhaggett

tomhaggett

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The Flying Tench's Blog

Grayling 16.1.12

3.30-4.45pm Cold and bright, so a short grayling trip on the Lambourn. I took some sweetcorn along in the hope it would winkle out a pounder.   First cast in a swim I haven't found much use in the last couple of years, and a beautiful 1lb 3oz male grayling took my maggot as I was winding in. Perhaps he thought it was a nymph? Anyway, mission accomplished on first cast! Only the third pounder I've had.   Then pretty hopeless fishing by me, and too many tangles not helped by the cold. Just
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Chris Plumb's Blog

15 January

Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury   0900 - 1630   Frosty and bright, temps around 2-4ºC all day. River low and clear   8 Chub; 4 chublets and 4 over 2lb, biggest 5lb 6oz. 16 Dace; half over 8oz, biggest 13oz & 12oz. 3 Roach, biggest 1lb on the nose. 6 Brownies - biggest 2, 4¼ & 3¾lb.   NAA day on this lovely part of the Kennet so had to share the place with a couple of dozen other anglers! Highlight of the morning was seeing Rusty do an impersonation
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Rusty's Blog

A couple of fives

River Kennet, Sunday 15th January 2012   What a strange day this was, a pretty good one in terms of chub average weight but it was a day of two ends rather than of two halves.   My plan was to pitch up quiver tipping for the morning with breadmash for feed and flake on the hook, the afternoon was to be spent trotting a section I haven’t yet fished. I did wonder when I arrived at my chosen swim whether I’d be able to drag myself away later in the day but that decision could wait.    
Rusty

Rusty

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Rusty's Blog

Barton Court Trip

River Kennet, Barton Court, Friday 13th January 2012   My annual pilgrimage to the venue where I first used a ‘pin and where I first untangled a birdsnest, the two events occurred within seconds of each other if I remember correctly. That was about three years ago and at that time the fishery was still producing a good selection of coarse fish but since then most of my visits have resulted in trout getting to the bait first. When booking the day I was told that the grayling and roach were mak
Rusty

Rusty

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Rusty's Blog

First chub (and perch) of the year

River Kennet, Brimpton, Sunday 8th January 2012   Bit of a backup session this, plans to fish another venue were postponed until this coming Sunday so I needed somewhere else to go. Disappointing but not all bad news, it’s only a few fences, signs and a river keeper’s shotgun which separate that bit of the Kennet from the other sections after all.   Trotting maggot for chub would be the plan and the swim was to be at the far end of the fishery, a spot where I’d caught previously (the only
Rusty

Rusty

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The Flying Tench's Blog

No perch 9.1.12

3.15 - 4.45pm   A mild day and nice grey cloud so decided to try for perch. I have identified several swims which I'd like to try, but most of them involve a walk, and I decided to wait till my back improves. So I went to a fallen tree in the town centre which looked ideal as I reckoned I could cast to the slack water at the upstream end of the tree, and leave the float there a bit (though on reflection I've never caught a perch in the slack water at the upstream end - would be interested in
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Rusty's Blog

A big fat non-blank!

River Lambourn, Saturday 7th January 2012   Probably my best ever session at this venue in terms of numbers of fish caught. I’ve managed larger grayling elsewhere on this river but can’t remember the last time I accounted for 30 fish.   Usual MO, start at the top and work downstream expecting to catch a couple here and there. That’s how it panned out until I got towards the end of the first section where I found a slack water area right next to a fast glide, it was packed with grayling and
Rusty

Rusty

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Chris Plumb's Blog

7 January

River Kennet - Newbury   0830 - 1130.   Mild with broken cloud, 6º -> 9ºC. A lovely benign, winter's morning. River still on the low side - though up an inch or so and very clear - as it usually is in the winter. WT 46ºF - a little on the cool side for good sport - good thing no one told the fish!   4 Chub; 5lb 5oz, 3lb 11oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 2oz. 1 Barbel; 3lb 5oz. 1 Bream (!); 2lb 10oz. 19 Dace, most quite small with 2 or 3 nice ones, 2 Roach (1 a nice size, circa 8-10oz), 10 Gudgeon.  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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The Flying Tench's Blog

Are anglers mad? 2.1.12 2.45-3.30pm

Blue sky and cold. As others have observed, not the greatest. So I decided on a short session on the Lambourn after grayling - the less popular local bit as, being bank hol, I thought the other bit might be crowded.   It had clouded over by the time I got there, so hopes rose until I started to tackle up and a storm most foul erupted. Not a thunder storm, just a shower, but a fierce wind blew in my face and the combination of wet cold hands, wind, tangles etc defeated me. Are we anglers mad,
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Chris Plumb's Blog

2 January 2012 (A big fat Pike!)

River Kennet - Speen Moors   1230 - 1600   Bright and sunny start followed by a heavy shower. AT 5-7ºC. Forgot to take WT!   1 Pike; 15lb 3oz (!!!). 4 Perch 1lb 9oz and 3 smalluns. 2 Roach. 2 Dace. 8 Gudgeon.   Rather hoped that the weather would have held to what we'd had in recent days (mild and overcast). Bright sunshine and a sudden drop in temperature is not what the angler ordered and I ummed and ahhed all morning about whether or not to go. However
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Rusty's Blog

A big fat blank!

Speen Moors, Monday 2nd January 2012   Nothing to report fish wise but at least it saved me the tiresome task of uploading pics to photobucket. It used to be really quick and easy but these days it seems to take an age and more often than not it crashes before all pics have been uploaded.   Anyway, the banker swims didn’t produce and neither did a cracking looking new spot which caught my eye a couple of weeks back, I was ledgering bread again with the ‘pin and a couple of SSG for weight.
Rusty

Rusty

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Rusty's Blog

Cheerio 2011

You can guess where, Saturday 31st December 2011   The last session of this year and I look back on 2011 with mixed feelings. From a personal point of view the year could’ve been better but from an angling viewpoint it’s been fantastic.   Tenching started in April, fishing during the close season isn’t something that I normally do but I wanted to try bait and tactics in preparation for the Wingham trip. I had some success too with Tincas weighing 4lb 8oz and 5lb 7oz, monster fish for me;
Rusty

Rusty

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Rusty's Blog

Post Christmas perching (postscript)

River Thames, Goring, Thursday 29th December 2011   Just a quickie this one. I popped back to yesterday’s venue (now known to locals as Steve ‘n' Alex’s place) trying the ‘peak time’ trick, i.e. turn up just as the predators were about to feed and then go home an hour later with a fistful of 4lb perch photos. That didn’t happen I’m afraid, the tackle shop had no lobworms and I was down to my last ten rounds of ammo so I had to be conservative with them. As dusk approached I thought a bunch of
Rusty

Rusty

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