River Kennet - Padworth
1800 - 2300
Warm(ish) and overcast. River very low.
7 Chub; a couple circa 1lb, the rest half that size. 3 Roach, 2 Dace & 3 Perch.
Another barbel blank on what used to be called barbel alley - preceded by a blank saving trotting session before it got dark - nice to see a few small chub - shows there's been some recruitment recently.
Jubilee Lake - Thatcham.
1800 - 0600
Cool, clear night with a bright ¾moon for the first half. Still 10ºC when I packed up so nowhere near as cool as forecast -had my rarely used thermal one piece on and was actually too hot for most of the night!
5 Carp; all between 5-8lb. 1 Tench; 4lb 0oz. 2 Roach, 4 Perch.
Probably last night of the summer - and it got off to a very slow start - no bites at all before midnight - thankfully the second half was a bit more livelier. Was hoping to
NAA Stillwater - Thatcham.
1800 - 0600
Warm, still night.
2 Carp; 4½lb and another barely a lb. 1 Roach: 12oz and 1 Perch.
Another quiet night - though in truth as I was after one of the lakes few large crucians I wasn't too surprised by the lack of action!
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1800 - 2300
Warm, overcast, very muggy with occasional light drizzle. Still 19ºC when I packed up!
2 Bream - a couple of ounces either side of 4lb.
Lovely evening to be out - wished I could have stayed longer! Both fish within 10 mins of each other just as it got properly dark at 2130.
NAA Stillwater - Widmead
1800 - 0600
Breezy with heavy showers up to midnight, cool and clear there after.
3 Carp; 8lb 1oz, 7lb 10oz, 3½lb.
Another slow night on the lakes - again nothing in the margins - all bites on pellet.
River Kennet/Carrier, Marsh Benham
0900 - 1300
Warm, muggy and overcast. River low.
8 Chub; a 3lber and 7 chublets, 30+ roach, a doz dace, 5 perch, 2 bleak and a 3½lb rainbow.
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
1830 - 2130
Warm and overcast - with a couple of very light showers. River low.
2 Chub - both circa 2lbs. 3 Dace. 1 Grayling. 4 Brownies to 1lb+
Trotting/barbel session cut short! Started in a couple of banker chub swims - hoping for something bigger than actually turned up. Once I settled down over my ledgering rods things got err interesting! Was watching a pair of swans and their 6 cygnets slowly making there way upstream when suddenly the cob shot h
Harris Lake, Marsh Farm, Milford
1900 - 0900
Clear cool night, down to 9ºC. Not a great night for spotting Perseids due to the near full moon - still spied a few really bright ones however!
12 Tench; All over 3lb with 3 over 4 - best 4lb 12oz. 10 Cruicans; 4 over 2lb, best 2 - 2lb 8oz & 2lb 7oz. A doz rudd, half a dozen roach and 2 perch.
Busy night as nearly all wish during hours of darkness - and all bar 2 on the float. Chopped prawn again ac
Jubilee Lake - Thatcham
1800 - 0600
Warm overcast night - despite the forecast which predict a cool night - temp didn't drop below 13ºC.
2 Carp; 8lb 5oz & 6lb 7oz. 1 Bream 6lb 8oz.
Slow, slow night. Venue was VERY busy with lots of noise on the bank meant I didn't get a solitary bite all night on my margin rod - and fishing at range wasn't much better. All fish on pellet (was alternating with boilies).
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1800-2300
Coolish - with a heavy shower.
4 Bream; all between 2lb 12oz & 3lb 8oz, 1 Roach 1lb 2oz (!!), 2 Perch.
Still no tench from here this summer - but the bream as ever were very obliging and the roach was a real surprise - first redfin I've had from here in ages and it was a real beauty!
River Kennet - Newbury
0500 - 1200
Cool(ish) and cloudy with drizzly rain for last 30 mins.
2 Chub; both circa 1¼lb. 3doz+ Dace, 1½doz Roach, 1 Gudgeon and 5 Brownies - 3 over 1lb.
Morning trotting session on 2 venues a couple of miles apart before the rains came. Chub from each (was hoping for better on that front) and plenty of silver fish.
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
0500 - 0830
Cool (9/10ºC), clear and misty. River up a couple of inches.
3 Chub: 4lb 15oz, 2lb 14oz, 1lb 8oz. 20 Dace and half a dozen brownies to circa 1lb.
Pre breakfast trotting trip - and another fine chub from here - and many of the dace were a good size too - biggest I put on the scales went 10oz with another ½ doz not much smaller.
River Kennet - Nr Newbury
1800-2330
Overcast and breezy - river low despite recent rains.
1 Bream; 3lb 5oz, 6 Dace and a brownie of about a lb.
Another blank barbel session preceded by an hour or so on the float. Did at least get a rattle on the ledger rods this time - but it turned out to be a surprise bream (from a very fast bit of water too). Shortly after this capture an otter surfaced right over my baits - putting paid to any further bites from anything apart from sig
Northcroft Stream
0445 - 0715
Warm (19ºC when I packed up) and overcast.
2 Chub 3lb 15oz & 1½lb. 2 doz + dace, 6 roach and 6 gudgeon.
Pre breakfast trotting trip - mainly after the chub - though I did hear of a few barbel coming out on the float from here last summer - which would have made a very nice bonus - alas not to be! Nearly all the silver fish from the weirpool - both chub further downstream.
Alders Lake
2000 - 2330
Warm, overcast with a bit of a breeze.
3 Bream; 4lb 7oz & 2lb 14oz X 2 (possibly same fish!)
Had planned an evening on Willows - float fishing the margins in the hope of snaffling one of the lake's big crucians - but the ducks and geese were a total pain in the wotsits! Ducks constantly swimming through my line and making a beeline for my swim from all points of the compass whenever any bait hit the water - geese too - but they then decided to co
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
1800 - 2300
Overcast and breezy temps around 16ºC. River low(ish) and very coloured (height of the boating season )
1 Chub; 2lb 7oz. 10 Dace & 2 Roach.
First attempt at a barbel this summer - but of course I started off with a trotting rod for an hour or so. Chub pretty much first cast which got the evening off nicely but as soon as I switched to the lead it was crayfish all the way!
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1800 - 2300
Warm, overcast and quite breezy at times. Temp still 19ºC when I packed up.
5 Bream; best 2, 4lb 15oz & 4lb 6oz.
A busy little session with loads of activity, bream porpoising, liners etc. All fish on float fished maggot - lift method - yet again meat garnered zero interest. Still no sign of any tench.
A trip to the Middle Severn on a quest for big roach. I stayed in a B&B at Bewdley for 2 nights. On Sunday night I fished the Northbrook stretch on the BAA ticket, and got off to a good start with a lovely roach that tipped the scales at exactly 1lb. Bait was ledgered 8mm pellet No other bites, though, which turned out to be a bit of a theme for the couple of days.
On Monday morning I went to visit Arley, 3 miles north, which is a bit of a mecca - but I think mainly for barbel anglers.
Alders Lake - Thatcham
1800 - 2200
3 Bream; Biggest 3lb 10oz. 3 Perch - one of about 10oz and 2 tiddlers.
First of what will be a series of evening sessions here this summer after the bream and (hopefully) tench. All fish on maggot despite fishing for half he time with meat.
7-10pm local lake
My aim was to catch roach on 8mm pellets. I started using a float with the bait mid water and caught 6 roach and rudd up to 6 oz or so in the first hour, but decided the bigguns weren't around. So I switched to feeder. No roach at all, but a 2lb 4oz perch would-yer-believe-it, and a carp of about 15lb which took an age to land on the light tackle. I didn't have adequate scales to weigh it.
River Kennet/Carrier, Marsh Benham
1000 - 1230
Overcast, warm and breezy.
A brace of 3lb chub and a dozen chublets. 18 Roach, all small. 6 Dace, 1 Perch, 1 Brownie and 1 Rainbow.
A venue that will see more of me in the winter months when there's a bit more water in it - but as I now have unfettered access wanted to see it in its summer finery!! had been told to expect lots of weed - but still found plenty of spots to drop into. Was hoping to pick u
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
0900 - 1200
Much cooler than of late 'only' 20ºC.
1 Chub; 2lb 2oz, 4 Dace & 4 Brownies.
Just a short session today as work is interrupting my week off! (but in a good way - off to an awards ceremony soon - http://www.hpma.org.uk/awards/awards-ceremony fingers crossed we win!) This wasn't so much as a trotting session as a trek with full pack! My pedometer recorded that I covered 3.8km as a searched (and generally fai
River Kennet - Nr Thatcham
0445 - 1200
Hot! 17º at 0430 when I left the house 31º when I got home. River quite coloured as it always is in summer and at near normal summer levels.
7 Chub: 5lb 10oz, 5lb 4oz, 4lb 7oz, 4lb 2oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 8oz, 2lb 15oz. 4 Dace, 2 Grayling, 10 Brownies - half over 1lb to 1lb 9oz.
Standing in the middle of the Kennet watching the sunrise on a warm, still June morning whilst trotting under the far bank trees - what's
