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Rusty's Blog

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Entries in this blog

A double header

River Kennet, Thursday 8th & Friday 9th September 2011   With the lack of fishing in recent weeks I decided to take a couple of days off work and visit some venues which haven’t received much attention from me in the past. I suppose you’d call them barbel venues, they’re certainly popular with the static bait brigade during late afternoon and evenings but rarely do you see a ‘pin user during daylight hours. With little knowledge of either venue these were definitely recce trips and very w

Rusty

Rusty

It was a nice walk I suppose

Kennet & Avon Canal (felt like most of it), Saturday 29th October 2011   Well that was a bit of a disappointment, having convinced myself of the merits of dropshotting I felt pretty certain that the method fished with lobs would be a killer for perch on the canal. The forecast was perfect and, crucially, I’d managed to get up early enough to be at my parking spot before first light, well before as it happened.   I sat in the car wondering what to do, it was too dark to fish but I didn’

Rusty

Rusty

A change of scene (not by much though)

River Kennet, Friday 2nd December 2011   It’s been three weeks since I’ve been fishing, the last time that happened was when I couldn’t drive back in the summer…..I was beginning to get a hankering again.   Steve and I met up at Happy Tony’s Angling Emporium as he was unlocking the shop. Bait bought we thought about where to go, the options were numerous, any NAA stretch of the Kennet was within easy reach as was the Lambourn but eventually we decided upon exchanging our tickets for a sess

Rusty

Rusty

Post Christmas perching

K&A Canal, Monday 26th December 2011   This was just a short morning session along the canal with a pot of lobs and ½ a pint of maggots. My attempt at an ambitious Christmas dinner hadn’t gone well the previous day and whilst I was keen to fish I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of time in the kitchen to figure out why my orange sauce didn’t taste of oranges despite being loaded with Cointreau.   In terms of the fishing there’s not much to report. It’s a long stretch and condition

Rusty

Rusty

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

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

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

A grand day out

River Kennet, Newbury, Sunday 19th February 2012   If you haven’t yet read Chris Plumb’s account of his fantastic day I suggest you do before you read this somewhat more humble tale.   A couple of mere mortals presented with an entire lower beat of an iconic fishery with nobody else there, blimey this was a bit daunting. I‘ve been on a few of these days out now and whilst I have some [limited] knowledge of the upper beat I’ve never fished downstream. I was in two minds about it to be hones

Rusty

Rusty

Wingham 2012

Wingham Fish-in, 19th, 20th & 21st May 2012   Well here I am again, having speculatively put my name down for a place on this year’s event you could’ve blown me down with a feather when Steve replied in the affirmative.   My 2011 experience at Wingham was invaluable in deciding what to take this year, I was able to pare down the gear to the bare minimum and plan cooking activities a little better. My tactics would remain as last year with corn on the hook and a mixture of liquidised b

Rusty

Rusty

Still barbelless

River Kennet, Thatcham, Tuesday/Wednesday 19th & 20th June 2012   A combined blog entry for these two trips because the days were remarkably similar, same weather, same swim, same method, same end result!   This is a Thatcham Angling Association venue and it’s the main the reason I joined up. It really is the club’s jewel in the crown and the relationship with the landowner and residents is managed very carefully in order to retain the fishing rights. There are strict rules governing i

Rusty

Rusty

Barton Court Trip

River Kennet, Barton Court, Wednesday 14th November 2012   My second trip this year, the last was in January when the water levels were very low and I was concerned about the fishery's future given that spring and summer were to follow. I needn’t have worried, levels are now at the highest I’ve ever seen (apart from when the fishery flooded) and it’s not a mud coloured mess either, it was in perfect condition. The sluices were sluicing and the network of carriers and side streams were all flo

Rusty

Rusty

Goodbye snow!

River Kennet, Newbury, Saturday 26th January 2013.   It was nice to get out after a week of me working from home and a boiler working overtime to keep me warm. The said heating device caused a mild panic attack when it failed to do its job one morning. Only after I'd phoned British Gas and several other unavailable heating specialists did I discover that there'd been a power cut overnight and I simply needed to re-set the heating timer. Ever felt stupid?   The venue was a short club stretch

Rusty

Rusty

That's more like it

The penultimate blog entry for this season recounting two trips to the Kennet, one venue a day ticket water between the months of October and March the other a last minute invitation to fish a Middle Kennet Estate.   Barton Court, Tuesday 12th March 2013   A long arranged trip with Paul, a work colleague who’s just bought himself an Okuma Sheffield and he was keen to try it out. Although we both had the week off Paul was limited to the day he could fish, Tuesday it was come rain or shine. We

Rusty

Rusty

I've lost my hat!

River Kennet, Monday 17th June 2013   My seasoned old Barbour Bushman lovingly waxed over the past three years has gone. It usually lives in the boot of my car but because I haven’t been fishing for a while I hadn’t noticed that it had vanished. A new one is on its way to me but it won’t be the same…sniff sniff.   So [hatless] my plan was implemented, Speen Moors for chub then further downstream for trotting and if energy permitted the day would end on the canal for perch.   As expected Sp

Rusty

Rusty

Finishing unfinished business

Kennet & Avon Canal, Tuesday 29th December 2015   Today’s session was just to round off Sunday’s trip when I didn’t make the planned dusk perch assault. With the forecast looking a bit wet for the next couple of days I thought I’d better get on the bank while I could do so dry and relatively warm, a bonus was that the recent strong winds had abated so I was looking forward to a flat calm canal and easy casting. 90 minutes fishing may not seem very long when it involves a 30 mile round trip

Rusty

Rusty

Birthday bash

River Lambourn, Newbury, Wednesday 13th January 2016   ”Hello mate, happy birthday, I hope you’re out fishing somewhere, I would be”. I wasn’t out fishing, I was at work at 9:00am trying to figure out why I was listening to Steve’s voicemail message and had missed the original call. My Windows phone has a mind of its own.   Steve had made a good point and after a quick conversation with my boss I was heading back down the M4 towards London wondering where to fish (I hadn’t been sacked). The

Rusty

Rusty

First Entry

Welcome, thought I'd give this blog thing a try for the 2009/10 winter season. I have high hopes having joined a couple of associations with access to some of the best river fishing in the area (the country?). We'll see how that pans out but first I need to sort out a very lightweight and portable means of cooking hot food, over the coming months I'll be spending a lot of time roving in the cold.

Rusty

Rusty

Third Time Lucky

River Kennet, Newbury, Sunday 22nd November 2009.   Having tried twice in the past two weeks without success on this particular stretch I've finally managed to catch something.   A dawn raid saw me poised at a likely looking Perch swim waiting for sufficient light to see the float. Lowering in the lob about a rod length out produced a beautiful Perch of 1lb 5oz. A couple of smaller Perch followed until the sun came out about 08:45 at which point bites stopped.   Next to the Perch swim w

Rusty

Rusty

At Least I Stayed Dry

River Test, Timsbury, Sunday 29th November 2009   The annual Anglersnet visit to Timsbury stayed true to form, it rained frequently and heavily at times. My plan of stuffing everything into pockets and carrying only a rod & net worked a treat, my kit and bait remained dry throughout the day. It's surprising how little you really need to take with you for a days fishing.   The main river was well up and a sort of watery coffee colour, not good. The fast carrier looked perfect and the sl

Rusty

Rusty

The Quest Continues

River Kennet, Newbury, Monday 30th November 2009   This venue continues to deny me a chub and today it almost denied me any fish (again).   I couldn’t make an early start today and arrived at the venue at about 10:00am. Too late for perch really (and I was after chub) but it was overcast and so I thought it was worth a try before the chub search. A big lob was dangled into a close swim that had produced last time out, this time though a couple of missed bites and that was it. An hour later

Rusty

Rusty

More Frustration

River Kennet, Newbury, Thursday 17th December 2009   Today I was able to make an early start and so armed with lobs and maggots I arrived well before dawn (and questioned the wisdom of not having a head torch). The plan was to fish for Perch where I’d previously caught and when light levels increased I’d head off and search for Chub. Of course if the Perch continued to feed as it got lighter I’d continue to fish for them. Sadly this wasn’t the case, in fact they didn’t even start feeding wher

Rusty

Rusty

A Change of Scenery

River Lambourn, Newbury, Sunday 20 December 2009   Over confidence has a habit of slapping you in the face and today it did just that. I could only spare a few hours out on what was probably going to be my last trip this year, I wanted to catch something and the Lambourn Grayling have been kind to me in the past.   Generally I’ll trot red maggot but today I chose to try the killer bait (according to everybody else) sweetcorn. The EA are working on my favoured Swan stretch so off I went to

Rusty

Rusty

Fortune Favours the Stubborn

River Lambourn, Newbury, Monday 28 December 2009   A bonus trip out on account of brownie points gained (so far) over the Christmas period. Arrived about 10:00am so as to avoid rod rings icing, they still did though until about 10:30am when the sun got its act together.   Sweetcorn was the bait again but this time it was an altogether more successful session. This bait has at last proved to me that Grayling are fond of it, less pleasing is that Trout like it too but right now it’s a case o

Rusty

Rusty

Cheerio 2009

River Lambourn, Newbury, Thursday 31 December 2009   What with being off work this past week I’d actually forgotten that yesterday was New Year’s Eve so it was with some guilt that I set off for a few hours trotting. My heart wasn’t really in it so I didn’t bother to buy any maggots, just grabbed a can of sweetcorn and off I went.   Had the venue to myself and was able to roam searching out the Grayling. A couple of small ones obliged and a brownie of about ½ pound also found the corn hard

Rusty

Rusty

Wish I'd stuck to my original plan

River Kennet, Newbury, Saturday 2 January 2010   Today has been one of the most demoralising sessions I can remember. Not just because I blanked but because everything that could go wrong did.   Firstly my plan was to switch stretches of the Kennet. I haven’t fished any TAA waters since joining NAA and so I was going to rectify that on a nice bit of shallow river where I’ve had good days before. Maggots bought I changed the plan (heaven knows why) and headed off to an NAA stretch. On tryin

Rusty

Rusty

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