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About this blog

I started this blog in March 2021, having blanked in over half of my fifteen winter trips to various waters of Newbury Angling Association. The rivers, canals and lakes are fine, I'm just not very good at catching the fish in them. Oddly, i seemed to get a bit better for a while, but 2023 has undone all that. In July I moved to South Wales, not entirely for the weather, but to enforce a change in my fishing luck.

Entries in this blog

Willows

06 08 21 - Willows

Ooh lovely - air pressure falling (just) below 1,000mb brought the prospect of hungry fish with easing stomachs. (a) 6:45am til 11:30  One bite. Missed it. Mixed it up - fished far, fished close, swapped baits, loose fed. Nothing. (b) 11:30 - 2:30 - 5 carp. All in pristine condition. 5lb, 7lb 8, 5lb 10, 5lb 2. 8lb 14 and a bream, 4oz. Could barely put the rod down without knocks or line bites. (c) 2:30 - 4:45. - Not even a nudge The knack of angling is catching in sessions (a
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Dobsons

2021 07 24 - Dobsons

After yesterday's slowish day at Willows, I decided while driving down Muddy Lane to try and make my recent luck change and turned right to Dobsons. My favourite swim was free, and with the forecast rain and lower air pressure after the previous week's heatwave, the omens were good. The fish thought so too, at least in the first few hours, when my method feeder was hit hard six times to my right. Whilst I was snapped twice, the other four bites did not connect which made me question once ag
Alders

3.8.21 - Alders

Arrived at 3:30pm for my Tuesday evening fish to find the Willows/Alders carpark with just one space left. Willows was very busy, and though folk said they were catching, I opted for the always-quieter and beautiful looking Alders, which had just the two anglers fishing. As it was hot and sunny, I gave it a couple of hour on the method feeder (no bites) before switching to float and starting to ping in the maggots, as demonstrated to me by the Welshman last Saturday who I watched pull out tench
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Alders

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Alders

31.7.21 - Alders

I spent the first willing my rod tip to tremble while listening to fish after fish being pulled in at the next swim. I walked around to see if he was using magic beans for bait and met a charming Welshman who clearly knew his stuff. He told me there was little point legering against the central lily pads, no matter how accurate my casting had been to get it there, as these grew on a submerged island not far below the surface where as the fish were feeding at the bottom of the slope leading
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Alders

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Willows

2021 07 30 - Willows

Storm Evert? Pah! It was as still as can be when I arrived at 5:45am. But by 8, the aspen tree was shimmering its leaves in the increasing wind and by 11 I was struggling to lash the brolly to my seat as incoming rain hit me horizontally. With the air pressure falling below 1,000mb anticipation was higher than ever, and the fish pretty much obliged, in the morning anyway. Mirrors of 4lb 12 and 5lb 6, a 1lb tench and commons of 9lb 8, 7lb 12 and 6lb were all most welcome. Come  midday howeve
Willows

2021 07 27 - Willows

Lovely to sit in the southerly breeze after last weeks heatwave, and even better to completely miss all of the threatened showers that scudded by. I tackled up where I thought the wind would be blowing the fish towards me under the surface chop, but nobody sent them the memo. Nothing for over two hours, then in a millisecond, the world went from silence to chaos as the rod reared into the air and the tip bent round like an Allen key as the alarm screamed out in, erm, alarm. Whatever had tak
Willows

23.7.21 - Willows

My anticlimactic July continues. At least it was only 25 degrees rather than the 30 of the last 7 consecutive days. I should have known it would be tough when I tackled up and made my first cast to find I'd not threaded the top two rod rings. Sounds incredulous, but in my defence I was being attacked by early morning mosquitoes and was bitten several times in the process before running back to the car for the Deet. There were tempting patches of feeding fish bubbles before 8am, and I was
Hambridge

22.7.21 - River Kennet - Hambridge

A bonus 75 mins fishing in the 6th continuous day of 30 degrees temps with searing sun.  I don't have waders, which limits me, I believe to just two swims, both adjacent, so with 15 mins of baiting up time, a half hour in each is probably about right. Not a lot around today, just half a dozen small roach and a chunky 8oz dace, but I did end with my favourite fish, the gudgeon. Not much to report about the fishing, so here's a few gudgeon facts: - As well as being the most characte
Speen Moors/Enborne

21.7.21 - Speen Moors and K&A Canal, Enborne

Well, that was a bit rubbish. A fifth consecutive day of temps around 30 degrees with unbroken sunshine has been truly horrible for temperate people like me and fish alike. Thinking that the lakes would be hard with the fish not bothered with feeding (my first mistake?) I headed for Speen Moors with 15ft rod, centrepin, a couple of pints of maggots and bags of enthusiasm. The river looked fab, though reasonably slow paced, and I appreciate todays conditions weren't conducive and it was s
Hambridge

18.7.21 - River Kennet - Hambridge

A bonus 2 hours on a stinking hot Sunday.  Totalled 9 dace to 8oz, 6 roach to 4 oz, 5 minnows and a beautiful gudgeon (aren't they all?) Fun, but last as many again were hooked but shook themselves off such was their determination to get free, abetted by the flow of the river. Frustrating, as this included several bigger ones. Keep trying, Martin.
Willows/Greenham Mill run off

16.7.21 - Willows and Greenham Mill Runoff

Blimey, what a scorcher. I was hot and bothered by 9am and deeply regretting not choosing one of the shady swims on the east bank. My tactics, unless you can tell me otherwise, I believed were sound: (i)  Method feeder into open water where I had seen bubble patches, until the first carp appeared cruising under the surface, when I'd switch to: (ii) a bomb from with a length of floating line long enough to suspend a hook about 6 inches under the surface, concealed within, a hair-rigged
Alders/Willows

13.7.21 - Alders & Willows

I've always intended to fish Alders on one of my weekly evening sessions, but the lure of the carp at Willows has always proved irresistible.  But arriving to find Willows very busy (l met a number of new members fishing for the first time there) including my preferred 'evening' swim, I decided tonight was the night. However, it was to be a disappointing evening, but with 2 noteworthy events. I Just one bite in 4 hours (a 3lb 12 tench) so crossed the causeway the by now nearly deserted Will
Hambridge

11.7.21 - River Kennet - Hambridge

A bonus hour-and-a-half session to use up some baits. A 15 foot rod, centrepin, 2SSG loafer float and a size 16 hook was great fun on the fast running water, and resulted in 4 chub (all between 8 and 12oz), 3 dace to 4oz, 6 small roach, my first fabulous gudgeon of the season and a minnow.  Home with a smile on my face and ready for the England v Italy final later.
Alders/Greenham Mill

9.7.21 - Alders and Greenham Mill runoff

Part 1: an early start in 'Dead Carp Corner' at Alders with the SW breeze blowing into my face. Had four tench between 3lb and 4lb 14 through the day on artificial corn/orange wafter (1 on float close in, the others on method feeder, all up against the lilies. Also had a hard-fighting bream, yes bream, of 5lb 8. This represents a par day at Alders - it seems impossible to peg down a shoal of the bream. I swapped to light float and maggot for an hour and caught 14 feisty perch (up to 6 ounces) an
Willows

6.7.21 - Willows

A fun evening after having started with a spate of the heavy showers that had been forecast earlier in the day. One of the more torrential downpours started soon after I'd had my first bite and was playing a carp of maybe 6 or 7lbs. As it towed up-and-down it darkened and there was a loud rumble of thunder in the trees behind me. Not really wanting to be standing there with a rod acting as a lightning conductor, I more or less yanked the fish into the net through the rain-thrashed surface b
Alders/Greenham Mill

4.7.21 - Alders & Greenham Mill run-off

Well, that was a strange day. There were eight anglers on Willows when I arrived, enough to keep the fish quiet, so I crossed the causeway to the deserted Alders. For several hours I watched patches of Mr Crabtree-eque frothy tench bubbles rising near my float but could not tease a single bite.  The patches disappeared with sunshine, so before making my planned move to my local Greenham Mill, I thought I'd switch to a light float and small hook/ maggot combo with a view to winkling-out the
Willows

02.07.21 - Willows

Perhaps I should have expected it. After a week of vets bills, repeated hitting of my funny bone on the elbow with tendonitis, breakdown of my newly serviced hedge trimmers mid job, followed by multiple bee stings when disturbing a subterranean bee hive while clearing up the few leaves I'd severed, a second consecutive quiet session at Willows was almost inevitably on the cards. Knowing the carp would be in the upper levels, I experimented with a zig-based rig  once the morning winds had ea
Willows

29.6.21 - Willows

Fishing, or England v Germany in the Euros? A dilemma indeed, but I could always watch the highlights when I got home, so bankside I went. There were quite a few anglers when I arrived which meant I couldn't have he swim I wanted, but on an overcast evening with the wind in my face, it looked good. Nothing happened in the first hour except the gusty north wind leading to two unnecessary and spiteful reel tangles which had me breaking the line and retackling twice. But then at 5pm on th
Greenham Mill

26.6.21 - Greenham Mill canal run-off

When I rediscovered fishing last year after a 20-odd year hiatus, I had a couple of short sessions on this very shallow stretch of water about 250 yards from my front door. There is only one swim, two maybe when the weeds die down for winter, and I'd never seen anyone fish there in the 10 years or so I've lived nearby. Foolishly, I didn't pack my centrepin which would have been ideal, but in an hour and a half trotting an 18-inch deep rig, managed3 roach (to 4 ounces), 2 dace (similar), 7 b
Alders & Brimpton

25.6.21 - Alders and Brimpton

Started off in morning rain at Alders, the only one on the lake all day. Typical Alders, quite a few line bites and the method feeder being played with, but no takes. The only fish, two bream in the 5lb range who actually fought quite well, came on float-fished sweetcorn off the lilies in Dead-Carp-Corner. When the clouds cleared and the temperature shot up at midday, the bites stopped and I packed up for Brimpton, my first river Kennet session of the new season. Hmm, I loose fed maggots, a
Willows

22.06.21 - Willows

1 - The birds. As if being pestered by geese, cormorants, ducks and terns wasn't enough, I had two grebes building a nest in the edge of the lilies by which I'd intended to fish. Not only did all their tromping about on the pads scare any fish down to the safety of the depths, they had sex right in front of me. Three times. It wasn't much to see and blimey,  I thought I was quick. 2 - The fish. My only bite in the first 2-hours came on a method-feeder with single chocolate orange wafter and
Willows

19.06.21 - Willows

A slow day. At least it was dry after yesterday's torrents, but thirteen degrees was less than half of what it was on Wednesday and the ten days or so previously, which shut the fish up. It seemed a struggle for everyone around the lake. I had some occasional bites of float-fished sweetcorn and bread, but my only two successes in the whole day were both on the method feeder in the margins: a beautiful little 3lb 8oz Common and then on the last cast of the day, a 3lb-er that I didn't bother weigh
Willows

18.6.21 - Willows

Ah, a British midsummer. It rained, hard and solidly from 7am until 2 as I huddled under my brolly, clasping my lunch and other perishables around me. After 10 days or so of solid heat, I anticipated that today's mere 13 degrees and northerly breeze would turn the fish off, and so it did. With the water still warm, I suspected the fish would still be off the bottom, but also driven from the surface, so kept to the shallows and varied the depths I fished.  I managed two of the recently-stocked 3l
Willows

15.6.21 - Willows

I've never seen so many fish. With the temperature soaring to thirty degrees, the surface was alive with cruising carp.  Out came the dog biscuits, with the plop-plip of every cast bringing surface attention. Gobbling down every freebie, the canny fish  could tell if there was a hook/line involved, mouthing then instantly spitting my otherwise identical bait out time and time again. Commons of 5lb 15 and 6lb 4 came when I increased their urgency by catapulting in freebies, but the bloody du
Dobsons

12.6.21 - Dobsons

I rang the changes and tried a different NAA lake for a change, mainly as Dobsons has many more bankside trees and vegetation to provide shade on what threatened to be a hot day. Another benefit is the ability to fish with two rods (it's one only at my usual Willows and Alders), meaning I could toss a method feeder out to my right, and float fish near the overhanging willow to my right. I opted for the shallower end (my swim was around 8ft deep one rod length out,  anticipated fewer bites a
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