River Kennet - Thatcham
0900 - 1245
Bright and sunny after a frosty start. AT was 11ºC when I packed up. River very full - but quite clear.
2 Chub: 3lb 13oz & 2lb 5oz. A dace and a brownie - both around 6oz.
Bit of a gamble which nearly backfired - very few floodwater swims at this venue - though there is a nice near bank eddy which usually produces a nice chub. Alas if it was in residence it wasn't hungry as all I extracted from the swim were minnows (yes, Martin - there
Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
0700 - 0915*
1000 - 1715˜
Mild, mainly overcast, quite breezy (some milky sunshine at times) - light showers on and off all day with rain for last hour and a half. AT around 12/13ºC all day.
*27Perch - with 13 (!) over 1lb - and 3 over 2 - best 2lb 7oz.
˜(½mile upstream!) 7 Perch - all over 1lb (3 over 2) best 2; 3lb 10oz😀 & 2lb 11oz. A doz roach and a dace - all small.
What a Red Letter day!
Make hay while the sun s
River Kennet - Speen Moors
0830 - 1300
Cold, cloudy with a stiff, chilly breeze. AT around 1º-2ºC all day with significant wind chill (!), showery drizzle for last couple of hours. River very full - but clear.
4 Chub; 3lb 5oz, 2lb 12oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lb 2oz. 5 Dace - all small. 3 Brownies 1½-2½lb - also lost an enourmous trout - had it on for ages and got a good look at it - my pb is 8¾lb and this was a similar size - don't usually mind when a brownie throws the hook - but a bit gutte
Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham
0815 - 1345
Cold with fog - which eventually cleared for the last hour. AT -2º -> 4ºC, rings icing up till midday. Stream very full with just a hint of colour - perfect winter nick!
8 Chub: All bar one over 2lb; Best, 4lb 4oz, 3lb 9oz & 3lb 4oz. 2 Doz Roach & Dace (2/3rds Roach) A couple of the dace were lumps - one went 10oz the other, unweighed but of similar stamp. 1 Perch- small(ish). 4 Trout between 1¾- 2½lb.
Day got of to an inau
River Lambourn - Shaw
0930 - 1200
Cold and cloudy. AT 0º-2ºC. River very full but, as always, crystal clear.
10 Grayling - all small with a couple around 8-10oz. 11 Trout - a netter (probably close on a lb) with the rest parrs - bit of a nuisance - in the same way minnows are!
Repeat of last weekend with the Kennet completely out of sorts after 1¾ inches of rain since Weds. A couple of hours on the bank to cure cabin fever - after being stuck at home yesterday with no electri
River Lambourn - Newbury
0830 - 1130
Cold & bright. AT -2ºC -> +1ºC, line freezing in the ferrules most of the morning. River 'full' and crystal clear as always.
17 Grayling; 4 'pounders' - best 1lb 9oz & 1lb 5oz. 6 Brownies a pounder (actually probably nearer 2lb) and 5 smalluns/parrs.
Default venue when the Kennet and conditions are sub-optimal and a much better return than my last two trips here - the extra depth of water clearly making a big difference. Still m
River Kennet - Hambridge
0915 - 1315
Cool, calm and bright. AT 3º - 6ºC. River at normal winter levels and quite clear - looked in great nick.
1 Chub; 1½lb. 3 Perch; 1lb 9oz, 1lb 6oz and a sub lber (but not by much!). 7 Roach - all handsized. 7 Dace - 3 in the 6-8oz class. 4 Brownies - a lber and 3 smalluns.
Usual tactics to snaffle a decent chub from the off meets with a rare failure (I'm blaming the bright conditions and a trout first cast!) - only chub I did get turned up
Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton
1500 - 1630.
Mild, overcast with a stiff downstream breeze putting quite a chop on the water. 9ºC
3 Perch; 1lb 5oz and a couple of 6-8oz. 1 Pike; 2lb 12oz
Quick return to yesterday's venue hoping for a bigger stripey (achieved by around 4oz!) Dropped into a different swim - one in which I saw some scattering fry as I walked back to the car yesterday evening. All fish in the first 45 mins - Pike was last caught and didn't get another bite
Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton
1330 - 1630
Overcast and Mild(er) 7ºC. Canal gin clear!.
6 Perch; 4X14oz(± a couple of ounces)& 2 tiddlers.
Birthday trip to make the most of the milder weather. Up until Sunday the mean average temperature for January (locally) had been a lowly 1.1ºC so with temps up as 'high' as 9ºC this Mon/Tues I was hopeful that the perch would have woken up. And the session started off promisingly with the 2 tiddlers in the first 20 mins - howev
Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham
0915 - 1345
Cold, calm and cloudy. Temps hovering around 0ºC all day (-1º when I arrived, +1º when I packed up). River in fine winter condition - gin clear and at normal levels.
9 Chub; 6X2lb+ - best 3lb 3oz (first fish caught!). A doz Roach - all a 'nice' size but nothing to trouble the scales. 5 Dace; best a clonker of 13oz. Half a doz Brownies - most around the 2lb mark - with one nearly double that.
Got a few days off either side of this comi
River Lambourn - Shaw
1200 - 1400
Cold with 'milky sunshine.
2 Grayling - a 'netter' and a tidller. 3 Brownies - one close to 1lb, the others only slightly bigger than parrs.
Bit of a struggle - with none of my usual swims producing so much as a bite - probably because 2 other anglers had already worked there way up the water!
Northcroft Stream - Newbury
0845 - 1115
Cold and bright. AT 0º - 3ºC. River still up a tad but with little colour.
2 Chub: 4lb 5oz & a chublet of around a pound. 6 Dace - a couple of gooduns. 3 Roach - handsized and a 1lb+ Brownie.
Successful plan to start 2021 with a good chub achieved within 5 mins of wetting a line (though had been trickling in maggot for a good 15mins before starting to fish). Smaller chub turned up amongst the dace and roach and being a little washed
River Kennet - Speen Moors
0800 - 1430
Cold and bright - clouding over after lunch. AT -1º - 3ºC. Line freezing in the rings for the first couple of hours! River up a good 6+inches on last visit (over the bank in several places) and carrying quite a bit of colour - way more than I expected to see!
2 Chub; 2lb 14oz, 2lb 9oz. 6 Roach - all small. 2 Dace - one good fish of 8+oz and a tiddler. 1 Brown trout (though it was bright silver - sea trout???) 1½lb.
Plan for today was ori
River Kennet - Hambridge
0900 - 1230
Cool & overcast (4º - 7ºC). Calm before the storm! River up a good few inches with a tinge of colour - looked in great winter nick!
3 Chub: 3lb 14oz, 2lb 15oz & 1½lb. 5 Roach - all quite small. 4 Dace - one clonker of 10oz the rest all small. 1 Grayling & a Brownie (both around 10oz), 1 Bleak.
Pre-emptive strike before Storm Bella arrives this evening and stuff's the river up for the next few days! Slow but steady sport all mo
River Lambourn - Newbury
0800 - 1045
Bright and cold (2ºC) with a 'fresh' northerly breeze! River up a couple of inches on last visit but gin clear despite heavy overnight rain.
9 Grayling - best 2 weighed in at 1lb 1oz & 14oz - the rest around half this stamp. 2 Brownies - a 'pounder' and a parr.
Usual pre Christmas jaunt to use up some bait due to the bait fridge getting its annual deep clean - as the maggots get evicted for a few days and it's comandeered for Christma
Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton
1345 - 1615
Bright with squally showers. AT 10ºC
9 Perch; 5 over 1lb - 3 not by much and two that went 1lb 12oz & 2lb 8oz. 1 Roach (small - the lob worm it took was longer than it!)
With a very mild end to the week I reasoned that the perch would be on the munch - and I was right. Didn't even need to wait until dusk for some action - in fact most fish caught with the swim bathed in sunshine - though (of course) the biggest one WAS as
River Kennet - Thatcham
0915 - 1245
Bright with squally showers. AT 9ºC. River up a few inches with a tinge of colour.
1 Chub; 1lb 13oz. 1 Grayling; 1lb 5oz. 5 Roach, 2 Dace & 4 Brownies - an old warrior of 4lb 12oz & 3 parr fish.
My first visit here this season - mainly due to the fact that the venue has been closed whilst a new foot bridge across the Kennet was built. I usually consider this more of a summer venue so quite pleased with this morning's return especial
Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
1400 - 1600.
Bright & breezy. AT 7ºC
4 Perch; 2lb 14oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 6oz, 1lb 2oz.
So Plan B was to fish the witching hour on the canal hoping for a big stripey - though as so often happens in the winter it's a witching 20 minutes around 4.00pm just as the light is fading. Had all 3 bigger ones in this 20 minute spell culminating in the biggest - which was a very last cast fish as I'd already packed up my bags. A season's best as well.
River Kennet - Speen Moors
0745 - 1345
Overcast start (drizzling when I left home) becoming bright and breezy. AT 7º-9ºC. River at normal levels.
8 Chub: 4lb 7oz, 3lb10oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb 11oz & 4 small ones. 7 Roach - most hand sized, 4 Dace, 1 Gudgeon, 1 Bleak & a 2lb Brownie.
Pleasant morning playing hunt the chub, started off with the 3lber from a spot that only usually gives you one chance - and so it proved as resting it for an hour produced nothing more. Fished a
River Kennet & Carrier - Marsh Benham
0745 - 1315
Cool, calm & cloudy. AT 1º - 3ºC. River quite full - though somewhat surprisingly (and contradictory!) the carrier was on the low side.
4 Chub; 4lb 10oz, 3lb 1oz, 2lb 2oz and a chublet. 18 Roach - few of any size bar one which went 12oz. 4 Dace, 1 Perch, 8 Brownies - 2½ - 3½lb & 2 Rainbows 2½lb & 4+lb.
Pleasant morning's trotting - chub as ever were the target - though most of my 'banker' swims were full of tro
River Kennet - Aldershot Water (Brimpton)
1400 - 1530.
Still misty and overcast. 10°C. River at normal levels.
1 Chub; 3lb 3oz. 1 Dace. 3 Brownies; 2XPounders - (probably same fish!)
So the plan was to end the day as I'd started it - hunting chub, and a return to a spot I last fished back in September. Chub first cast which was an excellent start - alas trout then trashed the swim - had all 3 in quick succession and they all jumped and caused a commotion on the surface - res
River Lambourn - Shaw
1030 - 1300
Still dull and misty. AT 9ºC. River on the low side.
11 Grayling; A real mix of year classes (and hence sizes). Biggest 1lb 13oz (!!) with another 3 an ounce or so either side of 1lb ( the usual maximum size here). 6 Brownies most 6-10oz with one well over 1lb.
Well I wasn't expecting that! Pretty sure that's my biggest grayling from this stretch - I've gone back over 20+ years of diaries and can't find a bigger one! Caught from a very shallo
Northcroft Stream - Newbury
0745 - 1000
Misty & murky 7ºC. River at normal levels and quite clear.
3 Chub; 2lb 14oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 5oz. 6 Dace & 2 Roach - all small.
Successful chub hunt - though was hoping for something a little bigger. My usual 'banker' swim here produced not so much as a bite - thankfully they were all in my back up swim!
Kennet & Avon Canal (flowing), Thatcham
1100 - 1330
Dull and breezy. AT 11ºC. River at normal levels and quite clear.
6 Dace; 5 over 8oz - biggest 15oz !! 1 Gudgeon.
Another trip to an infrequently fished (and less than reliable) venue but one which has thrown up decent dace and chub in the past. Nothing quite in this class however - a female almost in full breeding condition (3 months early). My biggest dace for 11 years, since this day.
River Kennet - Arrowhead (Thatcham)
0715 - 1030
Dull and quite breezy, temps around 10ºC. River at normal levels with little colour.
6 Dace, 1 Roach & 2 brownies - all small.
Scratchy session to a venue I only visit every other year or so but which in the past (well 13/14 & 14/15) was a nailed on banker for big chub and perch ( see here as an example). Strange as the place still screams fish but I've caught very little here since those 2 winter campaigns (And not a wh
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