Jump to content
  • entries
    1158
  • comments
    904
  • views
    1592076

About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

Coarse Fishing

20 August

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 0000 Warm and overcast with a gentle southerly breeze. 19ºC -> 16ºC. Lovely evening to be out - no dew and no shelter required. 5 Carp; 10lb 13oz, 8lb 14oz, 8lb 10oz, 6lb 5oz (& one of around a pound - unweighed!). 1 Tench 1¼lb. 3 Bream (all skimmers). 1 Perch. 1 Rudd. (Both quite small) This was meant to be an evening fishing the margins for tench (or crucians, roach, bream, perch, rudd - anything but carp!) However the bully boy commons
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

18 August

River Kennet - Padworth 1800 - 2200 Warm and overcast. River quite low and quite coloured up (usual late summer conditions!) 3 Chub; all ¾-1lb. 11 Roach - 4 in the 8-10oz class - all the others less that half this. 1 Dace; 6oz (looked bigger!) 3 Gudgeon. Moderately successful trotting sesh (and always nice to see a few gobio gobios turn up) to precede the expected blank on the lead once it got dark. Only 'rattles' were as a result of the signals!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

13/14 August

Dobsons Lake - Thatcham 1900 - 0200 Warm and overcast with clearing skies after 2330 - which allowed for some good Perseid spotting! AT 20º - 15ºC. 1 Tench; 4lb 3oz. 2 Roach & a Perch - nothing particularly big! Well that was a VERY disappointing night - especially after such a promising start. Swim choice was dictated by a nice patch of bubbles around a rod length and a half out and casting into the area, I had the tench on the bank within 30 mins of starting (with the 2
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

15
Coarse Fishing

11 August

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Warm, becoming overcast and quite breezy. 1 Tench; 2lb 7oz. 2 Perch - both 6-8oz. Slow evening with all the action (if you can call it that!) unusually coming in the first 90 mins. My worst return from Alders in a while. Only excitement as it got dark was connecting with one of the lake's rogue carp, for which I was totally out-gunned. I'm not sure it even realised it was even hooked at first as it plodded up the channel - before realising s
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

8 August

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0630 - 1230 Torrential rain for first 90 mins or so followed by showers (some quite lumpy!). Cool for August (13ºC) and quite breezy - sun eventually appeared for the last hour or so. 2 Chub: 3lb 13oz & a smallun. 1 Bream; 3lb 14oz. 4 Doz Roach & Dace (mainly roach - nothing of any size). 3 Bleak. 1 Rainbow Trout - 3½lb. I read 3 weather forecasts on Friday evening and whilst all predicted a showery weekend they all also said that Sunday wo
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

6
Coarse Fishing

4 August

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Warm, clear evening with a gentle southerly breeze wafting the aromas of Paul Newman's salad dressing from the factory at Greenham - but not strong enough to keep the mossies at bay! 3 Tench; 3lb 4oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 5oz. 2 Roach & a Perch - all handsized. Slightly sub par return by recent standards - waited 2 hours for a bite then all the fish, bar the smallest tench, came in a flurry between 8.30 and 9.00pm. By 10.30pm the crayfish had m
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

30 July

Harris Lake, Marsh Farm - Milford 1600 - 0000 Cool (for late July!), 17ºC - 15ºC, very breezy (thanks to storm Evert) with a couple of brief flurries of rain - though precipitation had been much heavier prior to arrival. 23 (!!!?!!!) Crucians: 18 over 2lb (the other 5 all around 1¾lb - I had 2 @1-14). Best 5 went, 3lb 2oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb 14oz, 2lb 12oz & 2lb 11oz. 7 Tench: best 4lb 2oz - the others all 2-3lbers. 1 Perch: unweighed but needed the net and easily ½lb. 2 Rudd (micr
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2
Coarse Fishing

24 July

River Kennet - Hambridge 1345 - 1515 Warm (21ºC but felt warmer!), overcast with some fine drizzle at times. River at usual summer levels. 1 Chub; 2½lb. 16 Dace - a few chunky ones but nothing to trouble the scales, 6 Roach - ditto. 2 Bleak. Quick, unplanned session - as the apocalyptic amounts of rain forecast for today didn't materialise! Nearly a chubless session too as the usual tactics of 'bait & wait' failed due, mainily I think, to a surfeit of bleak that were nail
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

23 July

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2330 Warm with a nice breeze in my face, much more clement than the oppressive heat of recent days and kept the dew and mossies away. 26ºC - 17ºC. 5 Carp: 10lb 6oz, 9lb 8oz, 6lb 11oz, 6lb 2oz & a 3lber. 1 Tench (1lb and a bit). Got off to a promising start with the tench first cast - though I nearly lost my rod to it as I was still 'setting out by stall' and not paying attention to my float! Alas, it would prove to be my only one - and not a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

16 July

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2300 Warm, sunny evening with a gentle breeze for much of it - which kept the mossies off for all but the last hour. 25ºC when I arrived - still 17ºC when I packed up. 3 Bream: 4lb 4oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 11oz. 1 Tench 3lb 13oz. 3 Carp; all ¾-1lb. 3 Perch - all 6-8oz. Productive evening which got off to a slow start. And whilst I had a perch first cast I'd have to wait 2 hours for my next bite. All the fish then came in a 90min spell around dusk. Agai
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4
Coarse Fishing

14 July

River Kennet - Brimpton 1800 - 2200 (2½hrs trotting followed by 1½hrs on the lead) Warm, sunny evening. 24ºC when I arrived, 16ºC when I packed up. 1 Chub - small. 2 Dace. 4 Brownies; 2lb 12oz, a 'pounder' and a couple half that. An evening trotting for chub nearly ended chubless - for which I place the blame firmly at the door of Mr Trout! First bites in both my first 2 (out of 3) swims had an adipose and all of them chose to go airborne - the biggie repeatedly so which
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2
Coarse Fishing

9 July

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 0000 Warm, overcast with a southerly breeze to put a bit of ripple on the water - neigh on perfect conditions - pity no one told the fish! 2 Carp 12lb 14oz & 6 lb 7oz. 1 Tench c1lb & a Perch. Dismal evening on the float despite same tactics/baits and swim to my last trip here in June. No bites before 2030 - and precious few after that despite the odd fish rolling in my swim! Thankfully I had a Plan B. I'd thrown a couple of slices of bre
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2
Coarse Fishing

2 July - Part 2 (pm)

River Kennet - Brimpton 1300 - 1530 Warm, mainly overcast - though with more sunshine than before lunch - very muggy. AT 20ºC and feeling particularly sticky after a longish walk through the undergrowth! River quite full! Think the weir at Colthrop has been opened up more than the one at Crookham - there was a LOT of water coming down the Aldershot - too much to wade out at the tail of the weirpool! 3 Chub; 4lb 5oz, 4lb 0oz, 2lb 11oz. 3 Dace, 1 Roach & 5 Brownies (½lb - 1¼lb)
Coarse Fishing

2 July - Part 1 (am)

River Kennet - Thatcham 0900 - 1200 Warm, overcast and quite muggy. AT 20ºC but felt MUCH warmer. River low (but see part 2!) 3 Chub: 3lb 13oz, 2lb 7oz, 1lb 14oz. 2 Dace, 2 Roach & 2 Brownies - both around 8-10oz. Scratchy morning as most of my 'usual' swims here didn't have enough water in them. Fished 9 swims in total but only caught from a couple of them - nearly all fish came from the weirpool - apart from a couple of the chub which were extracted from one of their us
Coarse Fishing

25 June

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 2300 Warm and sunny evening - with cloud cover coming in at dusk which: a) kept temps up at around 14ºC and, b) kept the dew off which was nice! 3 Tench; 4lb 7oz, 2lb 3oz, 1lb 12oz. 1 Bream 3lb 8oz. 3 Carp (!) one 'handsized' the other 2 slightly bigger at around a lb a piece. 5 Perch. Very pleasant evening on the float - though the carp were an unwelcome sight - this was meant to be a carp free lake when it was restocked after the fish kill of 2
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

7
Coarse Fishing

24 June

River Kennet, Bulls Lock 1330 - 1530 Overcast and muggy. AT 19ºC but felt much warmer. 8 Dace, 3 Roach & 2 Brownies (2lb+ and one of around 12oz) Had to restock the bait fridge so perfect excuse (not that I EVER need an excuse) to run a float through a new swim for a couple of hours. As ever Chub were the intended quarry though the only fish to put a serious bend in the rod had an adipose fin - also lost 2 troot to hook pulls - though trout being trout they were probably
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

23 June

Johnsons Lake, Milford 1500 - 2315 Warm (ish) and sunny day with temps plumeting after sundown - car thermo registered just 7ºC on the way home... 2 Tench; 2lb 3oz and another half that size. 1 Crucian; 1lb 10oz. 2 Rudd; 1lb 10oz and one of around ½lb. 3 Roach; all 'hand-sized'. Slowish evening - with everything bar the large rudd (just an ounce off my pb)coming after 2100. And whilst I caught by target species (Tench & Crucians) they weren't of the calibre this lake is f
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

22 June

Willows Lake, Thatcham 1400 - 2300 Overcast, and quite breezy at times. Not particularly warm - in fact quite chilly(9ºC) when I departed under clearing skies. 4 Carp; 3lb - 6lb 10oz. 6 Tench; mostly around the pound mark - with a couple a bit bigger at 1-14 & 2-15. 6 Crucians; again all quite small - though the stocking from a couple of years ago is getting noticeably bigger - put a couple of the better ones on the scales for curiosity and they both went 10oz. 4 Rudd. 30+ Per
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

21 June

River Kennet - Hambridge 1000 - 1300 Rain (again!?) steady and persistent but never particularly heavy - thankfully, as I was standing out in it for 3 hours. Cool (only 11ºC), quite calm. River was in great nick - higher than normal for June and with a little less colour than last Thursday. 2 Chub; 5lb 2oz and one of around a pound (unweighed). 18 Dace & 9 Roach - nothing to warrant weighing. 1 Grayling c10oz, 2 Gudgeon (hooray!) & 2 Brownies both over 1lb but under 2lb.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

7
Coarse Fishing

18 June (6th Paul Goulbourn Memorial Fish-in)

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford. 0645 - 2345. RAIN, Rain, continuous, unrelenting, nonstop RAIN! Heavy at times, slight, moderate, torrential, tropical, cloud bursts at other times. Over a month's worth in a day! Drove over in the rain, set up in the rain, fished all day in the rain. Rain eventually stopped as it got dark - so escaped packing up in the rain - though everything was pretty sodden. Thankfully my day shelter was up to the task - alas the banks weren't, so during the heav
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

6
Coarse Fishing

17 June

River Kennet - Hambridge (CSAS Stretch) 0800 - 1300 Warm, overcast & sultry. River at normal summer levels and carrying a bit of colour. 5 Chub; All 'schooly' sized (1-2lbs) - biggest 2lb 13oz. 11 Dace; a couple of 'good-uns' which went 9oz each. 1 Brownie c10oz. Failed plan to try and repeat my success here last Sep of getting some float caught barbel. I did actually see a few on the shallows and they were showing more interest in each other that what was for brunch. So
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

16 June 2021

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0430 - 1230 Warm and sunny (though very misty at 0430!). River at normal early summer levels and clearer than below Newbury. 6 Chub: 4lb4oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 10oz, 3lb 5oz & 2 'pounders'. 40 Roach & Dace in roughly equal nos - slightly more dace. A few chunky ones but nothing to worry the scales! 3 Bleak. Lovely to be back on the river on a glorious summer's morning. Great sport trotting  my 'base camp' swim too. I fished around dozen swims in
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2
Coarse Fishing

Season's Bests 2020/21

Plumby’s Annual Round-up. And so another season comes to a close – and I’m just thankful that I had a season at all. The Angling Trust somewhat came of age this year and showed itself to be an effective voice for anglers with its successful lobbying of government for angling during the pandemic. Fishing local did curtail my usual winter jaunts south in search of big ladies – but it was a small price to pay. Best Carp: 13lb 14oz. 9th September.  Float fished maggot – Willows. I rarely c
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4
Coarse Fishing

14 March (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 1430 - 1745 Overcast, VERY windy with light rain for last hour and a half. AT 10º ->7ºC. 7 Perch; 4 over 1lb of which 2 were over 2lb - best 2lb 10oz (last bite of the season - I nice way to end!) Many, MANY years ago (probably sometime during the last millennium) I bought a pack of 3-way swivels. I stuffed them in with a wallet of tubing and they have languished at the bottom of one of my tackle boxes ever since. I suppose I must have tho
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

14 March (Part 1)

River Kennet (& Carrier) - Marsh Benham 0830 - 1345 Milky sunshine to start - clouding over - very breezy. AT 5º ->10ºC. River in good winter nick - full with a slight tinge of colour. 3 Chub: All over 2lb - best 3lb 6oz. 1 Pike: 4lb 11oz (On sweetcorn - took it on the retrieve!). A doz Roach; various sizes - one worthy of the scales went 14oz. 2 Dace - small. 1 Rainbow - 2½lb & 2 Brownies: 1½ - 2lb. Last day trip to the venue I started my river season back in June
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

1
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.

  I accept