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Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

Coarse Fishing

9 July

River Kennet - Thatcham 0645 - 1115 Warm and mainly overcast - though clearing. AT 19ºC. Quite breezy. River low. 5 Chub: best 3lb 5oz with another close to a lb - the other 3 quite small. 1 Dozen Dace & ½ Dozen Roach - all small apart from one of the roach which was around 6-8oz. 1 Perch; a 'netter' and circa 1lb. 1 Gudgeon. 3 Brownies - all over 1lb but under 1½ (think I caught the same one, twice!) Very pleasant morning's trotting - fishing half a dozen swims in rotati
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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9 January

River Kennet - Thatcham   0930 - 1230   Overcast and mild with squally showers. 9ºC. River up 3-4 inches on last visit (Boxing Day) and quite coloured up.   1 Chub; 4lb 4oz. 8 Dace - most normal dace size with a couple of clonkers that warranted the scales - 12oz & 10oz. Possibly my biggest ever from here. 1 Roach, 1 Grayling.   Plan was to get a chub - achieved within 10 mins from a reliable spot but unlike 2 weeks ago I couldn't winkle out another on
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2
Coarse Fishing

9 January

River Lambourn - Shaw 0915 - 1130 Cool & bright. AT 1º-6ºC. River low and crystal clear as it always is! 11 Grayling. Best 1lb 7oz with another 4 in the 10oz -1lb class. 4 Brownies - a 'pounder' and 3 small-uns. Usual tactics of catch a couple and move on - though in most swims it was catch one and move - apart from the very last swim I dropped into which accounted for nearly half of the morning's catch. Rather busy with other anglers - though, thankfully, I'd fished (and
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4
Coarse Fishing

9 January

Middle Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham. 0930 - 1430 Cold, cloudy to start clearing to bright winter sunshine. AT 1º-3ºC but feeling MUCH colder in a biting North-Easterly wind. River VERY high - clearly down a few inches on the last couple of days based on all the debris on the bank but still higher by far on my last trip here - gin clear however. 2 Chub: 3lb 2oz, 2lb 13oz. 7 Brownies 2-3½lb. Started on the south bank of the main river with trotted red corn - which met
Coarse Fishing

9 February (Part 2)

River Lambourn - Shaw 1115 - 1415 Mild, breezy with some sunny spells and some drizzle. AT 11ºC. River VERY high. 1.95m on the Shaw gauge - 20cm above the top of normal range and 27cm higher than my last visit here. Even had a tinge of colour! 13 Grayling - 7 over 1lb - best 1lb 7oz. 5 Brownies - a pounder and 4 parrs. Never seen the Lambourn so high - took chesties and needed them to stand up to my thighs in water, where I'd normal stand on dry land! Also very rare to see it
Coarse Fishing

9 February (Part 1)

River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse stretch) 0900 - 1100 Mild, breezy and drizzly. AT 11ºC. River very pacey and very coloured up (again!) - after 42mm of rain in the past 48hrs. 1 Chub: 6lb 2oz - SB. 1 Roach - hand-sized. En route to the Lambourn I thought I'd drop in on my 5lber slack for an hour (herein after called my 6lber slack!) With the Kennet the colour of builder's tea I really wasn't at all hopeful but the roach first cast gave me a glimmer of confidence - rewarded

9 February

Middle Kennet Estate   0730 - 1630   Light sleet/drizzle ALL day. 2ºC (ALL day). River high but in its banks (just) and with little colour.   5 Chub; 5lb 8oz, 4lb 9oz, 4lb 5oz, 4lb 0oz, 3lb 10oz. 3 Rainbows to 4lb 7oz, 2 Brownies to 2½lb   A day Paul and I had pencilled in for some time (with very light pencil given current conditions!) and the plan had been to invite Chris & Steve and to target monster dace on another stretch of river. Alas permission
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

9 February

Lower Itchen Fishery   0830 - 1700   Bright and breezy (very at times), River well up and coloured from yesterday's heavy rain - though conditions gradually improved throughout the day.   9 Grayling; best 1lb 8oz. 2 Brownies - 2½lber and a parr.   4th IAC Paul Goulbourn memorial grayling day - so it was nice to catch up with some old friends. Fishing was a challenge for all though as the river fined down I think most caught a few. Gary, who I fished with all day, was the star of the show
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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9 December

Middle Kennet Estate(s) Newbury (am), Kintbury (pm)   0745 - 1615   Breezy with sunny spells. 7º->9º->7ºC. River 'full' and clear - though within its banks after recent (and very evident) flooding.   5 Chub; 4 over 2¼lb - best 2, 4lb & 3lb 10oz. 3 Grayling - 1lb 13oz, 1lb 2oz & 14oz. 5 Dace, 3 over 8oz - biggest 13oz. 2 roach, a gudgeon and 2 Brownies both circa 1½lb plus a 4lb bream which doesn't count as it was hooked in the dorsal - giving the most
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

4

9 December

River Kennet - Brimpton   1045 - 1415   Bright and sunny after a brief but torrential shower. River lower than I expected after a wet week and carrying a tinge of colour.   6 Chub: 6lb 4oz, 5lb 6oz, 4lb 7oz, 3X 1-2lbers. 1 brownie circa 1lb.   I've fished Brimpton regularly since I joined NAA in 1982 and whilst I catch 5lb+ chub most seasons I've never had a 6 until today! Thing is I didn't even plan to fish here today but I turned up at Hambridge to find
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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9 August

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   0715 - 1115   Bright and sunny. 12º-18ºC. River carrying quite a bit of colour (height of the boating season on the K&A )   5 Barbel - largest 5lb 9oz, smallest 3lb 6oz, 5 Chub - best 2lb, 2 roach, 2 dace.   A pleasant morning's trotting - 4 of the barbel came in the last hour from a swim vacated by another angler who had caught nowt on the lead (he was using corn/meat)!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

8th Paul Goulbourn Memorial Trophy

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford 0730 - 2315 Hot, sunny and sultry. AT around 25ºC all day and still 18ºC when I drove off at a little before midnight. 11 Tench: various sizes from quite small bars of soap up to 5lb - biggest 5lb 3oz. 2 Crucians 2lb 4oz & 1lb 2oz. 30 Rudd - most handsized - with a few a bit bigger, the one I deemed worthy of the scales went 14oz. A dozen roach - all small. Annual gathering of the Internet Angling Club - to remember our departed friend Pa
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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8/9 October

NAA Stillwater - Thatcham   2015 - 0900   Warm, overcast and quite breezey. Temps never below 15ºC - Unseasonably warm.   13 carp - best 2, 13lb 11oz (common) & 12lb 0oz (mirror) - the rest evenly spread between 9½ - 3½lbs. 1 Crucian 2lb 5oz. 1 skimmer and a dozen assorted perch, roach & gudgeon (mainly perch).   The plan was going to be a dawn raid for stripeys on the canal - but a very last minute change of plan - due to the unseasonably warm ove
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

1

8 September (Part 2)

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   0930 - 1230   Overcast, 15ºC. River at 'normal' levels - carrying some colour after the recent heavy rains.   3 Barbel (6lb 13oz, 4lb 5oz, 3lb 11oz), 3 Chub (3lb 4oz, 2lb & a chublet)   Great session on trotted maggot - (and I also bumped a couple). Fed swim for ¾hr, then had all the fish in a little over an hour - no bites after 1130.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

8 September (Part 1)

Northcroft Stream   0700 - 0900   Overcast 13ºC. Stream low - sluice was ¾'s closed.   1 Pike 4lb 4oz, 2 Chub 2½lb, 1¾lb, 1 Bream 1¾lb, 3 doz Roach, Dace & Gudgeon (mainly roach and gudgeon), 2 Perch.   Trotted red maggot - pike took a couple of red maggots on the retrieve.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

8 September

Summer Pit - CEMEX Yateley   1800 - 2330   Still and mainly overcast - another lovely evening under the trees! 21ºC -> 13ºC   3 Tench: 6lb 10oz, 4lb 8oz, 3lb 9oz.   Water seemed very lifeless with no bubbling or fish topping and for over 2½hrs it looked like being my 1st blank of the season as I waited for a bite. However, it switched on briefly and had all 3 fish - starting with yet another 6½lb+er - in little over ¾hr from 2045. All fish on 6mm S-Pellet in the margins - not a bite a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

8 September

River Kennet - Newbury   0700 - 1000   Bright and sunny - river quite low. (Though nowhere near as low as 2011)   1 Chub 3lb 11oz,1 Perch (circa 1lb) 40+ Dace & Roach (2/3rds dace to 1/3rd roach). 8 gudgeon and 2 spotties.   Pleasant morning's trotting in the sunshine. Nice to see so many silver fish in the river - like to see a few more chub and barbel though!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

4

8 September

River Kennet - Brimpton   0615 - 1300   Overcast and quite breezy at times - drizzly rain for first hour. River not as low as I expected.   2 Chub: 5lb 6oz, 4lb 13oz. 7 Dace, 1 Roach, ½doz+ brownies - most quite small with one circa 1lb.   Took a ledgering rod As I wanted to have a daytime try for a barbel - however they were removing willows just upstream and an absurd amount of branches and crap coming downstream made it impossible. So back to usual trot
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

8 September

River Kennet - Thatcham 1800 - 1930 Hot and humid - with the crash, bang, wallop of an electric storm to finish! River quite low. 6 Chub: biggest 2lb with another couple of around a lb and 3 tiddlers. 1 Pike; 4lb 3oz (on trotted maggot!). 2 Perch; both around the 1lb mark (nice!). 2 Roach; a 'netter' and a tiddler. 2 Brownies - small. Quick return to the venue I had a barbel from recently with the intention of ledgering into the dark to see if I could get another. As usual I
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

5
Coarse Fishing

8 September

Middle Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham 0600 - 1230 Hot and muggy. AT 18ºC - 28ºC. River a little on the low side but not at all bad for September. 12 Chub; A couple of around ¾-1lb - the rest all juveniles of around 6 inches. 1 Bream: 3lb 14oz. 50 Roach & Dace (more roach) - nothing especially noteworthy. 5 Perch - all small. 2 Rainbow's; 3½ & 4½lbs. Early start to try and make the most of the cool of the morning - but didn't really feel it after the long hike t
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2

8 October

River Itchen, Gaters Mill   0800 - 1900   Overcast, mild and becalmed - shirtsleeves all day. (Perfick!). River 'full', gin clear with LOTS of debris - mainly ranunculus coming down.   74 Grayling ( 26 over a lb of which 17 over 1½lb and 5 over 2lbs - best 2lb 9oz). 10 Brownies (best also 2lb 9oz), 1 chub 3lb 10oz.   River Itchen back to its best - most of the fish were in the faster, streamier water. Paul managed 71 grayling (we both do returns for the EA's national grayling survey) and
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

8 October

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne   0700 - 1300   Calm and overcast.   15 perch'; 3 over 1lb, best 1lb 9oz. 1 Pike 3lb 11oz.   A morning exploring likely spots along the length of the lower section - fished around half a dozen swims and had fish from most of them. All fish on lobs.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

8 October

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0830 - 1400 Bright and sunny. AT 6º->16ºC. River low (very!). 10 Perch; 6 over lb, best two 1lb 12oz & 1lb 10oz. 6 Chub; 3 'pounders' - two not by much. 20+ Roach - most quite small with 3 or 4 in the 6-8oz bracket. 2 Dace - small. 2 Gudgeon & 2 Brownies - both 1½-2lb. Late arrival as I had to go back for my maggots - doh! By the time I got to the canal it was bathed in bright morning sunshine and after a chilly night I deemed it too sub-
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2

8 November (part 2)

River Kennet, Newbury   1030 - 1330.   Mild and overcast. River with a little bit more water in it - probably up a couple of inches or so on 10 days ago.   1 Chub; 2lb 6oz. 3 Perch; 1lb 6oz, 1lb 1oz and a fish of around 10-12oz. 20 Dace, 8 Roach. 2 Grayling, 2 Gudgeon, 2 Brownies.   So if I couldn't get a decent perch from the canal - plan B was to see if I could find some chub. Achieved at the 3rd swim (of 4 fished) - though by then I'd already had the perch! Maybe that's where I was go
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

8 November (part 1)

Kennet & Avon canal - Widmead   0645 - 1000   Mild and overcast. WT 55ºF   2 Perch; 1 circa 1lb. 1 Pike - another tiny one of 14oz!   Perfect perching conditions - shame no one told the perch. Original plan for this weekend had been a trip down to Dorset for grayling but this week's rain has pushed levels up over 2 feet on the river Frome so with relatively benign conditions in West Berkshire I was hoping to emulate (or even better) last week's perch haul. Bites just didn't come and
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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