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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

Coarse Fishing

19 September

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0645 - 1115 Cool, calm & cloudy. AT 9º -> 14ºC. River VERY low. 12 Chub; 2lb 7oz and 11 chublets. 4 Doz Dace and Roach - in roughly equal nos (slightly more dace). Most of the roach were a 'nice' size though the star of the show (and the only fish to actually get weighed) was a cracking dace of 12oz. 5 Perch - all small. 1 Brownie c2lb. Pleasant mornings trotting. The river is teeming with 'silvers' - which makes finding the bigger chub a bi
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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19 October

River Kennet & Kennet & Avon Canal - Newbury   0730 - 1130   Warm with a little light drizzle at times.   14 Dace, 7 Perch - only one of which needed the net but was still well shy of a pound, 1 Roach (12oz).   Bit of an exploratory session with Paul - visiting some water I've not fished in decades and Paul hasn't even seen! I fished mainly lobs - trying to find some big perch while Paul picked up stacks of small roach and other 'bits' on maggot. My decent roach was on a whole lo
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 October

K&A Canal, Thatcham   0700 - 1000   Mild (15ºC) and mainly overcast - sunny for last ½hour   6 Perch: 2lb 15oz, 2 around the pound mark and 3 tiddlers. 2 Chub both circa1lb, 1 Roach (small)   Successful dawn raid for a big stripey - though in truth the crayfish were rather too active for the majority of the time - especially once it got properly light after 0800 - by which time I'd had the biggie.   Wonder what's causing the red belly?  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

1

19 October

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1800 - 2300   Cool, calm and overcast. 11ºC river low and carrying quite a bit of leaf litter.   1 Chub: 5lb 2oz.   A similar start to my last visit here 3 weeks ago in fact I have a suspicion it might even be the same fish. However as my camera was still plugged into the computer at home I didn't get to take it's portrait for comparison. Only bite of the evening - so no barbel main course after the chub starter. Was subjected to a barrage of twitting from a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 October

River Kennet - Brimpton   0800 - 1115   Bright and sunny. river up a couple of inches and carrying a bit of colour - looked perfect!   5 Chub: 5lb 11oz, 4lb 14oz, 3lb 5oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 0oz. 3 brownies - 2 over 1lb...   Cracking morning's trotting - all the chub from the same swim - took it nice and slow - fed well before my first cast then rested & fed between each fish - certainly paid off as I don't usually get more than a couple at any one time....
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

19 October

Lower Itchen Fishery 0800 - 1800 Bright and breezy, clouding over in the afternoon. River quite full (though has clearly been a lot higher recently) 20 Grayling; 9 over lb - best 4, 2lb 2oz, 1lb15oz, 1lb 12oz, 1lb 10oz. 4 Chub; 3lb 13oz, 3lb 6oz & 2, lbers. A dozen plus (too many!) trout to 4lb+ - mainly browns with a couple of silver tourists! 2 Salmon Parr. Very slow morning followed by a lively afternoon. My first half a dozen swims produced just one decent grayling (f
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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19 November

​River Lambourn - Newbury   ​0700 - 1100. Frosty and bright - clouding over for the last hour. River very low.   ​31 Grayling; Most quite small but around a dozen needed the net - the 2 I weighed went 1lb 3oz & 1lb 2oz - with another half dozen not much smaller. 10 Brownies - all small save for one 2lber.   ​Usual catch a couple and move on tactics - fish quite spooky in low water - though found a big shoal in the last 45 minutes which produced nearly half the total!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 November

River Frome - Wool   0745 - 1345   Cool and quite bright for most of the day. River at normal levels - 0.72cm at E Stoke.   9 Grayling; 7 over 1lb to 1lb 10oz. 2 Brownies to circa 1lb. 1 Salmon Parr.   Started with a bit of a grueller - no fish of note at all for the first 3 hours. Moved to some swims I'd never fished before at the venue and thankfully found a few ladies - nothing approaching 2lb alas - but quite a few in the 20oz class.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Coarse Fishing

19 November

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1515 - 1645 Mild, calm & cloudy. 11ºC - A lovely, benign, autumn afternoon. 12 Perch; 5 over a lb - best three: 2lb 6oz & 2lb 3oz & 1lb 8oz Another quick, post work, session to make the most of the mild weather before next week's cold snap put the stripeys off their food for a while. Had bites for most of the 90 minutes but the dinner bell rang for the bigger ones at 1615 - when I had all my best three in consecutive casts!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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19 June part 2

River Kennet, Padworth   1530 - 2230   Hot, overcast and sultry - still 21ºC when we packed up.   4 brownies - a couple circa 1¼lb (possibly the same one!)   Reports from the river suggested barbel fishing would be a bit of a struggle - so the trotting rod was added to the quiver in the hope of a few dace - but yet again one of my favoured trotting swims here was occupied with troot and not a lot else!   As expected the barbelling was hard going - not helped by tonnes of pussy willow f
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

1

19 June part 1

NAA Stillwater - Thatcham   0430 - 1030   Sultry!   4 Carp (3½ - 4½lb), 12 Roach, 2 Perch.   Merest hint of a rumour that crucians had been coming out of this small club pond had me setting up at dawn, though more in hope than expectation. A pity, as just a few seasons ago it was a prolific crucian water. Today there was not a sign of one so had to make do with the occasional muscular common putting in an appearance to put a bend in the rod and lead me a merry dance on a light bottom!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 June (Part 2)

River Kennet - Near Thatcham   1800 - 2330   Still breezy and cloudless 18º->12ºC. River 'full' quite coloured with quite a bit of floating rununculus (very annoying!)   4 Barbel 8lb 2oz, 4lb 15oz, 2X 4lbers   Fished with Paul who had a 9+, 8+ and a 3. Two of my fish in the 1st hour, two in the last - all of Paul's fish came after 2200. Ledgered Halibut Pellet as per usual!  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 June (part 1)

Northcroft Backstream - Newbury   0930 - 1200   Bright and breezy - 17ºC   A dozen Chub (4lb 14oz, 4lb 9oz, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 3oz, 2lb 14oz - & 7 chublets), 3 Doz Roach, Dace & Gudgeon (in roughly equal nos.)   Had a morning to kill in Newbury whilst the car was being serviced and MOT'd so a pleasant chubbing session was most welcome. All fish on trotted single red maggot - from a swim I last fished in 1982!!!!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 June

River Kennet - Nr Newbury   0400 - 0800   Fine clear morning, 10º - 14ºC. River quite low and carrying its usual summer colour.   4 Chub best 2, 3lb 7oz & 3lb 3oz, 1 Perch 1lb 15oz, 5 Trout, best 1¼lb, 1 doz roach, 10 dace and 3 gudgeon.   A lovely dawn spent standing in mid river trotting maggot. Perch first cast, All chub came in consecutive casts after 0700 - from the tail of the swim where they'd no doubt been confidently sucking in my maggot for t
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 June

River Kennet - Newbury   0415 - 0800   Clear and cool - only 7ºC when I arrived.   3 Chub - 2lb9oz, 2lb3oz ,1½lb. 1 Barbel, 3lb 2oz. 4 Perch (1 'pounder' of 1lb 6oz), 16 Dace, 14 Roach, 4 Gudgeon, 2 Brownies & 1 Grayling.   After the frustrations of the opening day, a pre-breakfast visit to an old friend. A nice mixed bag all on trotted maggot - was hoping for some bigger chub but nice to see some 'silvers' showing. Barbel caught on the very last cast of the morning!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

19 June

River Kennet - Brimpton 1700 - 2030 Warm and sunny. AT 24ºC. River quite full for high summer - great to see so much water in it! 6 Chub: (in order of capture) 2X ¾-1lbers, 2lb 5oz, 3lb 13oz, 4lb 3oz, 5lb 4oz (they got bigger as the shadows lengthened!). 4 Brownies, a 'pounder' and 3 in the 6-8oz class. Super evening's sport - though, as per usual, had to rely on the 'rest and return' policy after 2 splashy trout in the first 5 mins from my banker swim. Fished 5 swims in tota
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2

19 July

River Kennet - Newbury   1800 - 2330   Warm. muggy and overcast, 1 heavy-ish shower. 17ºC when I packed up.   2 Barbel; 6lb 10oz, 3lb 14oz.   Very pleasant evening by the river - though not a lot of bites or activity. Some crayfish activity for first hour or so which then stopped - usually a good sign! 6lber at around 2100 and the smaller fish quite literally at the end - was leaning forward to grab the rod to wind in to end the session when it was wrenched from my hands! Both fish on le
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 July

Newbury AA Stillwater - Thatcham.   2000 - 0000   Warm with a lovely warm breeze to keep the mossies off - still 19ºC when I packed up at midnight.   1 Carp 5lb 8oz.   Same plan, different lake to the evening before. Try for a crucian and hope that the carp would come into the margins at dark. Neither part of which worked! Very unusual for here not to get carp slurping at your freebies in the margins - but there was not a hint of one the entire time I was there. Only bite on meat - a cla
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 July

​River Kennet - Nr Newbury   ​​1800-2330   ​Overcast and breezy - river low despite recent rains.   ​1 Bream; 3lb 5oz, 6 Dace and a brownie of about a lb.   ​Another blank barbel session preceded by an hour or so on the float. Did at least get a rattle on the ledger rods this time - but it turned out to be a surprise bream (from a very fast bit of water too). Shortly after this capture an otter surfaced right over my baits - putting paid to any further bites from anything apart from sig
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

19 July

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 2300 Warm and overcast with a stiffish breeze for the most part - which kept the mozzies at bay. AT 21ºC - 18ºC 4 Tench; 3lb 11oz, 3lb 2oz, 3lb, 2lb 13oz (all 3 smaller ones feisty hard fighting males). 2 Bream; 4lb 11oz & 4lb 8oz. 2 Perch, 2 Roach (all small) Well that was an entertaining evening! All the action between 8pm and 10pm - no bites at all before or after. I started off (as I usually do) alternating between chopped prawn and maggo
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0

19 January

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   0730 - 0930   Mild and drizzly 12ºC. Travelling light so water thermometer in other bag. (But WT must be well up). Canal bank high and quite coloured.   6 Perch (2lb 5oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb10oz, 1¼lb X2 & a tiddler), 1 Tench (!) 2lb 2oz, 1 Roach (15oz) - greedy sod took a whole lob on a size 8, 2 chub both <1lb.   Surprisingly pleasurable morning given the conditions - thankfully wind wasn't too bad - though fished les
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 January

River Kennet - Nr Newbury   0900 - 1600   Cold, overcast with snow laying to a depth of around 3-4inches. Temps hovering around 0ºC all day with frequent sporadic light snow flurries. No wind so wrapped up warm I was quite toasty all day - was actually rather a nice day to be out. River at near normal winter levels and quite clear. WT 42ºC   17 Chub(!); all over a pound with only 4 under 2¼lb, Biggest 4lb 2oz. Most fish in the 2½-2¾lb bracket. 10 Perch; Biggest 4, 2
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

6

19 January

River Kennet - Thatcham   1300 - 1530 plus a final hour fruitlessly wandering the canal in pursuit of perch.   Bright and sunny - 6-7ºC. River high but surprisingly clear - eminently fishable!   2 Chub; 5lb 12oz & 5lb 0oz.   A couple of hours + in what is fast becoming a banker chub swim followed by an unsuccessful perch session. In hindsight I probably should have stayed with the chub - this swim could throw up a real biggie! Both fish on trotted magg
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 January

River Kennet - Thatcham   1500 - 1700   Cool and sunny AT around 4ºC. River quite full with most colour dropped out.   2 Doz dace - with over half in the 8-10oz range !! 2 Brownies to circa 1lb.   With a really crappy weather forecast for Saturday AND Sunday - bunking off work early and snatching a couple of hours on the river was the order of the day - though I didn't expect to still be able to see a float at 5pm - spring is just around the corner (maybe!). Was hoping for a chub or 2 bu
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

19 January

River Frome - Wool 0830 - 1400 Cold with  unbroken bright sunshine. AT when I started was -6ºC warming to a balmy 5ºC when I packed up. River high - barely within its banks, VERY pacey and quite clear (though not as clear as the Kennet ATM!). 1.36m on the East Stoke river gauge (highest I've ever fished the Frome). 7 Grayling: the two that went on the scales went 1lb 13oz & 1lb 6oz the others all around 12oz. 1 Sea trout - circa 2lb +. The river gauges on the Frome have b
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