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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

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

18 June part 2

River Kennet - Nr Newbury   1145 - 1530   Warm, overcast and very muggy - lovely to be standing IN the river.   2 Chub; both around 1¼lb, 20 Dace, 4 Roach, 8 Gudgeon and 4 spotties - all small apart form one which might have scrapped a pound.   Quick return to the venue I spent 2 hours at on the opening morning - reasoning that at least I should have the place to myself - wrong as it turned out - 3 other anglers already here. So whilst I had intended to fish a different swim the waders w
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

18 June part 1

River Kennet - Thatcham   0645 - 1045   Warm and overcast - river in good nick with good weed growth this year.   2 Chub; 3lb 11oz & 1lb 14oz. 1 Barbel; 2lb 5oz. 7 spotties - all small except for 1 'pounder'.   Fished a number of swims in rotation - number one banker swim produced just trout (all of them bar 1!) but dropping downstream produced the 3lb chub. Other 2 fish up in the fast shallows. No sign of any dace which is a shame!    
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

16/17 June

NAA Stillwater - Thatcham   2000 - 0900   Mild and overcast with showery rain at dawn.   1 carp 12lb 14oz, 3 perch and err that's it!   Annual crucian hunt gets off to an inauspicious start and whilst they can be picky at the best of times at least we had some 'easy' carp to go at to keep us amused if they didn't come out to play - at least that was the plan. What wasn't in the script was the carp being as choosy as the crus. We saw loads of them swimming
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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16 June 2013

River Kennet - Newbury   0415 - 0615   Mild, overcast morning - river at or slightly above normal summer levels - with a bit of colour.   1 chub 4lb 9oz, 11 dace, (3 really chunky ones - would have weighed them had I not been standing mid-river), 1 roach, 2 gudgeon and a spottie.   Very quick trotting session to christen the season before dashing off to watch Sam in his first AAAs final at Bedford this morning. Nice to see a decent chub turn up in this swi
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

Fish & Fishermen in English Medieval Church Wall Paintings

Another book review - and a bit of a minority interest methinks! Fish & Fishermen in English Medieval Church Wall Paintings By Frederick Buller   A curious and rather unusual book that will fascinate anyone interested in Angling history – of which I thinks there’s a few on Anglersnet (well maybe just me and Vagabond!). The scope of this research is, however, rather narrow and I was amused by a line in the frontispiece which described the book as ‘a definitive text f
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

5

The Little Book of Little Fishes

I well remember as a youngster hunting for tiddlers in my local (then) River Witham. Sticklebacks were brought home in triumph and saw out the summer in a tin bath by the back door - this book brought back those childhood memories....   The Little Book of Little Fishes An Anglers Guide to Britain’s Smallest Fishes by Mark Everard   If, like me, your formative fishing years were spent catching sticklebacks (usually with the same worm) or splashing through the gravels turn
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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The Glorious Uncertainty

or Fate and the Fisherman. By John Aston.   One of the best angling books to come out of 2012.     "Message for Chris Plumb ... A Dream of Jewelled Fishes (recommended to me by C Yates) is not a little gem, but one of the finest angling books to have been written in modern times. A very BIG gem … Christ, wish I was on commission - have sold at least 30 of these in the past month. A wonderful book. Love his politics AND his views on 'modern carp fishing/carp an
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

PB List (with Pictures!)

My PB List. Haven’t done one of these for a while and it seems an appropriate way to ‘celebrate’ my 400th blog post. And I’ve even dug out and scanned a few old photos (rather crappy ones I have to admit!) which are appearing on the WWW for the 1st time.   Best Carp – 27lb 6oz. 15 August 2008. Blue Pool – Burghfield. Method feeder – hair-rigged hemp bogey. I usually spend all summer trying to avoid carp as I pursue tench and crucians but this was caught on an IAC fish-in
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

1

Season's Bests 2012-13

Plumby's Annual Round-up!     This time last year the word on everyone’s lips was drought. We’d had 3 dry winters on the trot – hosepipe bans were already being introduced and the chalkstreams of southern Britain were drying up. The springs feeding the Kennet didn’t ‘burst’ at all during the winter of 11/12, the river was looking very ‘threadbare’ and I feared for what conditions I’d find in June. What a difference a year makes!! April 2012 was one of the wettest on record – the s
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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14 March

Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury   0715 - 1800   Cold and frosty start - bright and sunny morning with some cloud in the afternoon. Cool but light breeze. AT -3ºC->6ºC but felt much warmer out of the wind and in the sun! Almost spring like and a vast improvement on Monday (and last Friday!)   16 Chub; Only 1 under 2lb, most over 3lb, biggest 5lb 2oz. Over 55lb in total!. 3 dace - 1 goodun of 11oz, 1 Roach (small), 1 Grayling circa 12-14oz. 7 Brownies to 2½lb. 1 Ra
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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13 March

River Kennet - Speen Moors   1030 - 1530   Bright, cool (5ºC) and breezy with a few snow flurries on a stiff northerly. WT 44ºF. River still high but down over a foot on my last visit of 5th Jan. This... was halfway up the 6...     4 Chub; 4lb 4oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb 5oz & a chublet. 5 Roach (all small), 1 Dace & 1 small Brownie.   Came with the initial intention of targetting the perch - but my favourite perch slack wasn't. (Slack that i
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

12 March

River Kennet - Newbury   1130 - 1430   Cold (2ºC) with stiff NE wind - Brrrr. WT down to 41ºF   3 Grayling; 2 smalluns and one close to a pound. 22 Dace, 1 Roach & 11 Gudgeon.   I had great plans for this week - however they all involved mild, misty spring mornings (and evenings!) by the canal in pursuit of monster perch. The cold, Siberian blast over the last couple of days as put paid to those thoughts. I did dither about going at all today - but needed some bait - so a couple of
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

11 March

Middle Kennet - Nr Newbury   0715 - 1745   Cold and RAW, with frequent snow flurries and a mini blizzard around lunchtime. Strong and dessicating NE wind. Temps 0ºC or below all day (line freezing to rod ALL day), wind chill must have been minus loads! Spring is here - NOT! WT a balmy 43ºF.   17 (!) Chub; Almost all over 2lb - biggest 3lb 14oz, 4 Perch; 2 'gooduns' at 2lb 2oz &1lb 14oz. 23 Dace - quite a few chunky ones and 2 real corkers; a female fish of 13oz
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

8 March (parts 1, 2 and 3!) Free Fishing Friday!

River Itchen - Twyford Meads 0800 - 1100 Itchen Navigation - Winchester 1130 - 1430 River Lambourn - Shaw - 1530 - 1700   WET. Rain, continuous, unrelenting rain. Mild - 10ºC and no wind (so that's alright then).Did I mention the rain?   Twyford Meads - 9 Grayling, best 2; 1lb 5oz & 1lb 3oz the rest all small.16 Salmon Parr, 1 Brown Trout. Itchen Navigation - Blanked. Lambourn - 4 Grayling 1 small the other 3 12-14oz. 1 Brown Trout, 1¼lb   La
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

7 March (part 2)

River Kennet - Newbury   1100 - 1400   Overcast with drizzle. AT&WT both 49ºF. River still high with little colour - has dropped very little in the last month.   2 Barbel; 2¼lb & 3½lb. 2 Grayling; both 8-10oz. 14 Dace a few chunky ones but nothing particularly big. 1 Roach ½doz Gudgeon.   Trotting session for what ever comes along - but hoping a barbel or a chub or two would put in an appearance - so jolly happy with a brace. Could have been so muc
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

1

7 March (part 1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   0600 - 1030   Mild, overcast with continuous drizzle. AT has averaged over 9ºC for the last 48 hours and the WT is catching up (48ºF) which is 9ºC in new money!   2 Perch; 3lb 15oz (and a bit - if it had swallowed the lob and not spat it out it might have tipped 4!), 2lb 2oz. 1 Pike 2¼lb.   1st part of a 'Reverse Rusty' session (Dawn on the canal - midday on the river). And conditions absolutely screamed perch so it was
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

5

Chalkstream

No fishing this weekend - building up brownie points with Jaq - for the last week of the season - I even went clothes shopping with her yesterday!!! (and we're still talking).   Also got lots of reading to catch up on - just finished a wonderful anthology by Charles Rangeley-Wilson which as ever I've reviewed for AN (see below too). Next up will be The Glorious Uncertainty by John Aston - just started it and I'd have to say that so far its even better than his first book (A Dream of Je
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

24 February

River Frome, Wool   0830 - 1500   Cold and overcast - max 2ºC with a raw northerly wind. River high with a little colour (more than the Kennet!) but within its banks (at last!). EA Gauge at East Stoke 1.14m   7 Grayling - best 3; 2lb 9oz, 2lb 2oz & 2lb0oz, 1 Sea trout; 1¼lb.   First Frome trip of the season and given the season on this bit of river closes on 28th Feb, my last! All winter it looked highly improbable that I'd get to fish it at all - but
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

1

22 February

River Kennet - Nr Newbury   0730 - 1745   Cold and overcast with a raw easterly wind - though thankfully reasonably sheltered on most swims at this venue. Max temp all day was 2ºC though judging by the times the line was freezing in the rings it was close to or below freezing for all but 2 or 3 hours around midday. WT 43ºF River clear with good flow.   10 Chub; 8 over 2lb, best 3, 4lb 12oz, 4lb 6oz, 4lb 3oz. 18 Perch; all small except for one clonker of 3lb 3oz!. 3
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

16 February (part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   1300 - 1730   Mild, overcast with some 'milky' sunshine at times. 10ºC. WT bouncing between 44/45ºF when I arrived rising to 46ºF when I packed up.   1 Perch; 4lb 2oz! (New PB ), 1 Chub; 5lb 10oz.   MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! It is a quest that started in 2005 with an eavesdropped conversation in Tony's tackle emporium when a guy at the till was describing in some detail the capture of a 4lb 11oz perch from the canal while
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

8

16 February (part1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne   0700 - 1100   Overcast with 'milky' sunshine. 2º - 10ºC. WT 41ºF   3 Perch; 1lb 13oz and a couple of smalluns   With the current mild spell well and truely kicking in, Perch we're always going to be on the agenda for this weekend. I couldn't make up my mind though on A; where to fish and B; whether to do a dawn or a dusk session. In the end I decided to do both, Fish both venues I had in mind one at dawn and one at dusk (see 16 February (part 2)) for
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

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

A Train to Catch

Angling books are another one of my passions - and my little angling library is not so little these days as the number of books in it creeps towards 200! Over the years I've done a number of reviews for Anglersnet of my favourite ones. I've got ½ dozen or so to catch up on - a legacy of Christmas (and birthday pressies) so there'll be a few more over the coming months. Here is the 1st.   http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/book-and-media-reviews/a_train_to_catch.html   A Train to Cat
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

2 February

River Lambourn - Newbury   0900 - 1130   Cool with bright sunshine - breeze picking up throughout the morning. 1º ->4ºC. River 'full' and clear as always, down an inch or so on December levels but still higher than its been for 5 or 6 years.   6 Grayling, a couple of 'pounders' biggest 1lb 5oz. 1 brownie of 1¼lb   Had to nip out to get some bait from Tony's for next weekend's assault on the Kennet (fingers crossed for a dry week), so perfect excuse to spend a couple of hours on the ba
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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