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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

20/21 July

Willows Lake - Thatcham   2000 - 0500   Warm (min 16ºC), overcast and drizzly most of the night especially early on.   8 Carp; biggest 18lb 5oz - all the rest between 5¾lb - 9¼lb. 1 Tench - circa 1lb and a skimmer.   A night of 2 halves - started float fishing the margins targetting the lake's rare but large crucians - and sure enough had crucians rolling in my swim repeatedly as it got dark - so hopes were high! Alas the carp kept getting to the bait first and when I didn't connect wit
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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16 December

River Kennet - Newbury   1015 - 1315   Cool, cloudy and calm. River up a couple of inches after yesterday's rain but not carrying much colour.   8 Chub; 4lb 2oz, 4lb 0oz, 3lb 11oz, 3lb 0oz, 2lb 10oz & 3 X 1-2lbers. 1 Grayling 1lb 1oz, 1 Dace, 1 Roach & 5 Brownies - to 2¼lb.   Another super winter's chubbing - first 3 trot throughs all produced fish (after spending 10 mins feeding) and thereafter the fish came in 'bursts' 20-30 mins without a bite followed by another 2 or 3 fish i
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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26 December

River Kennet - Thatcham   0945 - 1145   Cool and bright. River up a touch with some colour.   1 Chub; 3lb 3oz, 1 Grayling; 1lb 9oz. 2 Dace, 1 Perch   Quick session while Mrs P hit the sales. Super grayling for this part of the river - my biggest from here.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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25 September

River Kennet - Hambridge   0900 - 1200   Bright and sunny after a frosty start, had to scrape ice off the car which was a shock to the system after a week away in Lanzarote! River up a touch and with a bit of colour.   6 Chub; Best 2, 4lb 15oz & 3lb 14oz all the others between 1¼lb - 2lb 6oz. 10 Dace - with 4 in the 8-10oz bracket, 2 Roach, 3 Brownies - all over 1lb - biggest nearer 2.   Cracking little trotting session was hoping for a chub or 2 so to get half a dozen was great. Was
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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2 March pt2

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton   1330 - 1700   Still mild with milky sunshine - clouding over and quite breezy.   9 Perch; 5 over 1lb - 2lb 1oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 13oz, 1lb 12oz, 1lb 3oz with a couple more just shy of 1lb. 1 Chub 3lb 1oz, 1 Roach; 14oz. 3 Pike - all between 2-3lb   Can't get enough of a good thing at this water atm! Pike were a bit of a pain forcing me eventually to move swims - which resulted in the chub and the roach - both caught on whole lobs.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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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

17 September (Part 2)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0845 - 1300 Bright and sunny - with a cool northerly breeze - though felt very warm in full sun! AT 17ºC when I packed up, River very low. 5 Chub: 2X 2lbers and 3 in the ¾-1lb class. 5 Perch; All over 1lb, with 4 over 1½lb, best three 2lb 3oz, 2lb & 1lb 13oz. 30+ Roach - various sizes with around half a dozen 'netters', I weighed one of these at 13oz and the others were of similar stamp - great to see! 1 Dace: a real good-un of around 10oz. 1 Gudgeon
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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14 March

Middle Kennet Estate Water - Kintbury   0700 - 1815   Mild,damp start, VERY windy with some further lumpy showers (hail), brighter by the afternoon. River with a bit of water in it at last!   21 Chub; Biggest 3 - 5lb 6oz, 5lb 3oz & 4lb 9oz - with nearly all the rest in the 2½ - 3½lb class, a couple of pounders and one just under turned up in my dace swims at last knockings. 12 Dace - best 10oz, 6 Roach - all 'hand-sized', 1 Perch <1lb & around a dozen+ brownies.   A chub fest
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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5 August

Warwicks Water   1830 - 2230   Warm and breezy evening (kept the dew and the mozzies away!   2 Tench; 3lb 2oz & 1lb 9oz. 8 Perch ( all small).   Annual trip to check on how this lovely little pond is progressing after being remodelled and restocked (with tench and crucians) a few years back. Surprised on 2 counts; firstly to find two other anglers on the water (one of whom had caught a pound+ roach) - and to get a tinca over 3lb - wasn't expecting anything that big. No sign of any cr
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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23 August

Bucklebury Ponds   1500 - 1730   Bright, warm and sunny.   A doz roach tp ¾lb. 5 Perch. 4 Skimmers.   No fishing this weekend - upto Birmingham to watch the athletics - so a snatched couple of hours at my nearest venue to home - most of the roach were a 'nice' size.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Coarse Fishing

5 March

Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham 0900 - 1400 Cool, overcast and breezy with showers to finish. AT 4º - 6ºC (but felt much chillier in the stiff breeze). River up a couple of inches but still at the bottom end of normal! 6 Chub; 3X3lbers 3lb 13oz (yes I had another one shortly after you left - Steve!) and a brace at 3lb 8oz - possibly same fish - caught 90mins apart from same swim - though chub are not usually so careless!, 2lber and a couple of 'pounders'. 1 Roach - small & a Rai
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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25 September

River Kennet - Newbury   0930 - 1400   Overcast, breezy with some light drizzle at times. River up a couple of inches and quite coloured after yesterday's inch of rain.   4 Chub; all between 10oz - 1½lb. 2 Perch; 1lb 6oz and a tiddler. 7 Dace. 4 Roach. 1 Bream c1½lb. 2 Grayling & a brownie.   Was meant to be up on the Trent today at an IAC fish-in - but Jaq and I abandoned our plans for the week (exploring the Lincolnshire Wolds) due to the inclement weather so had to make do with on
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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1 July

Newbury AA Stillwater - Thatcham   1745 - 2345   Overcast, breezy with a few short sharp showers. Cool - becoming even cooler - down to 9ºC in the car on the way home.   3 Carp; 7lb 9oz, 5lb 6oz, 4lb 11oz.   Not long after Paul's funeral - his wife Kim wanted me and Geoff to come over and sort through his fishing tackle (and bait fridge/freezer). Kim was keen for both of us to have whatever tackle we would make use of and one of the pieces I took was his p
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Coarse Fishing

31 August

River Kennet - Hambridge 1730 - 2145 Warm, clear evening. AT 23º -> 16ºC. River very low. 3 Chub: 4lb 11oz, 2lb 13oz, 1lb 12oz. 1 Barbel (hooray!) 2lb 1oz. 7 Dace, 2 Roach (all small). 5 Bleak. Been a while since I did an evening here - used to be a banker swim for ledgering for a barbel - so much so I've even brought a couple of my 'occasional' angling friends here in the past to (succesfully) catch their first barbel. Those were in pre-otter days (who made an appearance
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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26 September

NAA Still Water - Thatcham   0730 - 1030   Clear with a chilly start (5ºC -> 15ºC) Water levels VERY low.   1 Carp; 3lb 2oz   Float fishing maggot on a size 18 to 1½lb bottom - resulting in a solitary bite. Scared 3 cormorants off the water on arrival - so don't suppose that helped!!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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31 July

Alders Lake - Thatcham   1800 - 2230   Bright and breezy evening - temps down to 15ºC   1 Tench 1½lb, 2 roach.   Strange little session - lake seemed pretty lifeless and spent the first 3 hours or so looking at a stationary float - then had a 10 minute flurry of activity at around 2115 half a dozen bites and all 3 fish followed by another hour of nothing! Still, managed to pick nearly 3lb of blackberries which Mrs P has already converted into bramble jelly - yum!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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

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Coarse Fishing

20 June

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1500 - 2230 Warm with sunny spells - clearing at dusk with a nice southerly breeze to keep the mossies off. AT 21ºC or there-abouts for most of the afternoon. 3 Tench; 6lb 8oz, 5lb 3oz, 1½lb. 3 Carp; 10lb 11oz, 7lb 8oz, 6lb 11oz News that the carp in here weren't showing very well (post spawning malaise?) had me chancing my arm for the tincas. Went all out with my default tench tactics - prawn sections float fished lift method style and it wasn't long
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4

19/20 June

Johnsons Lake - Milford   1100 - 2315 & 0300 - 0900, with a 3 hour kip in the car sandwiched in between!   HOT! Sunny and Sultry - temps hit over 30ºC. Finding a shady spot was a (THE) major factor in considering swim choice!   8 Crucians: 3lb 9oz, 3lb 2oz, 3lb 0oz, 2lb 14oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 6oz, 2lb 5oz. 21 (!) Tench - a dozen over 4lb; best 2, 6lb 13oz & 6lb 1oz. 1 Roach; 1lb 10oz (!) and, somewhat ironically, the only fish under a pound was a tiny
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

15 December (Part 1)

Middle Kennet (& Carrier), Marsh Benham 0900 -  1315 Cool, calm and cloudy - a lovely benign winter's day. AT 5º-7ºC. River very full and clear - though down a couple of inches on 10 days ago. 2 Chub: 3lb 5oz & 2lb 7oz. 3 Brownies; 2½-3½lb. I had a cunning plan for today - return to the south bank flood slack I found last week - pre-bait with copious amounts of red sweetcorn and empty the swim of big winter chub - or at least that was how it played out in my imaginati
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

22 January (Part 1)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0900 - 1330 Cool and overcast. 4ºC or thereabouts all day. River low and clear - up an inch or so on my last trip here before Christmas but still low for mid January. 4 Chub; all ½-1lb. 4 Roach - 1 netter of around 10-12oz and 3 smalluns. 4 Dace (all small). 1 Gudgeon, 1 Bleak & 1 Brownie: 2lb+ Another 'scratchy' session here - saved - as per usual - by the weirpool swims which accounted for most of the fish. Only bite I had from 3 swims on PD r
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

14 March (Part 1)

Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0700 - 1200 Bright and sunny. Frosty start - but felt quite warm by lunchtime - a lovely spring day though not ideal angling conditions! AT -1º - 12ºC. River up a bit on last weekend - close to usual winter levels. 1 Chub; 4lb 3oz. 18 Roach - quite a few 'netters' with the biggest a smidge over 1lb - my first (and last!) from here this season. 2 Dace - Small. 2 Perch - ditto. 1 Brownie - 2½lb. Wanted to end the season where I started it! Began on
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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14 March

Middle Kennet Estate Water - Kintbury.   0700 - 1800 (!)   Mainly overcast though mild with a strong southerly breeze. River 'full' with a little colour - in great winter nick.   25 Chub(!): Apart from 4 X1lb class fish which turned up in my various 'dace' swims at first and last knockings, all 3lb class fish. 3 over 4lb @ 4lb 14oz, 4lb 6oz & 4lb 1oz. 6 Dace - one decent fish of 10oz. 4 Roach - including one @ 12oz. 1 Gudgeon (possibly my first ever from here!). A dozen brownies to 3lb
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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23 July

Alders Lake   1830 - 2230   Hot and sultry - a shirtsleeves and DEET evening!   2 bream both a couple of ounces either side of 2lb, 1 Tench circa 1lb and a roach.   First soirée here of the summer. All fish came in a 45 period from 2100 as it started to get dark.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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11 August

River Kennet - Widmead   0900 - 1200   Bright and breezy. River at 'normal' summer levels.   1 Chub: unweighed but needed the net! 1 Grayling 1lb 1oz. 2 Doz Dace & a bleak.   Swim I've not fished for 35 years! (last time was Sep 1985 - and I had stacks of dace then too!). Grayling was first cast which was unexpected thereafter it fish a chuck for the first 45 mins.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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