Jump to content
  • entries
    1158
  • comments
    904
  • views
    1592985

About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

22 January

Middle Kennet Estate   0800 - 1645   Drizzle/rain ALL day! Mild 7-8ºC. River at normal winter levels - carrying some colour - more than is usual for here.   3 Chub; 5lb 7oz, 3lb 14oz, a chublet, 1 Perch 1lb 10oz, 1 Bream; 4lb 4oz, 1 Pike; 14lb 2oz, 2 doz Dace - biggest 2 - 12oz & 11oz, ½ doz Brownies - biggest 2lb.   Belated birthday trip - loads of cracking dace - hardly a fish under 6oz and loads around the 8-10oz mark. 2 smallest chub and the bream
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

17 January (Pt 2)

River Kennet, Newbury   1115 - 1245   Still bright and sunny. River pushing through and quite coloured. WT 43ºC   1 Gudgeon!   Tried worming for an hour or so - without a bite - switched to maggots for the last ¼hr to save a blank!!!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

17 January (Pt 1)

River Lambourn, Shaw.   0800 - 1045   Bright and sunny 2ºC - 8ºC. River 'full' with a merest tinge of colour.   7 Grayling - biggest 1lb 11oz, rest all sub 12oz. 1 Brown trout.   Last minute change of plan - as I forgot to check the match booking sheet until I got into Newbury - so decided on Shaw (before it got too busy!) first followed by a quick jaunt to the Kennet. Biggie first fish of the morning - best grayling from the Lambourn this season.  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

2 January 2010

River Kennet - Newbury   0830 - 1130   Cold and bright. AT -2ºC -> 3ºC. WT 40ºF. Some colour and near normal levels.   7 Chub: 4lb 2oz, 3lb 15oz, 3lb 9oz, 3lb 6oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 3oz.   An excellent morning on a frosty Kennet - or rather IN a frosty Kennet as I was wading for the whole session (warmer than on the bank!). All fish on trotted double red maggot (on a size 14).   1st fish of the decade - below. (3-09)  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

28 December (Parts 2 & 3)

River Lambourn - Newbury   1245-1345 & 1400 - 1545   Still Cold!   7 Grayling; (best 3 - 1lb 6oz, 1lb 2oz, 15oz), 3 Roach.   7 (!!) other anglers on Shaw when we arrived so after a grayling or two each, Paul and I moved to somewhere less crowded - with worthwhile results - especially for Paul who ended up with 11 grayling - 5 of which were better than 1lb - bested by a fish of 1lb 8oz. He also had time to winkle out a 12oz roach.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

28 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Speen Moors   0800 - 1200   Chuffing cold and clear. AT -4ºC when we arrived - and the line was still freezing in the rod rings at 12noon when we packed up. WT a slightly more encouraging 41ºF.   1 Chub; 1¾lb, 1 gudgeon, 1 trout parr.   A day on the river(s) with Paul - had to keep moving to stay warm!!! Paul also managed 3 fish - a chub (smaller than mine) a roach and a dace. Packed up at lunchtime as we decided we'd taget a species that's not fussed by a bit of frost!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 December

River Lambourn - Shaw   1130 - 1400   Cold, and sunny. -2ºC -> 1ºC. River at normal levels - crystal clear as ever!   13 Grayling: best 2, 1lb 7oz & 1lb 1oz. 1 brown trout parr.   Lovely afternoon in the cold! Fish were quite spooky - never caught more than 2 from any one spot. Experiment with pomergranate seeds a failure - skins are too thin for a good hook hold!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

13 December

River Kennet - Speen Moors   0830 - 1330   Cool and mainly overcast - some 'milky' sunshine at times. AT 3º -> 6ºC. WT 45ºF (7ºC). River just about up to 'normal' levels - carrying a tinge of colour.   9 Perch (in order of capture): 2lb 11oz, tiddler, 2lb 8oz, 2lb 4oz, 2lb 3oz, 2lb 9oz, 2lb 15oz, 1lb 10oz, 2lb 9oz. 1 Pike 5lb 5oz, 1 Brown Trout, 2lb, 5 gudgeon.   Cracking session (nearly 20lb of perch!) after an early morning change of plan due to not reading the match bookings! Had p
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

6 December

Middle Kennet Estate Water   0830 - 1630   Bright and breezey after heavy morning rain (we sat in the car waiting for it to stop). River coloured up in the morning but was fining down again by the time we packed up. Levels still quite low.     9 Chub - all quite small - biggest 2lb 7oz, 1 Perch 1lb 7oz, 13 Roach - best 2, 1lb 6oz & 1lb (just!) - most others around 6-8oz, 3 dozen Dace, ½ doz gudgeon, 2 Brownies - best 3½lb, 2 Rainbows - best 2¾lb.   Pleasant day's trotting (once the
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

28 November

River Lambourn - Shaw   0830 - 1230   Bright and breezey. 2º -> 8ºc. River still low - this wet November's rains haven't percolated through the chalk yet!   22 Grayling - 4 over 1lb, best 1lb 6oz. A dozen brownies - all small.   Pleasant morning's trotting.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

21 November

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   0700 - 1100   Overcast, mild and drizzly. AT 57ºF. WT 52ºF   4 Perch: 3lb 5oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 5oz and a tiddler.   All fish in first couple of hours (3lber first cast!). Spent last hour exploring so probably did more walking than fishing.....Float fished lobs as per usual.    
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

15 November

Middle Kennet - Nr Newbury.   0715 - 1630   Bright and sunny. 6º -> 13ºC. River still quite low and carrying a little colour after 3 days of rain.   6 Chub: Biggest 4lb 1oz, 1 Perch 1lb 5oz, 1 doz Rainbows to 4¼lb, 3 Brownies to 2½lb, 3doz dace, 2 doz roach, ½ doz gudgeon and a skimmer bream.   A day spent chub hunting - and trying (unsuccesfully) to avoid the trout. Most fish on trotted maggot - spent the last hour quiver tipping bread flake hoping for a decent roach but all I accoun
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

12 November

River Kennet Estate Water - Nr Hungerford   0645 - 1615   Bright sunny start, showers then HEAVY rain after 1500. AT 5º -> 11ºC. Water VERY low.   44 Grayling, 18 over 1lb, best 2 - 2lb 0oz, 1lb 14oz, 21 Dace, best 2 - 13oz & 12oz - also weighed another at 10 oz and had quite a few of similar size - unweighed, 5 Rainbow Trout - to 2½lb, 3 Brown Trout - to 2¾lb.   Surprisingly good day given the very low water conditions. Best return of 1lb+ grayling from this venue in a day (by a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

7 November

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   0830 - 1115   Bright and sunny. AT 3º -> 9ºC. River still low & clear though up an inch or so. WT 49ºF.   7 Dace, 4 Brownies to 1½lb.   A morning's trotting - playing hunt the chub - and failing to find any. All dace were a nice size though (6-8oz).
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

31 October

River Kennet, Nr Newbury.   0700 - 1100   Torrential rain at dawn (I waited for it to clear! ), brigthening up. 15ºC. River low with LOTS of leaf litter - coloured up AND fined down in the time I was there!   7 Chub: 5lb 5oz, 4lb 7oz, 3lb 11oz, 3lb 0oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 7oz & a chublet. 1 Barbel 4lb 1oz, 1 Perch c¾lb, 4 doz roach dace & gudgeon in roughly equal nos.   A pleasant morning's trotting (once the rain had stopped). All the big chub & the barbel caught in the last ¾
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

29 October

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1830 - 0100   Calm and mild with high cloud. AT 52ºF, WT 54ºF.   2 Barbel 4lb 15oz, 4lb 3oz.   A very pleasnt evening by the river. Fished with Paul who packed up at 2230 having had 1 fish just under 6lb. My first fish came at 2350 and the 2nd 20 minutes later!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

24 October

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   1300 - 1800   Drizzly start becoming bright and sunny - mild 16ºC.   9 Perch; 3lb 12oz, 1lb 11oz & 7 tiddlers, 1 chublet.   Planned to go in the morning but the wimped out because of the promised downpour which never really arrived. Should have stuck to my guns as the barge traffic was a nightmare. Biggy early in the session - but after that there was far too much boat traffic for the swim to 'settle' down - poo!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

17 October

Kennet & Avon Canal, Thatcham   0700 - 1130   Cool and overcast start becoming bright and sunny. AT 5º - 8ºC   8 Perch:3lb 14oz(Another new PB ), 2lb 6oz, 2lb 3oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 15oz. 1lb 14oz, 1lb 10oz (& a tiddler), 2 Chub, 1½lb & a chublet.   A strange session (!!) Both chub in the 1st couple of minutes then no bites for over an hour. Swim woke up at around 0830 after a couple of barges came through (Often the opposite happens). And I had sl
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

12 October

River Itchen   0830 - 1815   Bright and sunny all day. River VERY low and gin clear!   51 Grayling: 27 over 1lb of which 8 were over 2lb - biggest 2lb 6oz., 4 Chub: 4lb 11oz, 3lb13oz, 3lb5oz, 2lb 6oz, 20+ Brownies to 2½lb.   Lovely day spent trotting the river with Paul - who had a similar return - though he managed to all but avoid the trout. Most fish on maggot - a few to corn - though the brownies seemed to get to the corn first.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

10 October

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   0645 - 0900   Cloudless sky - so bright sunshine by 0800. 11ºC   6 Perch: 3lb 11oz (New PB) , 3lb 3oz, 2lb 6oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 13oz and a tiddler, 2 Chub 1lb 10oz and a chublet, 1 very small Pike.   After a great start on the river last weekend - and even better start on the canal!!!. Both 3lbers in first 45 minutes of fishing - the 3-11 was first perch of the session. A really chunky fish - as fat as a football! All fis
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

3 October

River Kennet - Speen Moors   0700 - 1130   Overcast and windy. AT 14ºC. Water levels VERY low.   18 Perch: Best 2, 3lb 6oz & 2lb 13oz, 4 more around the 1¼lb mark and another ½doz circa 10-12oz. 1 Pike: 5lb 14oz. 6 Roach, 1 Dace, 2doz Gudgeon and a Bleak.   Fabulous start to the autumn river campaign. Most perch and the pike on float fished lobs. Went with Paul who didn't find any big perch but had a few goodish dace and a brace of Pike - biggest 8¼lb.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

28 September

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1845 - 2300   Clear night, AT 11ºC. River VERY low and clear.   2 Barbel; 4lb 6oz, 3lb 13oz.   A new swim - one with a bit of depth AND flow. No crayfish activity - always a good sign. Both fish on ledgered pellet, after 2100.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

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

0

20 September

Bucklebury Ponds   1000 - 1200   Overcast - becoming sunny.   8 Perch - all small save one which weighed 1¼lb (!!!) 1 roach.   Short trip to use up some maggot. Surprisingly large perch for this place (Maybe they DO go bigger - Rusty!! )
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

19 September

River Kennet - Thatcham   0800 - 1130   Bright and sunny. River VERY low, clear and almost bare of rununculus.   2 Barbel: 4lb 14oz, 2lb 6oz, 3 Chub 3lb 11oz, 2lb 14oz & a chublet, 2 trout.   A morning trotting double red maggot.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
×
×
  • 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