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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

23 August

River Kennet - Nr Newbury   0600 - 1000   Bright and sunny under a cloudless sky (makes a change!) 8º ->15ºC. River at normal levels - a couple of inches down on a week ago.   2 barbel (1lb 7oz, 1lb3oz), 1 Chub (2lb), 4 doz Dace, 1 doz Roach, 4 Grayling, 4 Gudgeon, 1 Salmon Parr.   A morning's trotting - alledgedly for chub - and although I bumped a couple they weren't in a feeding mood - though a couple of baby barbel from the fast shallows were fun! All fish on trotted mag.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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18 August

River Kennet - Nr Newbury   1900 - 0000   Windy - with frequent heavy showers for first couple of hours. Clearing to broken cloud and a (near) full moon. 15ºC. River carrying some colour after recent rain - no debris though.   3 Barbel (7lb7oz, 5lb 0oz, 3¾lb), 1 Chub (2¾lb), 1 Dace (on a 14mm Pellet hair-rigged to a size 8!!!)   Most fish caught during 1st couple of hours (Biggest barbel during the heaviest downpour - so got rather wet!). Only one fish after 2100 - smallest barbel at aro
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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14/15 August

Blue Pool - CEMEX Burghfield   1000 - 0900   Breezey with showers, cool night (down to 8ºC), bright morning.   1 Carp 27lb 6oz (new PB) 10 small perch.   Mini IAC fish-in. (Thanks to Neil). Though for a while it was nearly an IAC 'blank-in'!!! Only 2 carp caught between 7 of us, The other fish, (13lb14oz), to Neil. My fish came at 0400 and took a ball of hemp (stuck together with Kryston bogey) fished with a method feeder. Had been getting knocks on the
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4/5 August

Newbury AA Lake - Widmead   1800 - 0500   Mainly cloudy - breezy at first. 20º - 13ºC   14 carp - (best 4; 10lb 5oz, 8lb 2oz, 7lb 15oz, 7lb 3oz all others in 5+ - 6+ bracket), 5 Bream (5lb 6oz, 5lb 2oz, 4lb 14oz, 4lb 2oz, 3lb 11oz), a doz rudd, roach and perch (mainly rudd).   A busy night!! Most carp on pellet, though had 4 carp and 4 of the bream on float fishing margin tactics - meat, corn and maggot all catching. Packed up at 1st light to beat the rain!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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25 July

River Kennet - nr Thatcham   0700 - 1100   Sultry 17º - 21ºC. River in good flow with more ranunculus than I've seen on this stretch for 5+ years...   2 Barbel, 3lb14oz, 1lb 1oz (!), 1 chub 1½lb & 6 chublets, 1½ doz dace, 5 roach, 3 gudgeon.   Trotting session - all fish on single red maggot.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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24 July

Newbury AA Lakes - Thatcham   0500 - 0900   Bright and sunny - warm (even at 0500) 15º - 19ºC   2 Carp (10lb exactly, 6lb 3oz) ½doz perch & roach   A frustrating morning chasing crucians - had big ones rolling in the swim but no hittable bites. Both carp in last ½ hour when I switched to floating bread in the margins just to get a bend in the rod!!!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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21 July

River Kennet - Padworth   1900 - 2300   Clear, 19º->12ºC River with good flow and some colour.   Blanked!   A dozen other anglers on the venue when I arrived - so had no real confidence dropping into just about the only free swim. (I bet it was quieter at the weekend!) No sign of any fish - though very few others catching either....
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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18/19 July

Newbury AA Stillwater - Widmead   1900 - 0600   Mild (min16ºC) , overcast and drizzly - dry during dark hours, breezy. WT 19ºC   2 Carp (13lb 2oz, 8lb 14oz), 1 Tench (4lb 5oz), ½doz Perch - best 1lb 6oz.   Very quiet night - place seemed lifeless despite conditions seemingly being OK for fishing! My night was rescued by a busy hour just after midnight when I had all three fish. Tench on float fished meat both carp on pellet. Perch on maggot in the morning. Paul fared no better - a solita
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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14 July

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1900 - 2330   Warm and overcast 19º ->17ºC. Shirtsleeves all eveing! River in good flow with some colour and little debris.   3 Barbel (6lb 13oz, 5lb 6oz, 4¼lb)   All fish caught between 2200 - 2230. No bites before or after ! Privileged to witness at very close quarters a Barn Owl hunting on the opposite bank then swooping over to 'quarter' the field behind me. Awesome sight - and more than made up for the 3 biteless hours. (1st sighting was shortly after
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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10 July

Newbury AA Stillwater - Widmead   0500 - 0900   Bright and breezy - water levels well up after yesterday's rain - and lake looked rather lifeless.   1 carp (4lb 13oz), 2 tench (2-3lb), 7 Perch (one of 1lb 6oz), 2 Roach (13oz & 1lb) (!), 3 Rudd.   Fished VERY,VERY tight to margins - hoping - in vain for a crucian. Most on meat - roach on floatfished bread.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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5 July

Newbury AA Stillwater - Thatcham   0500-1100   Showery and breezy 15ºC   2 Carp (3-4lb), 2 Crucians (both circa 1¼lb), 1 Tench (scraper pounder), a dozen roach & perch.   Slow morning. Long periods without a bite interspersed with short bursts of activity - even struggled for bites on maggot at times. All fish caught float fishing
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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2 July

River Kennet nr Newbury   1830 - 2315   Dry, following afternoon rain - clearing skies 19ºC -> 12ºC (but felt cooler in the heavy dew!) River in good flow with some colour and debris free until the Canada Geese started feeding just upstream!!   3 Barbel (8lb 11oz, 5lb 14oz, 4¼lb), 2 Chub (5lb 1oz & 3lb 13oz).   Bigger chub 1st cast, biggest barbel 2nd cast! 2 smallest fish in last ½hr. 5lb chub - very lank and spawned out - will be MUCH bigger in the winter! All fish on pellet.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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28 June

River Kennet Nr Newbury   0415 - 0815   Overcast and breezy - temp a balmy 16ºC. River in good nick, good flow with a tinge of colour - normal for this time of year. Also good to see some ranunculus returning to this stretch - it was barren last season.   6 Chub (4lb10oz, 4lb6oz, 4lb4oz, 4lb 3oz, 3lb 14oz & a chublet), 3 Brown Trout (1lb2oz X 2 - same fish??), 3 dozen dace, ½doz roach, 2 grayling and A gudgeon!   Lovely early morning session spent upto my thighs in mid river, trottin
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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23 June

Newbury AA Lake Thatcham   0430 - 0930   Hazy sunshine, 10ºC - 14ºC   6 Carp ( 14lb 11oz, 7lb 7oz, 6lb 12oz, 3X5lbers), 4 Tench (1½lb-3lb), 1 Roach (14oz), 2 Rudd, 1 Perch.   Pleasant session. Fish on a variety of baits and methods. Meat, s-pellet & floating crust all caught. Biggie was a opportunist fish right at the end - was packing/packed up when I saw the fish had moved into the margins to hoover up some of my groundbait that had dropped in. Re-ti
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

20/21 June

Newbury AA Lake - Thatcham   1330 - 0830   Overcast and almost no wind. Light persistent drizzle started at 1600 and continued uninterupted until 0400 when heavy persistent drizzle kicked in! 12º - 16ºC   9 Bream ( best 5lb 13oz, 7 between 3.08 - 4.10 & a skimmer), 6 carp (smallest 5.08, biggest 8.01), 2 Tench 1½lb & 4lb 10oz, 2 doz roach and rudd (mainly rudd), 1 perch.   Very pleasant session - despite the rain!! All carp on ledgered pellet but most other fish on float fished m
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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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

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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

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17/18 June

Newbury AA lakes - Thatcham   1430 - 1100   Sunny becoming overcast. Breezy becoming VERY breezy. 13ºC-18ºC.   9 Carp (3½ - 8lb) 3 roach and a rudd.   Disappointing session on a usually prolific water. Paul did much better (eventually) and had a dozen on The Method - including a brace of 10's. Had hoped to do some surface fishing but legions of terns, ducks & geese made this sadly impossible - the buggers were insatiable - and did we try and sate them! Float fishing the margins - ano
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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16 June 2008

Marsh Farm   0730 - 1930   Sunny, becoming cloudy and breezy. Temp 10ºC -> 20º -> 16ºC.   5 Crucians (1lb 13oz, 1lb 10oz, 1lb 8oz, 2<1lb), 4 Tench (1½lb - 4lb 11oz), 3 Bream (1½ - 2½lb), 2 Roach (best 1lb 2oz), 2 Perch, a dozen+ Rudd.   Started on Harris and struggled all morning for bites (even using maggot) though did manage the bigger of the crucians from here. Paul started on Richardsons and faired much better so I joined him in the afternoon
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories

The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories - Edited and Introduced by Nick Lyons, Foreword by David Halberstam.   OK, I admit I'm a bit of a 'sucker' for angling anthologies - in fact I've just counted up the number of such volumes in my modest angling library and realise I already have 10 such books, not counting this one. Of these, my favourite 3 - and most comprehensive - are BB's, Fisherman's Bedside Book, The Magic Wheel, & Fish, Fishing & the Meaning of Life. I like anthologies
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Angling Vagabond

This book is already well known to most ANers!   Angling Vagabond - a Glorious Boyhood by Dave Park   If I have one complaint about this book it’s that it finishes too soon - and somewhat abruptly. A sign of a good book - leave the reader wanting more! I hope the author sees this volume as no more than the opening salvo’s of a full angling autobiography. Dave Park (known to all on the AnglersNet forums by his nom de plume, Vagabond) is a much travelled Ichthyologist and I’m s
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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A Can of Worms

No fishing for 3 months so I thought I'd put up any new book reviews I do over the spring - this book is already in the Book and Media Reviews section (from the AN home page)...   A Can of Worms - the story of Barbel and the men who fished for them. By Jon Berry   There can be few books which can be said to be the first AND last ‘word’ on their chosen subject yet this is exactly how I’d describe A Can of Worms. Jon Berry has turned to all his skills as a History graduate
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Season's Bests 07/08 Season

Right that's it for another season. 07/08 was a pretty good one - despite only 1PB for Brown Trout - though this was more than double what it was at the beginning of the season!   Best BARBEL, 11lb 6oz, 1/10/07, Ledgered 14mm Halibut Pellet, River Kennet nr Thatcham Best CARP, 9lb 6oz, 29/6/07, Ledgered 14mm Halibut Pellet, River Kennet at Woolhampton Best BROWN TROUT, 8lb 12oz, 14/3/08, Trotted single white maggot, River Kennet nr Newbury Best BREAM, 7lb 9oz, 18/6/07, L
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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14 March

River Kennet nr Newbury   0645 - 1845   Mild, overcast and calm. Some light drizzle early on (despite being forecast to rain all day!) 11ºC. River at normal levels with just a hint of colour - Couldn't ask for more perfect conditions!   8 Chub (5lb 2oz, 4lb 15oz, 4lb 5oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 10oz, 3lb 8oz & 2 chublets). 3 Doz Dace - handful of 'good-uns' - best 12oz, 1½Doz Roach, best 2; 1lb0oz & 13oz, ½doz Gudgeon, 4 Perch (all small), 2 Salmon Smolt, 2 Brownies,
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

13 March Pt2

River Lambourn - Newbury   1000 - 1300   River very full - carrying some colour.   2 Grayling 1lb 11oz & tiddler, 1 Roach - 10oz, 3 Brownies to 2¼lb   First hour trotting bread in the hope of a nice roach - but only attracted the trout. Biggest Grayling from the Lambourn this season. Checking back in my diaries its my biggest from the Lambourn since 2003 (to the day!)  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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