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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

11 February

Lower Itchen Fishery   8am - 5pm.   Cold and overcast with light snow flurries in the morning. AT never above 2ºC all day. River on the low side for late winter - with a slight tinge of colour and a surprising amount of weed growth.   22 Grayling; 14 over 1lb, best 4 - 2lb 4oz, 2lb 2oz, 2lb 1oz, 1lb 15oz. 3 Chub - all 3 - 3lb 5oz. 1 Brownie 2½lb.   2nd IAC grayling day in memory of Paul Goulbourn. Organised with great diplomacy by Dave Smith and attended b
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

11 December

River Kennet - Newbury   0745 - 1000   Cool and overcast AT 5ºC. WT a cold 40ºF. River very low and very clear!   6 Chub; 4lb 7oz, 3lb 12oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb12oz, 2lb 3oz & a chublet. 2 Dace.   Quick trotting session. First 45 minutes fished with red corn accounting for the 4lber and the 2 bigger 2's. Others all on trotted red maggot.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

11 December

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   1230 - 1600   Cool, with milky sunshine. AT 8ºC WT 12.1ºC   1 Pike; 5lb 6oz. 5 Roach, 2 Dace, 2 Bleak.   Blank perch trip! Spent the first couple of hours fishing (and feeding) mag - hoping to attract prey fish - but the only bite I had on lobs resulted in the pike.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

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

0
Coarse Fishing

11 August

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Warm, becoming overcast and quite breezy. 1 Tench; 2lb 7oz. 2 Perch - both 6-8oz. Slow evening with all the action (if you can call it that!) unusually coming in the first 90 mins. My worst return from Alders in a while. Only excitement as it got dark was connecting with one of the lake's rogue carp, for which I was totally out-gunned. I'm not sure it even realised it was even hooked at first as it plodded up the channel - before realising s
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

11 August

River Kennet - Hambridge 1300 - 1600 Warm and muggy. AT 25ºC. River still with good levels for mid August! 3 Chub: 3lb 13oz, 3lb 0oz and one of around ¾-1lb. 8 Roach & 8 Dace - all small. 2 Gudgeon. 1 Brownie- small. Friday afternoons - I am 'persona non grata'  at home as Mrs P has a coffee afternoon with her friends - a tradition that goes back over 30 years (it was originally her post-natal group!) so Friday's are going to be a regular fishing day now that I have retir
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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10/11 July

NAA Stillwater - Thatcham   1930 - 0500   Warm, overcast and still. No need of a shelter or brolly - could have sat in shirtsleeves all night if it wasn't for the mozzies. Super night to be out.   1 Crucian; 2lb 6oz. 5 Carp; 17lb 14oz, 16lb 0oz, 10lb 1oz, 9lb 5oz, 7lb 1oz. 1 Perch (small).   Love it when a plan actually comes off! One of the lake's crucians was always number one priority and I had one as soon as it got completely dark - should probably hav
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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10/11 August

Summer Pit - CEMEX Yateley   1930 - 0130   Overcast and very breezy - this lake is so sheltered it's unusual to feel any wind at all - not last night! Mild - min 15ºC.   1 Bream; 8lb. 1 Tench; 3lb 7oz. 2 rudd & a perch.   Fished a new swim for the first time - at other end of the lake to usual haunts! Both fish caught just as it got completely dark - tench on meat at 2200 and the bream on maggot ½ hour later. No bites at all thereafter - though a few l
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

10/11 August

Harris Lake, Marsh Farm - Godalming AS   1400 - 0930   Hot and sunny. Night was clear and felt quite cool by dawn with a mega heavy dew! Gorgeous night to be out fishing under the Perseids!   14 Tench; Biggest 3, 5lb 13oz, 4lb 10oz, 4lb 8oz. All the rest in the '3lb class' save 2 which were smaller. 7 Crucians - all over 1lb (though a couple by not much!) biggest 2lb 5oz. 2 roach, 1 rudd & a perch.   A really lovely session which came to life at 2130 a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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10/11 August

Harris Lake, Marsh Farm, Milford   1900 - 0900   Clear cool night, down to 9ºC. Not a great night for spotting Perseids due to the near full moon - still spied a few really bright ones however!   12 Tench; All over 3lb with 3 over 4 - best 4lb 12oz. 10 Cruicans; 4 over 2lb, best 2 - 2lb 8oz & 2lb 7oz. A doz rudd, half a dozen roach and 2 perch.   Busy night as nearly all wish during hours of darkness - and all bar 2 on the float. Chopped prawn again ac
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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10/11 August

Dobsons Lake - Thatcham   1800 - 0500   Cool clear night. Temp down to 5ºC when I packed up!   4 Carp: 9lb 12oz, 8lb 2oz, 7lb 15oz, 6lb 9oz. 1 Bream 5lb 12oz. 1 roach.   Brrrr - a slow but steady night looking out for Perseids as much as fishing! Surprised how cool it was at dawn - compounded by a very heavy dew!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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10 September

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1845 - 2315   Clear and breezey. 18ºC----->9ºC. No moon - really dark night!   3 Barbel; 5lb 0oz, 2 sub 4lbers.   River down 3 inches on last visit, still carrying some debris - mainly ranunculus - which frustratingly kept catching the line. 2 smaller fish around 2100, 5lber last cast.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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10 September

NAA Stillwater - Thatcham   0630 - 1100   Overcast, muggy and breezy. 17º -> 20ºC   4 Carp; 7lb & 3 ± 5½lb. 6 roach.   A morning spent mainly watching a stationary float - despite fishing single red maggot on a size 18. Was hoping for a crucian or two to put in an appearance but in the end was happy when a few muscular commons turned up. Thankfully this pond is pretty snag free so was able to wear them out on light tackle....!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

10 September

River Kennet backstream Padworth   2000 - 2300   Overcast, breezy with showery rain at times. 16ºC River down a touch on when I last fished here in August (see 8th August entry)   1 barbel 4lb 11oz   Yet again a fish first cast, followed by not a lot. Well nothing with fins - the signals were insatiable. Probably should have fished a couple of swims in rotation like last time, though I rather suffered from 'swim inertia' being tucked snug under my brolly on a rainy evening...
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

10 September

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1800 - 2300   Clear evening becoming quite cool; 9ºC when we packed up.   7 dace, 3 roach (all small)   A pleasant social with Paul - sharing (practically) the same swim. Last hour of daylight spent trotting for the silvers followed by 4 hours looking at a near stationary isotope - save for the odd crayfish rattle.   Paul, however faired rather better getting this very fat 10lb 10oz barbel in the first hour of ledgeri
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

4

10 September

K&A Canal Colthrop River Kennet Brimpton   0615 - 0815 - Canal 0830 - 1100 - River.   Sunny start quickly clouding over.   Canal - blanked River; Chub 2lbish, 1 Grayling, 5 Brownies.   First time on this stretch of canal - part of a plan to find some new perch hotspots - alas this doesn't appear to be one of them - not a bite of lobs so switched to the river for a rather sratchy session in VERY low water.  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

10 September

River Kennet - Bulls Lock   1800 - 2300   Warmish and overcast.   3 Dace and a chublet.   Another fruitless barbel session on a rarely fished stretch of river. As per usual started off trotting for not a lot - and once ledgering the only rattles came from the crayfish of which there were A LOT!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

10 September

River Kennet - Brimpton 0700 - 1100 Cool (compared to lately) and mainly overcast. AT 11->16ºC. River still low but up a good couple of inches on my last visit here in July. 4 Chub: 5lb0oz, 3lb 6oz, 1lb11oz and one <1lb. 5 Roach & 1 Dace - all a 'nice' size circa 6oz. 4 Brownies; a lber and the others around half that. With 1½inches of rain already this month (nearly as much as the whole of June, July & August!) I was hopeful that the river might have perked up
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4
Coarse Fishing

10 October (Part 2)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 1015 - 1400 Cool, overcast and quite breezy. River in good nick - not as high or coloured as I expected after all the rain last weekend. 5 Chub; 3lb 6oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 6oz & 2 chublets. 1 Perch 1lb 7oz. 30(!) Roach with around a 3rd in the 8-12oz bracket. 12 Dace - all, bar 2, a really good size - biggest weighed in at 11oz but nearly everything else was within an ounce or 2 of this - cracking stuff. 2 Bleak & a Gudgeon. Super trotting sessio
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

10 October (Part 1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0700 - 1000 Chilly and bright - clouding over. 3º - 8ºC 6 Perch - only 1 below 8oz but only 1 over lb (and not by much!) 1 Roach c10oz (on a whole lob) A sudden drop in temps and a bright crisp morning are not the ideal conditions to kick off my autumn perch campaign here - so glad to get any interest at all in my float fished lobs. Started in one of my 'banker' swims which produced all the fish before doing a bit of prospecting which produce
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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10 October

River Kennet - Thatcham   1300 - 1500   Bright and Breezy. 17ºC. River at normal levels carrying some debris.   2 Barbel (5lb 2oz, 3lb 4oz), 10 Chub - all between 10oz - 1¾lb, 1 Brown Trout 1lb 10oz.   Cracking little trotting session. All fish on double red maggot.
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

10 October

River Kennet - Speen Moors   0700 - 1230   Mild, mainly overcast and VERY breezy. 17ºC. River very low.   1½+ doz Perch, 4 over 1lb (though 3 not by much!) biggest 2lb 12oz. 1 Chub, 1lb 14oz, 1 Bream 1½lb. 1doz roach, 3 dace and 10 gudgeon.   First trip here this season so was a case of having a good wander around - fished 6 swims in total - and had perch from 5 of them. A lot of perch in the 10-12oz bracket - big enough to snaffle a whole lob - small enou
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

10 October

A Southern Chalk Stream !   Dawn till Dusk!   Sunny spells and heavy showers - which apart from a brief downpour in the 1st hour missed us completely! Saw some very black clouds to the east and west of us in the afternoon - but nothing over us - so we had the sunny spells while others had the heavy showers - hooray!!   73(!) Grayling. 36(!) over a 1lb. Most in the 1¼ lb - 1lb 10oz bracket. Biggest 5 went; 2lb 6oz, 2lb 2oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 15oz & 1lb 13oz. 3 Chub; 5
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

1

10 October

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1745 - 2215   Cool, clear evening under a bright half moon. New thermal trousers made their debut - so was quite toasty! River quite low and clear.   1 Barbel 10lb 4oz, 6 Dace (all around 6oz), 1 Brownie of 2¼lb.   Quick half an hours trotting - rather hoping to get a chub followed by the expected long hours of staring at stationary isotopes - so somewhat surprised to see the boilie rod wrap around after ¾hr of casting out. Had
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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