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Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

14 March (Part 1)

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0630(!) - 1130 Cool and overcast with drizzle to start - brigthening up. AT3º-6ºC. River at normal winter levels - though actually down an inch or so on last Friday. 9 Chub: 5 over 4lb - best two - 5lb 1oz & 4lb 14oz. 3X3lbers and the smallest went 2lb 14oz. 2 Bream; 3lb 4oz & 2lb 9oz. 1 Bleak, 1 Rainbow C2½lb. Back to the swim - that's a gift that keeps on giving! Had 7 chub from it today plus the 2 bream - the other 2 chub coming from a s

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

12 March

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1430 - 1730 Mild, cloudy & quite breezy with drizzle at times. AT 10ºC 2 Perch: 1lb 14oz & 1lb 11oz. A much milder day than recently, so decided to try for some stripeys on the canal. Suspect the water temps haven't caught up as bites were few and far between - with both fish in the last 45 mins before I then got bit off by a jack.

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

10 March

River Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham 1030 - 1600 Cold and mainly cloudy - snow flurries to start - brightening up. Breezy. AT 1º->4ºC. River at normal winter levels with a tinge of colour.. 9 Chub: (in order of capture...) 1 ½lb, 4lb 6oz, 3lb 5oz, 4lb 10oz, 5lb 10oz, 4lb 8oz, 4lb 15oz, 3lb 14oz, 4lb 14oz. 6 Brownies 2½-3½lb. 1 Rainbow 5 ½lb. It's been quite a poor season on the chub front from my syndicate stretch and I was going into the last week of the season not

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

9 March

River Kennet - Hambridge 1100 - 1500 Cool, cloudy with drizzly showers. Temps rose quite rapidly from 3º->10ºC. River up a couple of inches on the weekend and carrying a bit of colour after nearly and inch of precipitation (snow, sleet & rain) in the last 36 hours. 3 Chub; best 3lb 6oz and a couple of 2lbers. 1 Dace - quite chunky and sandpapery (male in breeding condition). 1 trout parr. Fished 2 swims twice - giving each 45 mins at a time - bites at a bit of a premiu

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

6 March

River Lambourn - Newbury 1315 - 1500 Overcast with light showers. AT 8ºC. River at normal levels. 6 Grayling; best 1lb 6oz - the others half that or smaller. 5 brownies - a 'pounder' and 4 parrs. Quick trip before the inclement weather forecast for the rest of the week sets in! Being a weekday I expected to have the place to myself - not a bit of it - 4 other anglers on the stretch - so I had to eke out fish from less promising spots!

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4 March (Part 2)

River Kennet - Brimpton 1330 - 1545 Cool & cloudy. AT 6ºC. River at normal winter levels - still quite pacey on this stretch and clear. 1 Chub: 2lb 3oz. 1 Brownie - 1¾lb. A couple of hours failing to find one of the 5lb chub I had from this stretch back in the summer - would love to see either in my net again at their winter weight! Gave ½hr to each of my 4 most 'reliable' swims and had just 3 bites all afternoon losing an acrobatic trout and converting the other two.

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4 March (Part 1)

River Kennet - Hambridge 0900 - 1230 Cool & cloudy. AT 3º -> 6ºC. River at normal winter levels and quite clear. 5 Chub: best two 3lb 8oz & 3lb 3oz - all the others between 1½-2½lb. 1 Perch: 1lb 9oz. 1 Brownie c½lb. With 10 days to go until the end of the season - and a cold snap forecast - I might be looking at a tough few trips to round off my angling year. Bites today were at a premium - until I then had 3 chub in 3 casts after switching swims. My usual 'banker'

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

25 February

Kennet & Avon Canal (flowing) - Colthrop 0830 - 1115 Cool and overcast with a stiffish breeze. AT 2-5ºC. River clear and still quite pacey. 2 Roach, 2 Dace; all small. Failed experiment to try and catch a late winter (BIG) dace. They are at their heaviest this time of year so it was off to a venue that has twice thrown up really good dace (see here & here) in recent autumn visits. Fished the length of the stretch with most spots hardly producing a bite - ho hum, at le

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

18 February (Part 2)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1245 - 1515 Mild, overcast and breezy. AT 11ºC. River still very full - clear and in great nick. Would have thought it would have dropped more after only 0.6mm of rain locally since 16 Jan. 2 Perch; 2lb 11oz & 2lb 4oz. 1 Chub; 2lb 8oz. 1 Bream 1lb 10oz. After fishing down the length of the Lambourn it was time for a quick lunch and a pop round the corner for a couple of hours on the Kennet. Usual bait and wait tactics met with a rare failure - was

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

18 February (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0845 - 1215 Mild, overcast and breezy. AT 10ºC. River full and gin clear, as always. 13 Grayling; 6 over a lb, 2 not by much, 3 around 1¼lb and one of 1lb 13oz. 1 Roach; small - alas - don't get many roach from here - but they tend to be noteworthy when they do show up. 2 Brownies - both small. Bit of a scratchy morning - redeemed by the last hour on the bottom of the stretch which produced more fish than the previous 2½hrs including the big lady - my

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

12 February (Part 2)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 1200 - 1515 Mild and overcast. 8ºC. River full and clear. 3 Chub: 3lb 11oz, 2lb 14oz, 1¼lb. 1 Dace; small, 3 Gudgeon. After getting trouted out on my syndicate stretch in the morning it was nice to run a float through a couple of swims without the expectation that every bite would be from something with an adipose fin. Had planned to explore a bit but ended up just fishing the weirpools.

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

12 February (Part 1)

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0815 - 1115 Mild, calm and overcast. 6º-8ºC. Lovely benign Winter's day. River quite full - though has clearly dropped several inches in the last fortnight - very clear. 2 Chub; 3lb 3oz, 1½lb. 1 Brownie C.3lb and 3 Rainbow's; a lump of around 4-5lb and 2 half that. If there's anything worse than catching brownies - it's hooking rainbows! A brownie will usually reveal itself straight away - boil on the surface - allowing one to play it hard and hope

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

5 February

River Frome - Wool 0800 - 1430 Bright and sunny. Cool 3º-6ºC. River bank high - but not in the fields any more! Still with a slight tinge of colour. 1.27m on the E Stoke river guage (I've only fished the river once before when it's been this high!). 14 Grayling; 9 over a lb. Best 4: 1lb 12oz, 1lb 13oz, 2lb 0oz, 2lb 2oz. 4 Brownies; a 3lber, another half that and a couple of smalluns. 1 Sea Trout; 1½lb - a bar of silver - still covered in sea lice! The Frome coarse season is o

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

28 January

River Kennet - Hambridge 0900 - 1300 Cool & cloudy. AT 2º-5ºC. River still very high and clear - down a couple of inches on last weekend but not dropped as much as I'd expected after a dry week. 1 Chub; 3lb 7oz, 1 Bream; 2lb 3oz. 2 Grayling. Scratchy morning in my favourite flood swim with bites at a premium. Bream and grayling in the first ¾hr. Chub first cast after resting the swim for nearly an hour, while I had a leisurely lunch on the bank. Had planned to venture ove

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

20 January (Part 2)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1300 - 1500 Cold and bright. AT 5ºC. River in full flood - barely within its banks - but crystal clear. 2 Chub: 4lb 3oz & 3lb 6oz. Quick detour on the way home to drop into a swim where the chub to trout ratio was likely to be much better than my morning venue. 2 bites in the first 20 mins were both 'converted' into nice chub - but despite resting the spot for a while I didn't get any more interest.

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

20 January (Part 1)

Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0800 - 1200 Cold, bright and sunny. AT -1ºC -> 5ºC. River very full but crystal clear after a cold, dry week. 4 Chub: all between 2lb 13oz - 3lb 11oz. 6 Brownies 2-3½lb. A sparkly day in West Berkshire. All chub from the same spot - with a brace in the first ½hr or so and another two after resting the swim for a couple of hours. All I caught in the intermediate period were nuisance brownies! Frosty Chub

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

13 January

Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury 0830 - 1615 Bright and sunny and VERY windy all day. AT 7ºC. River high - barely within its banks and with a tinge of colour - in great winter's nick! 20 Chub: 15 over 1lb with 12 over 3lbs. The biggest 5 went 4lb 4oz, 4lb 10oz, 4lb 15oz, 5lb 2oz & 5lb 8oz. 7 Roach & 4 Dace - all small. 6 Brownies; 2½-4lbs. Birthday treat to myself (twas yesterday) resulted in a splendid days winter chubbing. Wind was challenging to put it mildly - near

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

7 January

River Kennet - Hambridge 1030 - 1430 Showery and very breezy after heavy morning rain (28mm already this month). AT 10ºC. River up again on Monday's levels and with a lot more colour. 2 Chub: 4lb 11oz & 2lb 8oz. 8 Perch; 7 over 1lb, with 5 over 2lb - best 2lb 10oz. 4 Roach - a netter of around 10oz and 3 small-uns, and the now obligatory gudgeon! Quick return to Monday's swim - though better prepared this time for a stripey campaign! Took lobs, and my keepnet made a rare

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2 January (Part 2)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1330 - 1500 Bright and sunny. AT 6ºC. River bank high - with a lot less colour than I expected to see after such a wet weekend. 2 Chub: 6lb 5oz & 4lb 13oz. 2 Perch: 3lb 6oz & 2lb 6oz. 4 Roach, 1 Dace - all fairly small. 1 Gudgeon. WOW! Gotta love a good flood swim! Having fished out the Lambourn I thought I'd at least have a look at the Kennet - expecting to see it coloured up and flooded. And whilst it was bank high there was surprisingly lit

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2 January 2023 (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0900 - 1230 Cool, bright and sunny. AT 6ºC. River at normal winter levels - and as clear as gin (of course) despite heavy rain all weekend. 12 Grayling: 4 over 1lb - best 1lb 10oz. 5 Brownies - a lber and 4 parrs. An insurance session as I reckoned 32mm of rain over the weekend would have stuffed up the Kennet too much (I was wrong see part 2!) so opted for a couple of hours on the Lambourn as a cure for cabin fever! Bit of a scratchy morning - not he

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

29 December

Kennet carrier (& main river) - Marsh Benham 0815 - 1330 Bright and breezy with a few light (& one heavy) showers. AT 5º-7ºC. River at normal levels - carrier still a little on the low side for winter. 1 Chub: 2lber. 20 Roach & Dace (slightly more roach - nothing note-worthy). 3 Brownies and a Rainbow - all 2½ - 3½lb - with the Rainbow at the top end of that and possibly pushing 4lb... A morning spent playing (and largely failing!!) at avoid the trout. Got off to

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

26 December

River Kennet - Brimpton 1030 - 1330 Bright and sunny. Cooler than last couple of days. AT 4º - 6ºC. River at normal levels and with a tinge of colour. 1 Chub: 4lb 6oz. 2 Brownies; Biggest a brute of a fish - must have been close to 4lb but unweighed - the other around half that size. Impromptu trip based on Jaq announcing she was hitting the sales!! Bright winter sunshine are not the ideal conditions for a spot of chub fishing but I reasoned the recent rise in river levels an

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

23 December (Part 2)

Kennet and Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1330 - 1615 Bright and VERY breezy. AT 11ºC 1 Perch; 1lb 11oz That was a bit below expectations to put it mildly - especially after starting with a semi decent perch in the first 10 mins (and in bright sunshine)- it would prove to be my only bite!!! Wind was a nightmare and way stronger than this morning - made accurate casting and good presentation all but impossible. I fished on hoping that the witching hour would rescue proceedings - but

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

23 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1000 - 1230 Bright and mild after heavy early morning rain (over ½inch). AT 11ºC. River at normal winter levels with a tinge of colour - looked in really good nick - hooray!  Was up a good 6 inches on my last visit here . The Kennet is at last seeing the benefits of a wet autumn - the springs on the the downs broke during the recent cold snap (the river gauge at Winterborne Monkton started recording on the 15th Dec) so winter rainfall will now start having more

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

17 December

River Frome - Wool 0830 - 1345 Bright, milky sunshine - very cold start - the thaw arrived mid morning - which I was very thankful for - line freezing in the ferrules had made for a tough couple of hours prior to that. AT -6ºwhen I arrived ->+6ºC when I drove off. River at normal levels - 1.05m at the East Stoke gauge. 13 Grayling: 8 over a lb - the 3 I weighed went 1lb 14oz & 2 X 1lb 10oz (different fish!) most of the others lbers around 1lb 6oz. 3 Trout - a lber, one half

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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