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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

7 December

Middle Kennet Estate - Newbury   0815 - 1600   Cool, bright and breezy, with showers for first couple of hours. River quite low.   10 Chub; All over 2½lb, with the majority in the 3lb+ class. Best 2, 4lb 1oz & 4lb 4oz. 7 Roach, 2 Dace. Around 10 brownies to 3lb & half a dozen rainbows to 4lb.   A fine days chubbing in the company of Paul & Chris (Rusty). Rusty was travelling up from Devon and we didn't expect to see him til mid morning so of co
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

11 January

River Kennet - Speen Moors   0800 - 1345   Cool , bright and sunny with a stiff breeze - clouding over for the last hour or so. River in good winter nick - quite pacey with a bit of colour.   7 Chub: 6 over 2lb though only 1 over 3 and that not by much. 7 Roach, 2 Gudgeon and 2 spotties.   Bin a few years since I had that many chub in one visit from this venue. Unusually for me spent the first 4 hours in one swim - which produced all the chub - every time
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

26 January

Middle Kennet - Nr Newbury   0800 - 1700   Overcast, mild (9-10ºC) with some milky sunshine at times after a drizzly first hour. A lovely benign winter's day. River quite pacey and carrying a little colour.   14 Chub: 6 over 3lb - best 4lb 13oz. 3 Pike; All jacks - biggest just under 7lb. 7 Perch; all small, save for one goodun of 2lb 8oz. 2 Dozen Dace & Roach. 3 Brownies all around 2lb+.   Cracking day's sport (as always from here). Plan was to do a b
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

1 August

River Kennet - Newbury   0515 - 0745   Cool (5ºC when I started) and clear. River with a little more flow and quite clear for a change.   1 Chub; 5lb 13oz. 30 Dace. 20 Roach. 6 Gudgeon. 1 Grayling.   Cracking dawn trotting session and home for breakfast! Chub were the target and I was at the head of the swim before 0500, trickling in maggot for 20 mins or so waiting for it to get light enough to see my float. Sure enough the trick worked and first trot thr
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

13 February

Lower Itchen Fishery   0830 - 1630.   Cool and overcast after a soggy start, rain returning just as we packed up, temps didn't get above 4ºC all day. River quite pacey with a slight tinge of colour.   37 Grayling; 14 over 1lb with half of these over 1½lb. Best two; 2lb 5oz & 1lb 13oz. 1 Brownie and 2 Salmon Parr.   IAC fish-in in memory of Paul Goulbourn.   A poignant day on the Itchen. Paul and I were introduced to this fishery back in the l
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

26 August

River Kennet - Brimpton 1800 - 2300 Warm, still evening (calm after the storm!). River up a tad and carrying a bit of colour (and the odd branch!) 2 Roach (handsized). 2 Dace. 3 Gudgeon & a Brownie (small). An hour's trotting - hopeful of a chub - but really just a blank prevention measure (!) followed by 4 hours staring at a couple of isotopes willing one of them to wrap around with a three foot twitch. Alas the only excitements came from the crayfish and numerous bats c
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

29 July

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1830 (by the time I started fishing) - 2300 Warm, slightly overcast evening. AT 23ºC  down to 16ºC when I packed up. 1 Tench (small), 2 Rudd (very small!) This evening's venue choice was dictated by the quality of the blackberries rather than the fishing! Another 3lbs picked which Mrs P will be converting into her rather lovely bramble jelly! Fishing was pretty dire - my worst return from Alders this summer. All fish around 2130 when I had half an hour
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3

14 August (5th Paul Goulbourn Memorial Trophy Fish-in)

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm , Milford. 0630 - 2330 Warm (still 18ºC when I got home at 0100), overcast and DRY - despite the forecast and the downpours the day before. There was some VERY annoying light drizzle for the last hour or so - but overall conditions were very benign - thankfully! 2 Crucians; 3lb 1oz & 2lb 9oz. 4 Tench - 2@4lb+ - biggest 4lb 9oz. 3 Perch. A doz+ Rudd (micro!!) 3 Time lucky! This is the 3rd IAC fish-in I've organised in 2020 and the first one to actu
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

3
Coarse Fishing

14 September

River Wye, Llanthomas 1630 - 1930 Warm,sunny evening. 2 Barbel: 5lb 14oz & 7lb 7oz. Mission accomplished! I usually make a point of NOT fishing when I'm on holiday with Mrs P - I tend to stay married that way! However when a long weekend in the Brecons became a week's stay in Hay due to our Greek holiday falling victim of Covid it would have been churlish not to drop in on Geoff's! I've known Geoff over 20 years and around 9 years ago he acquired a mile (double bank) of t
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

31 October

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 0615 - 0945 Mild (13ºC) with an increasingly strong breeze (storm Aiden approaching) 9 Perch: All, bar one, over 8oz with a couple pushing a lb. Still searching for the bigger ones! Quick session before the rains arrived (started pishing down just as I got back to the car!). One of the advantages of the clocks going back is there's a bit longer to fish before the barges start up and whilst the first one came through at 0830 again - there
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

21 November (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal (flowing), Thatcham 1100 - 1330 Dull and breezy. AT 11ºC. River at normal levels and quite clear. 6 Dace; 5 over 8oz - biggest 15oz !! 1 Gudgeon. Another trip to an infrequently fished (and less than reliable) venue but one which has thrown up decent dace and chub in the past. Nothing quite in this class however -  a female almost in full breeding condition (3 months early). My biggest dace for 11 years, since this day.  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

6 December

River Kennet & Carrier - Marsh Benham 0745 - 1315 Cool, calm & cloudy. AT 1º - 3ºC. River quite full - though somewhat surprisingly (and contradictory!) the carrier was on the low side. 4 Chub; 4lb 10oz, 3lb 1oz, 2lb 2oz and a chublet. 18 Roach - few of any size bar one which went 12oz. 4 Dace, 1 Perch, 8 Brownies - 2½ - 3½lb & 2 Rainbows 2½lb & 4+lb. Pleasant morning's trotting - chub as ever were the target - though most of my 'banker' swims were full of tro
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

12 December (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 1400 - 1600. Bright & breezy. AT 7ºC 4 Perch; 2lb 14oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 6oz, 1lb 2oz. So Plan B was to fish the witching hour on the canal hoping for a big stripey - though as so often happens in the winter it's a witching 20 minutes around 4.00pm just as the light is fading. Had all 3 bigger ones in this 20 minute spell culminating in the biggest - which was a very last cast fish as I'd already packed up my bags. A season's best as well.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

8 January

Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham 0915 - 1345 Cold, calm and cloudy. Temps hovering around 0ºC all day (-1º when I arrived, +1º when I packed up). River in fine winter condition - gin clear and at normal levels. 9 Chub; 6X2lb+ - best 3lb 3oz (first fish caught!). A doz Roach - all a 'nice' size but nothing to trouble the scales. 5 Dace; best a clonker of 13oz. Half a doz Brownies - most around the 2lb mark - with one nearly double that. Got a few days off either side of this comi
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

17 January

River Kennet - Hambridge 0915 - 1315 Cool, calm and bright. AT 3º - 6ºC. River at normal winter levels and quite clear - looked in great nick. 1 Chub; 1½lb. 3 Perch; 1lb 9oz, 1lb 6oz and a sub lber (but not by much!). 7 Roach - all handsized. 7 Dace - 3 in the 6-8oz class. 4 Brownies - a lber and 3 smalluns. Usual tactics to snaffle a decent chub from the off meets with a rare failure (I'm blaming the bright conditions and a trout first cast!) - only chub I did get turned up
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

31 January

River Lambourn - Shaw 0930 - 1200 Cold and cloudy. AT 0º-2ºC. River very full but, as always, crystal clear. 10 Grayling - all small with a couple around 8-10oz. 11 Trout - a netter (probably close on a lb) with the rest parrs - bit of a nuisance - in the same way minnows are! Repeat of last weekend with the Kennet completely out of sorts after 1¾ inches of rain since Weds. A couple of hours on the bank to cure cabin fever - after being stuck at home yesterday with no electri
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

14 February

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0830 - 1300 Cold, cloudy with a stiff, chilly breeze. AT around 1º-2ºC all day with significant wind chill (!), showery drizzle for last couple of hours. River very full - but clear. 4 Chub; 3lb 5oz, 2lb 12oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lb 2oz. 5 Dace - all small. 3 Brownies 1½-2½lb - also lost an enourmous trout - had it on for ages and got a good look at it - my pb is 8¾lb and this was a similar size - don't usually mind when a brownie throws the hook - but a bit gutte
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

4 August

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Warm, clear evening with a gentle southerly breeze wafting the aromas of Paul Newman's salad dressing from the factory at Greenham - but not strong enough to keep the mossies at bay! 3 Tench; 3lb 4oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 5oz. 2 Roach & a Perch - all handsized. Slightly sub par return by recent standards - waited 2 hours for a bite then all the fish, bar the smallest tench, came in a flurry between 8.30 and 9.00pm. By 10.30pm the crayfish had m
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
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

18 August

River Kennet - Padworth 1800 - 2200 Warm and overcast. River quite low and quite coloured up (usual late summer conditions!) 3 Chub; all ¾-1lb. 11 Roach - 4 in the 8-10oz class - all the others less that half this. 1 Dace; 6oz (looked bigger!) 3 Gudgeon. Moderately successful trotting sesh (and always nice to see a few gobio gobios turn up) to precede the expected blank on the lead once it got dark. Only 'rattles' were as a result of the signals!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

27 August

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford. 1500 - 0000 Cool, calm and clear evening. Lovely evening for star (and planet) gazing - Jupiter is in oppostion at the moment so is particularly bright.  AT a chilly 9ºC when I packed up - felt a little autumnal! 9 Crucians; All bar one over 2lb (and even that one was only 2oz shy). Best 3: 3lb, 2lb 12oz, 2lb 9oz. 2 Tench; 4lb 9oz & 3lb 13oz. 4 Rudd. Five hours without a bite (save for the micro rudd which annoyingly kept attacking a bar
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

29 August

River Kennet - Thatcham 0915 - 1130 Cool (for August) and overcast. AT 14ºC. River low and clear. 1 Barbel(!!) 👏 3lb 15oz. 5 Chub; a 'pounder' with the rest a ¼ of that - nice to see some juvenile fish in the river. 1 each of Perch (¾lb), Roach, Dace & Gudgeon. Well, THAT's put a grin on my face! 😀 A couple of hours trotting to use up some maggot that's on the turn having languished in the back of my bait fridge for weeks! A decade or so ago - this was THE venue to get a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

1 September

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 2200 Cloudy with a fresh NEly breeze. AT 15/14ºC but felt considerably chillier in the wind. 2 Bream: 5lb 7oz & 2lb 15oz. 2 Tench: 2lb 10oz & a 1lber. 3 Carp: All well over a lb - in fact the one I weighed was over 1½lb (all rehomed in Willows). 10 Perch: most in the 6-8oz class. 1 Rudd: handsized. Busy evening with most of the fish coming in the first 90 mins. Only 2 bites after 8pm - but both resulted in a bream on the bank. My biggest
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

15 September

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 2200 Calm, clear evening - affording excellent views of Jupiter, Saturn & a very bright half moon. Temps dropped rapidly when the sun went down - resulting in a very heavy dew. 2 Tenck; 2lb 13oz and a 'pounder'. 1 Bream; 4lb 2oz. 2 Roach;  both 'netters' and whilst unweighed would both have made ½lb easily. 15 Perch; various sizes from micro to a couple that were half decent and in need of the net. Plagued with perch for the first hour - but
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

9 October

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0830 - 1300 Foggy - eventually clearing to sunny spells - though bites dried up when the sun appeared so was quite happy with the gloomy conditions. AT 14ºC when I left. River quite low and with a little colour. 5 Chub: 3lb 11oz, 2lb 5oz and 3 around 12oz or smaller (This year class appear to be everywhere!) 40+ Roach and Dace (more roach than dace) - a nice stamp with around half of both species in the 8-10oz class. Biggest dace I weighed went 10oz and
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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