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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

20 August

River Kennet - Thatcham 0630 - 1000 Bright and sunny. AT 14º -> 20ºC. River VERY low. 10 Chub; 3 over a lb (two not by much - the other around 2lb) all the others small - 4-6oz. 6 Roach - all around the same size as the small chub (and occupying the same swim). 2 Gudgeon - a rare sight in these parts. 1 Ruffe - a MUCH rarer sight. 3 brownies - all small. I first fished the Kennet in 1969 at the age of 8 when I was taken to a weirpool on Lower Benyons by my Great Grandfathe

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

14 August

Harris Lake - Milford 1530 - 2330 Hot, overcast and sultry - though the clouds parted somewhat after dark to allow me to see a couple of long streaky Perseids. AT 33°C on arrival and still 20°C when I pulled into my drive at home, at a little before 0100. 7 Crucians; 4 over 2lb - biggest 2lb 15oz - with all the other 2lbers around 2-04 - 2-06. 10 Tench;  all over 3lb - with half over 4lb - best 2, 5lb 11oz & 4lb 11oz. 4 perch - small, 3 rudd - micro small - all took a bare hoo

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

10 August

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Hot and sultry. AT 30° -> 20°C. Shirtsleeves evening - with a glorious full moon (nearly - it's actually tonight!) rising in the SE.  1 Tench; 2lb 1oz. 2 Carp; 14lb 5oz, 6lb 7oz. 1 perch - small. A torpid evening watching a mainly stationary float - and not even avoiding a float caught carp - though, thankfully, the 6lb common decided to motor out toward the island rather than dive into the lilies a mere couple of feet from where it was

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

6 August

River Kennet - Hambridge 0530 - 0730 Cool and clear. AT 7º (!) -> 13ºC (Was thankful for my fleece!). River VERY low - can't remember when I last saw it this threadbare. 2 Chub; 1lb 10oz & 1lb 7oz. 11 Dace - all small. 5 Roach - ditto apart from one of around ½lb. 2 Gudgeon, 2 Bleak A couple of hours trotting and home for breakfast! Doesn't look like anyone's been here since I came in June, place was a jungle! Banker chub swim was full of bleak & and small dace - s

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3 August

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 2230 Warm and overcast. AT22º->20ºC 1 Tench; 1lb 11oz. 1 Roach, 4 Perch - all small ( but not micro-small!) A very frustrating evening as I repeatedly had sail-away, unmissable bites which had me striking at thin air! Still can't decide whether it was signals or small fish taking the shot - suspect the latter as the bait came back unmolested! Dusk eventually saw some fish actually hooked but the only one to put a decent bend in the rod was a f

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

30 July

River Kennet - Brimpton 0530 - 1000 Warm, muggy with hazy sunshine. AT 15º -> 22ºC. River very low. 2 Chub; 4lb 9oz, 4lb 4oz & 2 chublets. 9 Dace; 5 absolute chunks all 8-10oz, 7 Roach - variety of sizes but nothing over 6oz. 1 Perch: small, 1 Bleak. 1 Brownie: 1¼lb. For the second river trip in a row I get to see an otter and this one defintely wasn't shy! I'd eased into position mid-river to get a run through a favourite chub swim, only to get the flippin trout prett

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

28 July

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Warm, overcast and muggy (for the most part - skies clearing and getting cooler and dew-y when I packed up). AT 22º -> 16ºC 1 Tench; 4lb 2oz. 1 Carp: 2lb 8oz. 1 Roach - handsized. It's that time of year when venues are chosen for the quality of the blackberry picking! 3lbs picked in a little over ½hr - which has already been converted into Jaq's wonderful bramble jelly this morning - was followed by 4 hours watching a mainly stationary fl

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

25 July

River Kennet - Padworth 1715 - 2145 Warm, overcast and very breezy. AT 22º -> 16ºC. River low and threadbare! 13 Roach and 7 Dace. Nothing particularly noteworthy - though all the roach were a handsized or slightly bigger. A lively hour catching 'silvers' followed by 3 hours sat behind a couple of stationary quiver tips for the inevitable blank targetting a barbel (and to think this place used to be called 'Barbel Alley'). Had intended to stay a bit longer - but an early p

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

23 July

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0530 - 1130 Bright and sunny. 13ºC -> 22ºC. River very low with a tinge of colour. 2 Chub; one just over a pound the other even smaller. 40+ Dace and Roach - in roughly equal nos (slightly more dace). None of the roach were noteworthy but several of the dace were - the two I weighed went 13oz & 11oz and had another 3 or 4 over 8oz. 2 Bleak. 1 Rainbow; 2½lb. A 'scratchy' morning, failing to find any big chub or any bonus bream backups! Starte

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

15 July

Willows Lake - Thatcham 1900 - 0000 Warm, calm evening with high cloud clearing enough to have a good view of the International Space Station which passed overhead twice whilst I was on the bank. AT 25º -> 15ºC. Shirtsleeves all evening though copious amounts of DEET was required to keep the mossies at bay! 6 Tench: best 3lb 4oz, with another just shy of 3lb the other 4 around 1¼lb ±4oz. 1 Crucian; 1lb 7oz. 2 Carp; 8lb 4oz & 7lb 13oz. 1 Perch - small. A super evening,

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

13 July

Alders Lake - Thatcham 1930 - 2300 Warm with high broken cloud - affording a super view of the Super 'Buck' Moon when it got dark. AT 25º -> 17ºC. 2 Bream: both 3lbers but not by much. 1 Tench 1¼lb. 2 Perch: small An evening with a slow start and a livelier finish! I nearly packed up after an hour or so as I was being totally plagued by crayfish and whilst they did a quick disappearing act - usually a good sign that something that would find a signal a tasty snack has appe

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

9 July

River Kennet - Thatcham 0645 - 1115 Warm and mainly overcast - though clearing. AT 19ºC. Quite breezy. River low. 5 Chub: best 3lb 5oz with another close to a lb - the other 3 quite small. 1 Dozen Dace & ½ Dozen Roach - all small apart from one of the roach which was around 6-8oz. 1 Perch; a 'netter' and circa 1lb. 1 Gudgeon. 3 Brownies - all over 1lb but under 1½ (think I caught the same one, twice!) Very pleasant morning's trotting - fishing half a dozen swims in rotati

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

1 July (7th IAC Paul Goulbourn Memorial Trophy fish-in)

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford 0600 - 0000 5 Tench; biggest 5lb 4oz the others 3-4lb. 7 Crucians; 5 over 1lb with a couple over 2 - best 2lb 4oz. A dozen+ rudd - most tiny with one of around 4-6 oz. Annual IAC get together in memory of Paul - a chance to catch up, raise some money for Duchess of Kent Hospice and this year, put a face to a name - Stephen Jackson  who has been on the IAC list forever ventured down from Carlisle for his first IAC fish-in.  A slow day angling

23 June

Harris Lake - Milford 1500 - 0030 Warm, overcast and muggy - though the promised thunderstorms never materialised - thankfully. 26ºC and still 15ºC when I packed up - though felt cooler in the breeze that had picked up in the evening which did at least keep the dew and mozzies away. 12 Tench: 8 over 4lb including 2 over 5 - biggest 5lb 14oz. 6 Crucians; all 2lbers best 2 - 2lb 13oz & 2lb 10oz - the others between 2-02 & 2-06. 2 perch and 6 micro rudd. Back over to Mil

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

22 June

River Kennet - Brimpton 0430 - 0900 Bright sunny morning - lovely to be out before the heat of the day set in - shared my morning with the local wildlife - deer, heron and kingfishers. River low and clear 7 Chub: best (by a very long way!) 5lb 11oz (!!!) with a couple of around a lb and all the rest 6-8oz  - nice to see some juvenile fish. 7 Dace, 2 Roach (all fairly small). 4 Brownies - 3 over a lb one of which was nearer 2lb. Well I wasn't expecting that - especially after

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

20 June

Johnson's Lake - Milford 1430 - 2315 Bright and sunny with a cooling NEly breeze which did a great job of keeping the mozzies at bay! AT 20º -> 10ºC. 5 Crucians - in order of capture: 3lb 7oz, 3lb 9oz, 3lb 8oz, 3lb 1oz, 4lb 2oz (NEW PB!) 😁 8 Tench - biggest around 2½lb the rest less than half that! 1 Roach (1lb) (!), 4 Rudd - all between 6-10oz and a micro perch! WOW! Annual pilgrimage here pays off spectacularly - my first ever 4lb crucian and the first time I've ever had

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

17 June

River Kennet - Hambridge 0430 - 0830 Warm and sultry - already 23ºC when I packed up - had planned to move to another venue after starting here but the heat decided me otherwise. River low and clear. 2 Chub: 2lb 12oz & 2lb 3oz. 20 Dace; all small. 10 Roach: ditto. 1 Bream - a large-ish skimmer which had me more than a little excited for a minute as thought I was bringing in a rather nice roach! 2 Gudgeon (hooray!) 2 Brownies - a 'pounder' and a parr. I did a recce here a

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

16 June 2022

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0415 - 1145 Hot, sunny and sultry. 26ºC when I packed up but thankful for the fleece I put in my tackle bag at the last minute, when I arrived at first light! River low and clear. 2 Bream; 4lb 7oz, 4lb 4oz. 6 Chub; a couple of 2lbers with the rest all between ½-1lb. 3 Doz Dace & Roach (roughly 2 dace for every roach) nothing very big though a couple of the dace were half decent. 3 Bleak. 2 Brownies - both over 3lb with spectacular markings. Glo

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

Season's Bests 2021-22

And so another seasons draws to a close - quite a good one on the numbers front with over 400 fish over a lb landed and 12 (14 including trout - which I'd rather not!) different species over a lb caught. The best returns since 14/15 season. Few fish came close to a PB however - so quantity not quality probably sums it up! Best Carp 12lb 14oz.  9 July  Freelined Bread flake - Willows. I rarely have carp as my primary quarry - but they are often a by-catch (usually unwelcome!) when I'm after

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

14 March (Part2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 1300 - 1800 Bright and sunny - with broken cloud. AT 12º - 7ºC 15 Perch; 10 over 1lb - most around 1lb 8oz/1lb 12oz. 3 over 2lb though not by much - biggest 2lb 4oz (also had a 1-15). 2 Pike; 2lb 10oz and the other half that! Lively afternoon. I was here really to be ready for when the sun went down - but the action was steady all afternoon - even when the swim was bathed in sunshine. Was very hopeful that the witching hour would produce a re

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

14 March (Part 1)

Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0700 - 1200 Bright and sunny. Frosty start - but felt quite warm by lunchtime - a lovely spring day though not ideal angling conditions! AT -1º - 12ºC. River up a bit on last weekend - close to usual winter levels. 1 Chub; 4lb 3oz. 18 Roach - quite a few 'netters' with the biggest a smidge over 1lb - my first (and last!) from here this season. 2 Dace - Small. 2 Perch - ditto. 1 Brownie - 2½lb. Wanted to end the season where I started it! Began on

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

12 March

River Lambourn - Shaw 0900 - 1030 Bright and breezy with a couple of light showers. AT 10ºC. River quite low and, as is usual, gin clear. 14 Grayling; Most around 8oz with 3 or 4 bigger ones. 3 Brownies; 1¼lb and a couple half that. I hadn't planned on going again until Monday - but when Mrs P announced she was out all morning at the hairdressers I thought it would be the perfect excuse to christen Rusty's Harrison that I have recently acquired. Unusually for the Lambourn a d

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

9 March (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1500 - 1800 Bright and breezy. AT 11ºC - but felt a whole lot cooler on an exposed canal bank! 8 Perch: a solitary 'pounder' - and that not by much - nearly all the others around 8-10oz. Having been well and truely sated on the chub front the aim is now to try and get some decent perch in the last days of the season. This venue has been disappointing this winter  - and today was no different! No bites at all until 1715 - then a flurry of

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

9 March (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 1000 - 1200 Bright and breezy. AT around 10ºC. River at normal levels. 7 Grayling: all small. 4 Brownies: ditto. Had to pop over to the tackle shop to top up the bait fridge for the final push and as I correctly reasoned I'd have this popular spot to myself on a week day thought I'd have a couple of hours. Was hoping to get a grayling or 2 yesterday on the Kennet - so today was to make up for the lack of them yesterday. Usual tactics of catch one and

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

8 March

Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury 0830 - 1800 Bright and sunny morning - clouding over after lunch (thankfully!). AT around 10ºC all day after a frosty start. River slightly on the low side. 22 Chub: Only 3 under 2lb and 8 over 4lb. Best 3 went 5lb 6oz, 5lb 2oz & 4lb 15oz. 7 Roach; 1lb 5oz, 12oz and 5 tiddlers. 7 Dace: 1lb 😀, 12 oz 2@ 10oz and the other 3 weren't much smaller! 1 doz+ Brownies 2½lb - 4lb. 2 Rainbows both around 2½lb. My now annual end of season 'chubfest', t

Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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