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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

6 February

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   0700 - 0930   Cool, calm and overcast - with 'milky' sunshine breaking through for last hour. 4ºC. WT a more promising 46ºF, little colour and quite a bit of flow.   2 Perch; 2lb 5oz & a tiddler.   A struggle for bites in seemingly perfect conditions for stripeys - though in retrospect a dusk session may have been better. Both fish fell after 0830 when it was brighter with sun on the water.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

6 February

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham   0815 - 1215. Overcast, mild and very breezey. WT 49ºF   4 Perch; 3lb exactly, 1lb 10oz and a couple of tiddlers.   Slow morning - 3lber in the 1st 15 minutes. Would have liked to have started ¾hr earlier but had to take Sam into work. Stiff upstream breeze made accurate casting and presentation difficult. (And when I did get it right a ruddy canoeist would come along - had to reel in 37 times for them - yes I counted!)  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2
Coarse Fishing

6 February

Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0815 - 1345 Cold with fog - which eventually cleared for the last hour. AT -2º -> 4ºC, rings icing up till midday. Stream very full with just a hint of colour - perfect winter nick! 8 Chub: All bar one over 2lb; Best, 4lb 4oz, 3lb 9oz & 3lb 4oz. 2 Doz Roach & Dace (2/3rds Roach) A couple of the dace were lumps - one went 10oz the other, unweighed but of similar stamp. 1 Perch- small(ish). 4 Trout between 1¾- 2½lb. Day got of to an inau
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4
Coarse Fishing

6 February

River Frome - Wool 0800 - 1400 Mild, overcast and very windy! AT 11º-13ºC. River still very pacey with a little colour but well within its banks at last. 1.16m on the E Stoke gauge still higher than I would have liked but lowest since early autumn! 11 Grayling: 7 over 1lb - best: 1lb 10oz, 1lb 8oz, 1lb 7oz. 1 Trout - small. 6 Salmon parr. 2 trip of the season to Dorset - and looking at the forecast for the next week probably my last - heavy rain will stuff the river up for se

6 December

Kennet & Avon Canal - Nr Thatcham   1400 - 1615   Cold and clear. AT 7ºC -> 3ºC. WT 42ºF - canal carrying a little colour.   2 Perch - a fine brace - 3lb2oz & 2lb 9oz. 1 Pike, 8lb 6oz.   A succesful dusk trip for stripeys - despite the cold bright conditions. Pike 1st cast (yet another worm caught pike) and biggest perch on the stroke of 4pm just as the light was fading fast.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

6 December

Middle Kennet Estate Water   0830 - 1630   Bright and breezey after heavy morning rain (we sat in the car waiting for it to stop). River coloured up in the morning but was fining down again by the time we packed up. Levels still quite low.     9 Chub - all quite small - biggest 2lb 7oz, 1 Perch 1lb 7oz, 13 Roach - best 2, 1lb 6oz & 1lb (just!) - most others around 6-8oz, 3 dozen Dace, ½ doz gudgeon, 2 Brownies - best 3½lb, 2 Rainbows - best 2¾lb.   Pleasant day's trotting (once the
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

6 December

Northcroft Stream - Newbury   0930 - 1330   Mild, overcast and blustery with some drizzle in the wind at times. 12ºC. River at 'normal' levels and quite clear.   2 Chub; 3lb 3oz & 2lb. 2 perch - both around 10-12oz. 30 dace, 4 roach, 1 Rainbow trout - 3lb.   Aim was to get amongst the chub - achieved with the first 2 fish caught - though when I dropped down from the weirpool to my more reliable chub spot I could only catch dace. Rainbow fight was interesting at is was chased around t
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

6 December

K&A Canal - Woolhampton 1515 - 1615 Mild and breezy with heavy, squally showers. 11ºC 5 Perch; 4, lbers - though not by much - best 1lb 7oz.  Left work early for a last minute decision to make the most of the mild snap and have a last hour of daylight on the canal. All the bites came a few minutes either side of 4 o'clock - and resulted in fish of  a remarkably similar stamp - here's hoping there are still some bigger  ones to be found!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
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

6 August

Willows lake, Thatcham   0530 - 0930   Overcast, clearing to bright sunshine for last hour.   5 Carp; 12lb 9oz, 11lb 2oz, 8lb 11oz, 7lb 2oz, 6lb 13oz.   Another forlorn crucian hunt - but at least at this venue there are some 'easy' carp (too easy!! ) to amuse.   2 smaller fish on float tackle - bigger 3 on floating crust in the margins (ie within 1m of the bank!)   Biggest one:
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

6 August

Alders Lake - Thatcham   1800 - 2245   Warm (as ever) - still 22ºC when I left.   2 Bream: 4lb 14oz, 4lb 10oz.   3rd Monday evening on the trot here and as before the fishing was preceded by 30 mins of blackberry picking and as a result we now have a dozen or so jars of bramble jelly - which should see us through to next spring! Back to the fishing - both fish caught in the first hour with the sun still on the water - which augured well for the twilight ho
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
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

5

5/6 September

Harris Lake, Marsh Farm fishery, Milford   1900 - 1000   Warm, becalmed and overcast night - don't know what the minimum temperature was but it must have been min-teens ºC. Simply a lovely night to be out fishing - could've got away with shirtsleeves ALL night if it hadn't been for the odd persistent mossie!   12 Crucians; 7 over 2lb (!) best 2lb 7oz. 6 Tench; all over 3lb - best 2, 4lb 7oz & 4lb 14oz. A roach (small).   Last hurrah at this venue for another summer and it didn't disa
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

5/6 August

Newbury AA Stillwater - Widmead.   1500 - 0800   Warm and overcast. Mild night, temps didn't go below 14ºC   4½* Carp, biggest 8¼lb, 1 Bream 4¼lb, 20+ Roach & Perch - in roughly equal nos.   Another "Breakfast was the highlight of the trip" trip! Spent the first couple of hours fretting over my swim choice which saw me move swims and immediately get a bite which resulted in the bream - thereafter bites at a premium. Paul had had an identical return whe
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

2

5 September

River Kennet, Newbury   0600 - 1030   Bright and sunny. 10 -> 15.5ºC. River lowest I've seen it all season and clear despite rain in the week.   6 Chub: 5lb 2oz, 2lb 5oz, 2lb 3oz, 1lb 10oz & 2 chublets (circa ¾lb), 1 Perch; 2lb 9oz, 9 Dace, 1 Grayling, 1 doz Roach, 2 doz Gudgeon.   A very satisfactory morning's trotting. Perch just about last fish caught - from low, clear water bathed in bright sunshine - who says they feed best in low light levels!!!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

5 September

K & A Canal (flowing), Thatcham.   0615 - 1115   Cool and overcast with the odd spot of drizzle.   1 Chub; 2¼lb, 1 Perch; 1lb 1oz. 21 Dace - to 10oz, 5 Roach, 6 Gudgeon and 2 Brownies - biggest 2½lb.   A morning's trotting - fished half a dozen swims in total, some new and some familiar ones. As ever dace were of a good stamp - though I was also hoping to find some decent chub - especially after getting one first cast!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

5 September

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1800 - 2300   VERY warm and overcast- still 20ºC when I packed up! River up a bit after the weekend's rain.   1 Chub; 2lb 2oz, 2 Roach, 1 Grayling, 1 Brownie - c 1lb.   Seems everyone had the same idea as me!! Car park was full when I arrived - so ended up fishing a swim I last fished in 2007. No barbel interest on the lead and no dace on the float either.Chub was also caught in somewhat unusual circumstances as it took a minnow I was reeling in!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

5 September

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0700 - 1200 Cool and sunny - felt quite autumnal first thing. 9-15ºC 4 Chub; a brace of 2lbers and a couple of chublets. 30+ Roach & a doz+ Dace - nothing particularly big. 5 Bleak. 3 Rainbows 2½-4½lb. 1 Brownie; 3lb+ A morning hunting chub but finding mainly rainbows ? - I also lost 3 - one of which was nailed by a huge pike as I brought it in!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0

5 October

Somewhere in Hampshire (guess the river!)   0815 - 1815   Bright and sunny morning after overnight rain. Clouding over after lunch with more (quite heavy at times) rain after 1530. Temps. 11º-14º-11ºC.   26 Grayling; 12 over1lb, best 3, 2lb, 1lb 14oz, 1lb 13oz. 7 Chub between 2¾lb to 4lb 5oz (2,4lbers). 13 Brownies to 3½lb.   Enjoyable (despite the late rain) session where persistence was rewarded. Paul and I only found one prolific swim (and that was ma
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

5 October

River Kennet - Thatcham   0745 - 1000 (a) 1030 - 1230 (b )   Bright and sunny after a chilly start (ice on the car for the first time this autumn). River low and carrying a tinge of colour.   (a) 1 Chub (circa 1lb), 16 Roach, 5 Dace, 4 Grayling, a bleak and 2 brownies - biggest circa 1½lb. (b ) 3 Chub; 5lb 6oz, 4lb 13oz 4lb 9oz. 6 Dace biggest 10oz (the other 5 weren't much smaller!)   A couple of hours trotting in a couple of swims half a mile a
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

5

5 October

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton   0700 - 1430   Mild, overcast and becalmed - perfect perching weather - pity no one told the perch!   5 Chub to 2lb 2oz. 1 Perch - small, 8 Roach - with a couple needing the net - both just shy of 12oz. 4 Gudgeon & 2 Bleak.   Another frustrating day on the canal - this time I had incessant boat traffic to contend with - had hoped to get at least a couple of hours peace but the first boat came through at 0710 when
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

5 October

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0700 - 0900 Warm, calm and overcast. A lovely, benign autumn morning - perfect perching weather! AT 11º-14ºC 10 Perch: 7 over 1lb (6 over 1½lb). Best 3: 2lb 13oz, 2lb 6oz & 2lb 4oz After Monday's false start (on the Perch front at least) it was a first visit of the season to a more reliable perch venue - though one that didn't produce a 2lber for me last season. That was all put right in the first ½ hour when I had 6 perch from my first 6
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0

5 November

River Kennet - Speen Moors   0700 - 1100   Dull and overcast - some very light drizzle. AT 52ºF, WT 50ºC. River up a couple of inches - some colour but fining down.   7 Perch (2lb 13oz, 2lb 6oz, 2lb 5oz, 2lb 2oz, 1¼lb and 2 small-uns), 1 Trout (2¾lb), 1 Chub (small), ½doz Roach, 3 Gudgeon.   Perfect conditions for perch - 2lbers all came in a rush between 0800 - 0900 - all caught on lobs. Smaller perch and trout form the weirpool on trotted maggot.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

5 November

Kennet & Avon Canal, Avington   0645 - 1200   Cool and overcast. AT 2º -> 8ºC. WT 10.6ºC   4 Perch; 2lb 5oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 10oz and a tiddler. 2 Chub 1lb 13oz & 2lb0oz. 14 Roach, 2 Dace and 5 Skimmers.   Thought I was taking a bit of a gamble after the first proper frosts of the autumn - but a quick reading of the WT on arrival gave me cause for optimism. As it turned out the only takes I had on lobs were from the chub - with the perch arriving l
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0

5 November

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne * Northcroft Stream^   0700 - 0945* 1000 - 1230^   Cold and bright start - clouding over by the time I left. 0ºC - 8ºC   7 Perch; 4 over 1lb, best 2 1lb 9oz & 2lb 0oz (hooray!)* 6 Dace, 4 Roach, 1 Gudgeon and a brownie.^   A lovely crisp morning - not the most ideal conditions for stripeys thankfully no one told the fish that. Had to contend with some really inconsiderate dog owners - one even threw a st
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
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