Jump to content
  • entries
    1158
  • comments
    904
  • views
    1592076

About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

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

8
Coarse Fishing

5 March

Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham 0900 - 1400 Cool, overcast and breezy with showers to finish. AT 4º - 6ºC (but felt much chillier in the stiff breeze). River up a couple of inches but still at the bottom end of normal! 6 Chub; 3X3lbers 3lb 13oz (yes I had another one shortly after you left - Steve!) and a brace at 3lb 8oz - possibly same fish - caught 90mins apart from same swim - though chub are not usually so careless!, 2lber and a couple of 'pounders'. 1 Roach - small & a Rai
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

26 February - 5th Paul Goulbourn Memorial Grayling Day

Lower Itchen Fishery 0830 - 1730 Bright and sunny all day - quite breezy at times. AT -2º -> 10ºC. River looked in good nick. 16 Grayling: most around 8-10oz with 4 bigger. Best went 1lb 5oz. 1 Chub 3lb 10oz. 6 Brownies; 1½ - 2½lb. 2doz+ Salmon Parr! Since Paul's passing in 2015 I've organised (or tried to) a couple of fish-ins a year to a couple of our favourite venues - and places where Paul himself used to organise get togethers of the Internet Angling Club. This was th
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

5
Coarse Fishing

19 February

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1415 - 1715 Bright and VERY,VERY blowy - never see such waves on the canal before! AT 10ºC 4 Perch: a couple of 'pounders' and a couple half that. I ummed and ahhed about what to do today given the conditions and heavy rain around mid-day. Ended up having another fairly fruitless session trying to winkle out a big stripey from my nearest water - though yet again conditions were very sub-optimal. Only had a couple of 2lbers from here in ha
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

12 February

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0900 - 1430 Overcast morning, brightening up after lunch (to the detriment of the fishing!)  and quite breezy. AT 5º -> 9ºC. River low and clear (at normal summer levels!). 3 Chub; 4lb 0oz, 3lb 4oz, 2lb 2oz. 1 Bream; 3lb 10oz. 17 Roach; most around 6-8oz with a couple of biggers ones. 1 Bleak. Whole session on the main river of my syndicate stretch. Had a first cast trout - which got eventually off but only after totally trashing my first swim!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

5
Coarse Fishing

5 February (Part 2)

Kennet and Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1500 - 1700 Overcast and very windy with occaisional (and un-forecasted!) drizzly showers. AT 9ºC. Completely different weather to earlier in the day. 3 Perch; 1¼lb, another one half that and a tiddler. Bites at a premium and a very stiff downstream wind didn't help one bit! No 'witching hour' switch on either.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

5 February (Part1)

River Kennet - Hambridge 0900 - 1200 Cool, with milky sunshine. AT 2ºC ->9ºC. River still low though up an inch or so on my last visit at the begining of Jan. 5 Chub: Best 3lb 11oz, the others all ½-1½lb. 7 Dace - one netter of around 8oz. 1 Roach; small. 2 Grayling. 2 Brownies - both ¾-1lb (Possibly same one!) A quick sesh at my favourite chub swim - and to check out the recent efforts of the working party here (nice work chaps!). I'm still hoping to make a winter acquain
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2
Coarse Fishing

29 January

River Kennet (& Carrier) Marsh Benham 1000 - 1530 Mild and very breezy (too breezy for good float control). AT 9ºC. River low and looking a little threadbare after 3 consecutive months with below average rainfall. 5 Chub: 4lb 10oz, 2lb and 3 between ½-1lb. 16 Roach - various sizes but nothing to warrant the scales. 11 Dace; most small with a couple of clonkers - best weighing in at 12oz. 1 Rainbow; 3lb & a Brownie c2lb. A trip to my syndicate stretch with Martin (Bayl
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

22 January (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 1415 - 1645 Cool and overcast. 4ºC 3 Perch: 1lb 7oz, 1lb 4oz and a tiddler. Now this was a real gamble! The upper pegs of this stretch were still frozen over so the water temps would have been very low. However I always fancy my chances in the winter when the light fades - and so it proved. I pater-nostered  a lob - to keep it in the same spot adjacent to the common reed and after 2 hours without any indications what-so-ever the float bobbed
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2
Coarse Fishing

22 January (Part 1)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0900 - 1330 Cool and overcast. 4ºC or thereabouts all day. River low and clear - up an inch or so on my last trip here before Christmas but still low for mid January. 4 Chub; all ½-1lb. 4 Roach - 1 netter of around 10-12oz and 3 smalluns. 4 Dace (all small). 1 Gudgeon, 1 Bleak & 1 Brownie: 2lb+ Another 'scratchy' session here - saved - as per usual - by the weirpool swims which accounted for most of the fish. Only bite I had from 3 swims on PD r
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

16 January

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1415 - 1640 Mild(ish), mainly cloudy. AT 8ºC. 6 Perch: Biggest 1lb 11oz - all the rest ½-1lb. Quick sesh to make the most of the short mild 'snap' though suspect the water temps haven't caught up with the air ones. Only 1 bite before 1615 - then a flurry of activity for 20 mins in the increasing gloom - as per normal!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4
Coarse Fishing

11 January

Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury 0900 - 1630 Damp, murky and drizzly all day. AT 9/10ºC. River low for mid January. 22 Chub: 12 over 1lb, with 9 over 3lb. Best 2 went 5lb 2oz & 4lb 10oz. 3 Dace; a 10oz fish and a couple of tiddlers. 1 Roach - small. A doz+ brownies from 2½-4lb. It's my birthday tomorrow and as I've got the week off (and being whisked away from tomorrow by Mrs P to an unknown (to me) destination) I thought I'd treat myself to a bit of all out chub fishing.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

9 January

River Lambourn - Shaw 0915 - 1130 Cool & bright. AT 1º-6ºC. River low and crystal clear as it always is! 11 Grayling. Best 1lb 7oz with another 4 in the 10oz -1lb class. 4 Brownies - a 'pounder' and 3 small-uns. Usual tactics of catch a couple and move on - though in most swims it was catch one and move - apart from the very last swim I dropped into which accounted for nearly half of the morning's catch. Rather busy with other anglers - though, thankfully, I'd fished (and
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

4
Coarse Fishing

3 January 2022

River Kennet - Hambridge 0900 - 1115 Mild and overcast. 9ºC. River still quite low @ normal summer levels - though up an inch on my last visit here with just a hint of colour. 2 Chub: 2lb0oz & 1lb 12oz. 9 Dace - 3 in the 6-8oz class. 4 Roach (handsized). 2 Gudgeon. 1 Brownie c 2lb. Quick couple of hours to get 2022 underway! Plan was to start the New Year with a chub - successfully executed first cast! Would have to wait until pretty much last cast for another - which the
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

31 December

River Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham 0900 - 1400 VERY mild (14ºC) and cloudy morning - brightening up for last couple of hours. River still on the low side but up a couple of inches on 3 weeks ago and carrying a bit of colour. 4 Chub: 4lb 1oz, 2lb 2oz and a couple of chublets - one of around a pound the other half that. 1 Bream; 5lb 2oz. 40+ Roach and Dace - mainly roach in an approx ratio of 2-1. Nothing particularly newsworthy - though they weren't tiddlers either - a cou
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

28 December

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1400  - 1615 Bright and breezy after morning rain. AT 10ºC. Canal surprisingly coloured up after recent rains - surprising - as the canalised river below Woolhampton lock wasn't at all coloured! 8 Perch; 3 'pounders' - best 1lb 9oz. None of the rest particularly small - all around 8-10oz class. Dusk session to take advantage of the mild temps and a (temporary) cessation of precipitation! Whilst I wasn't at all confident when I arrived and
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

23 December (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 1400 - 1600 Dull with low cloud and a little drizzle. AT 9ºC 6 Perch; Best: 2lb 6oz, 1lb 14oz. The rest all around ¾-1lb Bit of a gamble - though temps were well up on yesterday I was worried the water temperature wouldn't have caught up. My concerns were unfounded - and as it approached 4pm the switch was flicked for dinner and I had 5 fish in 5 casts. Could possible have had more - but a large pike chased the last one - making an unscuccesf
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

23 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Speen Moors 0915 - 1345 Dull and drizzly.AT 7º - 9ºC. River very low and clear. 3 Chub; 1¼lb & 2 chublets. 3 Dace, 1 Roach (nothing of any size), 1 Brownie1½lb Pre christmas trip to use up my maggot as my bait fridge in the garage gets its annual clean and is sequestered for the turkey and other Christmas victuals. A rather dismal session - and that wasn't just the weather - very few of my banker swims produced so much as a bite - and I even struggled for b
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

3
Coarse Fishing

18 December (Part 2)

River Kennet - Brimpton 1215 - 1445 Cool & overcast. 8ºC. River low and positively threadbare - we need some rain! 1 Dace - 8oz or so. 3 Brownies - a couple over 1lb and one of around ½lb. A real struggle in very low water - I'd hoped the dull weather would compensate - but not to be! I did actually find some chub - shoaled up under some tree roots in around 18 inches of water - but despite trickling maggots past their liar for 20 minutes - couldn't tempt them out into op
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

18 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Thatcham 0900 - 1130. Cool & murky. 7ºC. River low and clear - very low for December. 1 Chub: 3lb 15oz. 7 Roach - all handsized with a couple of netters of around 10oz. 1 Dace - 11oz (first cast!). 2 Brownies - small. With river levels so low both of today's venues were a bit of a gamble. And one which very nearly didn't pay off! I'd fished all my usual hotspots with nothing remotely chubby in residence - though the big dace was a nice bonus. I was trotting
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

1
Coarse Fishing

12 December (Part 2)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1415 - 1615 Mild, overcast with drizzly showers. AT a mild 12ºC 4 Perch; 3 smalluns and one of around 14oz-1lb. Quick couple of hours to make the most of the sudden rise in temperature - though the 'witching hour' came and went with not so much as a hint of a bite - all 4 fish coming in the first ¼hr!  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

12 December (Part 1)

River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0830 - 1315 Mild, mainly overcast - with a few bright spells. 10-12ºC. River very low for mid December - but then we have had less than an inch of rain since the 1st Nov. 3 Chub: 5lb 3oz (SB 👏) and a couple of chublets of around ¾lb - 1lb. 2 Doz Roach - of various sizes - the one I deemed worthy of ths scales pulled the needle round to 13oz - looked bigger!). ½ doz Dace - all bar one 6oz+. 1 Bream; 1lb 14oz, 1 Bleak. 1 Rainbow trout; 2¾lb. A mornin
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

2
Coarse Fishing

4 December (Part 2)

River Kennet - Hambridge 1030 - 1200 Cool & bright. AT 6ºC. River low (very low for December) and clear. 1 Chub: 2lb. 10 Roach (nothing of any size). 5 Dace; (a couple in the 6-8oz class). 1 Grayling. 1 Brownie c1lb. Hadn't planned on a '2 venue morning' but having abandoned the Lambourn early couldn't resist a sneaky hour or so in a favourite swim. As the river was bathed in bright winter sunshine I really didn't expect any chub so forewent my usual bait and wait approac
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

4 December (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0800 - 1015 Cool & bright after early rain. AT 4ºC. River very low and gin clear as it always is! 8 Grayling; 5 over a lb. Best 2 - 1lb 9oz & 1lb 6oz. 1 brownie - small. A curious couple of hours, notable for the paucity of bites AND the quality of the ladies that did show up for breakfast. Starting at the top of the stretch and working my way down I was somewhat surprised and disappointed to not get as much as a chewed maggot from my first 4
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
Coarse Fishing

26 November (Part 2)

River Lambourn - Shaw 1300 - 1515 Cool & showery. AT 4ºC when I packed up. River low and clear. 13 Grayling: best 1lb 11oz & 1lb 6oz with a couple more of around a lb. 5 Trout - 1 circa a lb the others less than half that. Usual catch a couple and move on tactics - with the biggest of the day (and = seasons best so far) being also the last fish of the day -  from a swim I'd caught a couple from an hour earlier.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

0
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.

  I accept