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About this blog

Diary of a (mainly) river angler.

Entries in this blog

Coarse Fishing

4 September

River Kennet - Hambridge 0700 - 1300 Warm, overcast and quite muggy - though that might just have been all the exertion to hack my way through the undergrowth to my swim - clearly no one has been here since MY last visit back in July! AT 10º - 20ºC. River low with a little colour - typical for this time of year. 7 Chub; 3 over 2lb - the best 2lb 12oz with another an ounce or so under. Other 3 were around the pound mark ± a few ounces. 1 Barbel (!!) 👍 unweighed but probably just sh
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

4 September

Harris Lake, Marsh Farm Fishery, Milford 1500 - 2300. Hot and sunny with a stiffish southerly breeze - clear, warm evening. AT 28ºC and still 17ºC when I left. 7 Tench; best 6lb on the nose plus a variety of sizes (1X5lb+, 2X4lb+, 2X3lb+, 1X2lb+). 2 Crucians; 2lb 6oz, 1lb 13oz & 1lb 11oz. 20+ Roach up to 10oz. 3 Rudd - all around 8-10oz, 1 Perch- small. The return of summer put me in the mood for some more crucian fishing - though in truth they didn't get much of a look-i
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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4 October (Part 2)

River Kennet - Newbury   1100 - 1300   Warm with sunny spells, Breezy. 20ºC. River quite low.   2 Chub; 2lb 10oz, 2lb. 12 Dace, 10 Roach, 1 Gudgeon and a brownie.   So after a frustrating morning a couple of hours on the river to see if the chub would eat my worms - to which the answer was YES! Being a Friday I had expected to have the place to meself and planned to fish a number of swims. However as I turned up who should I see pulling on his chesties - Rusty! Being a gent he let me ha
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4 October (Part 1)

Kennet and Avon Canal - Thatcham   0700 - 1000   Overcast and mild (16ºC) becoming breezy.   9 roach, 1 dace and a bleak!   Exploratory session, searching for and spectacularly failing to find some new perch swims. Fished 4 likely looking swims (3 I've never fished before) and didn't get a touch on lobs from any of them - not even from crayfish. Gave each spot a good half an hour on worm then had 5-10 mins on maggot to see if there were any bait fish around (there were every time!)   H
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4 October

River Kennet - Speen Moors   0645 - 1100   Cool and overcast - ice on the car for the first time this autumn. 2º -> 10ºC. River at 'normal' levels.   5 Perch (2lb 15oz, 1lb 14oz and 3 little-uns), 5 Chub (1½lb and 4 chublets), 1 Pike (1¼lb!), 1 doz Roach, ½ doz Dace & Gudgeon.   Perch and Jack on float fished lobs - biggest perch from Speen for 3 years. All other fish (apart from 2 chublets) on trotted Maggot. Both Perch in first ½hour of fishing.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4 October

River Kennet - Padworth   1830 - 2300   Clear and misty evening. 15º -> 10ºC. River at normal summer levels - though carrying a bit more colour than usual after the weekend's rain.   2 Barbel: 8lb 11oz, 4lb 14oz.   Both fish in first 1¼hrs - smaller one 1st cast. Was also greeted by a Barn Owl flying within 10-15' of my head - probably hunting for the legion of rats scurrying around on the bank behind me after it got dark!!
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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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

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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

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4 March

​Northcroft Stream   ​0700 to 0930   ​Mild and cloudy with sun breaking through. River up a bit but with very little colour.   ​5 Chub: 4lb 1oz, 3lb 2oz, 2lb14oz, 2lb 9oz, 2lb 6oz. 1 Perch.   ​Last minute change of plan which paid off handsomely! Had intended to fish much further downstream but hadn't reckoned on ¾in of rain yesterday and reasoned that the river below Newbury/Thatcham might be coloured up. 2 chub from the weirpool - (which had a salmon in it trying to jump the gauge weir
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4 March

River Lambourn - Newbury   0700 - 1100   Mild and Overcast. 8ºC. River quite 'full' and up a good couple of inches.   25 Grayling; Biggest 1lb 12oz with a lot of fish an ounce or two ±1lb. 2X 2lb+ Brownies !   Default cure for cabin fever after all the snow and ice. Big grayling first fish of the day and biggest lady from the Lambourn in over 5 years (since Dec 2012) - a dark fish that was almost completely jet black - as the big old ladies often are!  
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
Coarse Fishing

4 January 2024 (Part 1)

River Lambourn - Newbury 0930 - 1300 Cool and bright to start - clouding over. AT 5ºC. River VERY high (1.78m on the Shaw river gauge) I donned thigh waders and needed them to get to most swims I fished!! 19 Grayling: 9 over lb - best two; 1lb 10oz & 1lb 8oz. 4 Trout - all small/parrs. I usually like to start the New Year with a chub but on a recce yesterday I deemed the Kennet unfishable (I was wrong - see part 2!) so opted for the Lambourn as a safer bet. All my usual h

4 January 2020

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0800 - 1630 Cool and overcast morning, bright sunny afternoon. AT 4º - 8ºC but felt cooler in the breeze! 9 Perch; Most around 12+oz but nothing over 1¼lb, 1 Pike; 2lb. 1½doz Roach, 2 Dace & a Gudgeon. Another session after big stripeys and just like most of my catches further downstream fish of a remarkably similar stamp. Started off with Pike trouble - got bitten off first cast - and landed it (same one!) second - so I got my hook back.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4 January 2014

K&A Canal - Enborne   1415 - 1615   Rain! 5ºC. Canal the colour strong tea - and flowing unusually fast! WT 45ºF   3 Perch; 1lb11oz, 1¼lb and a sub pounder.   Paul and I had planned a morning trip - but given the forecast I'd switched to a post lunch session and Paul packed the whole idea in! Was still touch and go whether I went - but with the wind dropping right out I thought I'd at least go and have a look! And when I got there I nearly turned around and went straight home. Normal
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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Coarse Fishing

4 January (Part 2)

River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse) 1330 - 1430 Started raining the second I cast out and got progressively heavier - blowing in my face so becoming deeply unpleasant!! AT 5ºC. River bank high, really pushing through and very coloured up. 1 Chub 5lb 10oz (!) Well, as I was parked around the corner for my Lambourn jaunt I thought I'd at least have a look at the slack that produced my SB chub last week. With more water and a LOT more colour it didn't look at all promising - but

4 February

Middle Kennet Carrier   0900 - 1645   Bright and and sunny after a frosty/misty start. 2 brief showers (& 2 brilliant rainbows) in the afternoon. River 'full' and carrying some colour.   50 Roach & dace (2/3rds Roach - 1/3rd Dace), 2 roach 'scraper' 1lbers (1 weighed). Biggest dace 10oz with 3 others around 8oz. 2 chub (2lb and a chublet). 7 Brown Trout - Biggest 5lb 10oz (new PB), 1 Rainbow (2lb+), 2 gudgeon.   Lovely day spent as Merv's guest on
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4 February

River Kennet Newbury   0800 - 1045   COLD and clear. AT -9ºC when I drove off confirmed by a reading of 16ºF when I arrived on the bank. WT a balmy 35ºF - coldest day I think I have ever been fishing. However dressed appropriately and standing IN the river for warmth I was really quite toasty apart form the thumb and index finger on my right hand -which kept 'sticking' to the metal of my Witcher. Thought that frozen rings would be a mare but in fact the water froze on the
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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4 February

River Kennet - Brimpton   0800 - 1100   Cold and bright after a cloudy start. AT around 1ºC but felt MUCH colder in a biting NE wind - should think the wind chill was sub zero! . River 'full' and quite clear.   2 Chub 3lb 7oz & 2lb 8oz. I Brownie of 2lb.   Chilly morning after the chub - and bites were at a premium - so very happy to winkle a couple out! Fished 3 swims and had both chub from the last one visited.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
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

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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

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4 August

River Kennet - Brimpton   0530 - 1130   Hot and sultry. AT 19ºC when I left home at 0445! River still seeing the benefits of a wet spring.   6 Chub: 4lb 3oz, 4lb 0oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 10oz, 3lb 9oz, 3lb 2oz. 10 Dace - 4 over 8oz - best 10oz. 10 Brownies - mostly small - with 3 over lb.   Lovely morning'c chubbing - the more so as I spent most of it up to my thighs in cool Kennet water. Nice stamp of fish which came from 3 separate swims.As ever, these days th
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

0
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

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Coarse Fishing

31 October (Part 2)

Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 1000 - 1400 Bright and sunny with heavy showers to finish! AT 10ºC - 15ºC. River at normal levels with a hint of colour. 7 Chub: 3lb 3oz, one of 12oz+ and 5 chublets. 1 doz Roach: all small. 4 Dace: one good-un of at least 8oz. 1 Perch - small. 'Popped' into my syndicate stretch on the way home from Avington. And as I had my lobs with me I started out with them to try and snaffle a decent perch from here - though they produced not a single bite.
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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Coarse Fishing

31 October (Part 1)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Avington 0630 - 0930 Brightening up after overnight rain. AT 6º - 10ºC. 2 Doz perch. Nothing noteworthy - though they weren't tiddlers - most around 6-8oz with a couple twice that. I had great plans for this week - and they didn't involve prospecting for perch on my club's most westerly venue. The coarse season on the Frome opens tomorrow and I had intended to travel down to Dorset to make the most of the opening day. Alas heavy rain over the past we
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb in Coarse Fishing

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31 October

River Kennet, Nr Newbury.   0700 - 1100   Torrential rain at dawn (I waited for it to clear! ), brigthening up. 15ºC. River low with LOTS of leaf litter - coloured up AND fined down in the time I was there!   7 Chub: 5lb 5oz, 4lb 7oz, 3lb 11oz, 3lb 0oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 7oz & a chublet. 1 Barbel 4lb 1oz, 1 Perch c¾lb, 4 doz roach dace & gudgeon in roughly equal nos.   A pleasant morning's trotting (once the rain had stopped). All the big chub & the barbel caught in the last ¾
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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31 October

River Kennet - Nr Thatcham   1800 - 2330   Mild, overcast with a soft southerly breeze - really lovely night to be out. River low and carrying quite a bit of leaf litter as you'd expect. WT a balmy 56ºF.   1 Barbel; 9lb 0oz. 1 Carp; 15lb 9oz!!   Trick or Treat? Never been so disappointed to get such a lovely looking carp - as for nay on 10 mins I thought I was connected to the mother of all barbel!!! This is my 30th season barbel fishing this stretch of ri
Chris Plumb

Chris Plumb

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