River Lambourn, Newbury, Thursday 31 December 2009

What with being off work this past week I’d actually forgotten that yesterday was New Year’s Eve so it was with some guilt that I set off for a few hours trotting. My heart wasn’t really in it so I didn’t bother to buy any maggots, just grabbed a can of sweetcorn and off I went.

Had the venue to myself and was able to roam searching out the Grayling. A couple of small ones obliged and a brownie of about ½ pound also found the corn hard to resist. I regard Lambourn as a short session venue with a level of success pretty much guaranteed (I have managed to blank though). The limited species of Grayling, Trout, Pike and small Roach ensure that it’s not really a pressured river and I think it’s better for it. The work currently being undertaken by the EA may change that in the longer term.

On the way home I dropped by Northcroft to see how the Kennet sidestream was looking. Too damned good to pass up was the answer so the remaining sweetcorn was pressed into service and sent downstream in my favourite trotting swim (a kind soul has removed the rotten tree so it’s clear again now). I’ve caught Chub on maggots and cheese paste at this venue but never on corn so I wasn’t too surprised when nothing was interested. It’s a bit of a chicken/egg situation, I’ve no confidence in corn as a Chub bait and so don’t catch them when using it.

The good news is that the weir is fully open and the stream flowing very well with a nice colour, this has meant though that my ‘banker’ Perch swim has gone so I’ll have to look for them again.

Here’s looking forward to 2010, a big birthday for me in a couple of weeks and if the coaching has worked my wife should have a Harrison GTI and a new ‘pin on its way to me. Just in time for the Lower Itchen fish-in.