River Kennet - Newbury

0830 - 1130.

Mild with broken cloud, 6º -> 9ºC. A lovely benign, winter's morning. River still on the low side - though up an inch or so and very clear - as it usually is in the winter. WT 46ºF - a little on the cool side for good sport - good thing no one told the fish!

4 Chub; 5lb 5oz, 3lb 11oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 2oz. 1 Barbel; 3lb 5oz. 1 Bream (!); 2lb 10oz. 19 Dace, most quite small with 2 or 3 nice ones, 2 Roach (1 a nice size, circa 8-10oz), 10 Gudgeon.

Hurray the chub are back!! And despite a cracking morning's trotting I am still kicking myself on 2 counts. The first for being a complete dolt. I had bumped a good fish and been snapped twice before it occured to me that a size 18 to 2½lb bottom is not the tackle to bully big chub away from tree roots in a fast flow - can't believe I tied a new one on after losing the first! After losing a second 18 I retied with a 14 to 6lb mono and the next 2 fish (the 3-11 & 2-13) were given short shrift, bullied away from the tree and played out in open water. Then followed the barbel and not long after the 5lber - with one of my 18s in its scissors - so at least I got a hook back. I didn't lose another fish after scaling up and still caught some of my bigger dace and the bigger roach. The second bout of idiocy was leaving my camera at home, it was still plugged into the computer after downloading Monday's big Esox. A pity as a 5lb chub AND a winter barbel of any size on the float are always worthy of a portrait!! Bream was also a bit of a suprise - more so for the fact it was caught in the fastest of flow - and punched way above it's weight - thought it was another decent chub until I got it to the top.