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  1. Saturday 12th January, K&A Canal, Thatcham That’s the thing about my AN blog, it’s a record of my angling trips so if I shout about the good days I suppose I’ve got to shout about the bad ones too. That’s what I’m doing now. This early doors trip was always going to be touch and go, I’d guessed that Thursday would be the last day for mild conditions and hoped that the water would still be warm enough through Friday to this morning. To be honest it was just about, at 6 degrees I was glad I’d made the effort and the car temperature gauge showed 5 degrees on the way to the venue so although not mild it was still fishable and shouldn’t be too cold. The difference though was the wind chill, the brisk easterly blowing straight up the canal was biting and it wasn’t long before my fingers were numb, that was before I’d even started fishing. When I did start the float was being blown away from the feature I was targeting and what with the rippled surface everything seemed to be conspiring against me…payback for last week no doubt. I swapped banks which at least helped to get the float near the feature but by that time the images of bacon butties and fresh filtered coffee back in my warm kitchen had got the upper hand, I packed up an hour after first light. Not a great session but it’s all information logged for future reference. Good perch were showing and being caught in that swim last night so I do think it may be a holding spot, I was just a day later than I needed to be.
    3 points
  2. 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', though in truth this was very much a game of 2 halfs!. The bright morning sunshine and low river did not make for good sport and by the time I'd abandoned my usual banker stretch and headed upstream after an early lunch I'd caught 'just' 2 chub and 6 brownies. Thankfully conditions were much more conducive in the afternoon - heavy cloud cover and a stiffish breeze to put a ripple on the water and with judicous baiting and regular resting I caught chub pretty continously from the same long trot all afternoon. The rest periods were spent fishing a carrier that I've long suspected could hold big dace - though in previous visits over the past decade or so has failed to produce any (though I did once get a brace of 2lb perch from it!). Today they were in residence - all sandpapery males in breeding condition (would love to have found a pigeon chested female - they can be even heavier!) and a couple of lovely roach as swim mates. My first 1lb dace for 17 years (which was also from this venue - though further downstream).
    2 points
  3. River Kennet - Aldermaston 1345 - 1645 Warm with 'milky' sunshine. 19ºC. River low and sluggish. 2 Grayling; 1lb 6oz & 1lb 2oz (!!). 11 Roach; Biggest 12oz (weighed) nothing else even half that. 1 Gudgeon. Well I wasn't expecting that! First trip here in well over a decade and even when I did fish it more regularly it was usually hunched over a couple of quiver tips waiting for a barbel - I rarely got the trotting gear out on this venue. So a bit of a recce and for the first hour or so it looked like a fruitless one. I'd fished half a dozen or so swims without so much as a minnow bothering my maggots and had wandered a long way downstream from where I'd dumped my gear when I suddenly found some fish - 12oz roach was first up followed by the bigger lady. Pic below is of the smaller one - after I'd retrieved my gear to my new swim. (I didn't move again for the rest of the afternoon). Can't remember when I last caught a grayling so far down the Kennet! Pic of the gonk for Martin's benefit!
    2 points
  4. Three days in Swansea fishing as part of a week's family holiday on the Gower. It has to be said that this was salt water fishing (well, maybe a bit brackish), and my experience of such contests is that the fish normally come away with a 'clean sheet'! Though on this occasion I had built up my courage by watching a youtube video by some local youngsters who made it all look rather easy, catching small fish of a wide range of species. So I was hoping to get plenty of bites and catch even if the fish were very small Day 1 I ledgered ragworm, and caught a decent fish! A flounder of about 10 oz. I was well pleased. In addition I had three bites which I failed to connect with. Maybe the fish were too small for my ragworm? Day 2 I made the rash decision to switch to bread in the hope of a mullet. Slow to say the least, but towards the end of the day I saw lots of bubbles coming from a patch of water close to the edge. Then followed very tricky bites, with the float going down about an inch and staying still, just under the surface. BUT I did actually hook a small mullet which duly careered all round the swim before coming off the hook. Then a kindly local angler, who normally fishes for mullet, offered to show me the where and the how the next morning. Wow! Day 3 Of course I was full of expectation. Mullet are often found under boats where they feed off the weed growing on the hull. He had found one particular boat hosted a good shoal of fair sized mullet, but it was too far to float fish. Accurate casting of a ledger was needed. He predicted we would very soon have little knocks from mullet, and he was right. Normally, though, they didn't produce hittable bites, rather the reverse. As if to mock the angler they would slowly remove the bread from the hook until the metal was showing, and then they would refuse to have any more to do with it! But just occasionally they would get fed up and pull the tip round with a solid take! I started to get the hang of the casting, and things looked good, but gradually it became clear the mullet were not in a bold mood, and neither of us caught. But, unlike yesterday, the smaller mullet started to show lots of interest in the bread crusts we were chucking in, and at one stage it was quite dramatic with silver flashes everywhere. And one two of them were by no means small. After my friend had gone, and I'd had a nice lunch at the nearby sailing club, I returned with a float rod. Alas, the mullet had lost some of their enthusiasm. It may have been that the sun had moved so that the relevant area was now in shadow. They seemed to positively LIKE the bright light. In short, I didn't catch. So not much on the bank after 3 days, but an interesting and enjoyable time, of course with many questions. One thing I have wondered about is the use of groundbait. I used bread crumb, both in the feeder and balled in round the float, but it didn't seem to interest the mullet - whereas at times chucking in bits of bread (which sunk) or crust (which of course didn't) did. I've been wondering whether liquidised bread might have been more effective? Comments or advice from those who know more about sea fishing than I do would be welcome!
    2 points
  5. 2.30 - 5.15pm I started off 'up in the water' with hemp and tares and casters hoping for some of the quality roach and rudd I've had in the last couple of months here. I had 6 roach in the first hour, but none were over about 5 ounces, so I switched to fishing on the deck practising the lift method. One nice bream about 3lbs, and 3 crucians all about 8 oz. Enjoyable fishing.
    2 points
  6. 4-5pm. I had two false starts in other swims so only left myself an hour in bright sunlight. Pleasantly surprised, though. About 10 roach up to half a pound up in the water on hemp and tares. To me it's a slight puzzle. My general impression is that the lock cuts are pretty well devoid of fish in the summer. Why is Sandford an exception? Maybe I'm wrong and there are more fish in the others than I suppose. I must give a couple of the ones nearer my home another try. To be fair, the only one I've tried hemp and tares in is Sandford.
    2 points
  7. River Kennet - Padworth 1800 - 2200 Warm and overcast. River quite low and quite coloured up (usual late summer conditions!) 3 Chub; all ¾-1lb. 11 Roach - 4 in the 8-10oz class - all the others less that half this. 1 Dace; 6oz (looked bigger!) 3 Gudgeon. Moderately successful trotting sesh (and always nice to see a few gobio gobios turn up) to precede the expected blank on the lead once it got dark. Only 'rattles' were as a result of the signals!
    2 points
  8. Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 0000 Warm, overcast and breezy. AT a balmy 18ºC at midnight! 2 Tench; 3lb 5oz & 2lb 7oz. 1 Crucian - handsized. Surprisingly slow evening with bites at a premium, though nice to get another of the lake's small crucians. Tench were 3 hours apart (8&11pm) with the crucian putting in an appearance just after 10pm. Alternated between prawn sections and maggot - though all fish falling to maggot. Had intended to fish longer but driving drizzle (and a stationary float!) persuaded me otherwise!
    2 points
  9. River Kennet - Nr Thatcham 1830 - 2345 Cool,(cold!) clear evening under a full moon. AT down to 6ºC when I packed up (it got down to 2ºC in our greenhouse overnight). River up a couple of inches and looking in better nick than it has for a couple of months. 1 Barbel; 11lb 7oz. 1 Perch; 1lb 12oz. 11 Dace; (5 of which were over 8oz). 7 Roach; (all small save for one of 11oz). 1 Gudgeon. Hooray! After nearly 40 'rod hours' ledgering (and countless more trying to get one on the float) I finally get off the mark on the barbel front - and with a real lump too! As usual I started off on the float and was soon into some really nice dace - followed up with a nice bonus perch. By eight o'clock I was hunched over my isotopes waiting for something to happen. I planned to fish a bit longer than normal - and would in all probability have normally packed up when at a quarter to midnight my downstream rod gave that familiar 3 foot twitch and I was into my first barbel of the summer. Right from the off it was clearly a big fish - a real struggle to get it off the bottom - but once I did it was quickly mine! And with that it was off to bed - much earlier than I originally intended! Not the most sylph-like barbel I've ever caught!
    2 points
  10. River Lambourn - Shaw 0815 - 1145 Bright, cool and sunny. Temp up to 5ºC. River quite low as you'd expect this time of year. 31 grayling; All a decent size, nothing below a band 3 (20cm) and most 25cm+. Biggest 1lb 5oz with lots of fish an ounce or so either side of the 1lb mark. 1 trout parr. First trip to the Lambourn this winter and it didn't disappoint. Most fish (2/3rds) from the church stretch where I was also bitten off by a rather large pike!
    2 points
  11. River Kennet - Nr Newbury 0900 - 1600 Cold, overcast with snow laying to a depth of around 3-4inches. Temps hovering around 0ºC all day with frequent sporadic light snow flurries. No wind so wrapped up warm I was quite toasty all day - was actually rather a nice day to be out. River at near normal winter levels and quite clear. WT 42ºC 17 Chub(!); all over a pound with only 4 under 2¼lb, Biggest 4lb 2oz. Most fish in the 2½-2¾lb bracket. 10 Perch; Biggest 4, 2lb 8oz, 2lb 4oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 13oz. 16 Dace. 1 Roach, 2 Gudgeon. 4 Brownies including fish of 5lb 1oz and 4lb 5oz. 3 Rainbows to 2½lb. A session that defied logic or at least conventional wisdom as to what constitutes 'good angling conditions'. With air temperatures struggling to get above zero and water temperatures continuing to fall - we expected to struggle - how wrong can you be. I suppose we did have an overcast day and the road salt has yet to get into the rivers - but we considered these mere straws to be clutched! The date had been in Paul and my diaries for some time - we usually try and get a 'special' trip in sometime around my Birthday (which was last weekend). However it was touch and go whether, A we could find a venue that would let us on (or in the case of the Frome was within its banks) and, B we could actually get there. In the end we made the decison at 0700 on the day - and as a concession to the weather opted to arrive and leave in day light. (We usually arrive when it's still too dark to see a float - and leave under the same light conditions!!!!) Any fears that we had evaporated instantly. Paul probably spent most of the morning rueing his decision to turn down my offer to toss a coin for choice of first swim. We both had in mind where we wanted to start - but Paul said 'you can start there'. (well it is MY birthday!) And what a present the river delivered. In the first 1½hours of fishing I had 14 chub to 3¼lb plus the two biggest trout. I don't usually weigh the trout but these were 2 impressive fish. At times the fishing took on Mr Castwell proportions - with the float dipping at the same point in the swim every trot - and yet another 2½lb chub was brought to the net (as opposed to a similar sized trout in Skues' fable). A schooly 2½lber... By the time Paul joined me for mid-morning coffee, bites were begining to dry up - I was almost thankful!! We agreed that we'd rest the swim and that Paul would have first dibs to fill his boots in the afternoon - something he did with aplomb - snaffling another 8 fish including one of 5lb 3oz. I joined him right at the end of the day and was allowed to run a float through a few times. Paul had just announced that we hadn't caught a 4 lber today (a less than subtle ruse to draw attention to the fact he'd caught a 5 methinks!) when bang on cue I get one of just that size. Between the morning and late afternoon chubfests - Both Paul and I had some great predator action. Paul had spent most of the morning catching dace - something I joined in on after my chubby start but after lunch we both decided on seeing if we could get some predators. Paul had his pike gear with him and had seen a fish in the shallows - plus I'd lost a dace to a pike. My target was a perch or two - though that was more in hope than expectation. Sure enough my perch campaign got off to a slow start - chub in cold conditions is a bit of a staple but perch - I must be mad. These thoughts were going through my head after 15minutes of looking at a stationary float when all of a sudden it bobbed twice and slowly went under. A strike met with the briefest restistance and no lob - crayfish? a perch?. The answer wasn't long in coming as my next bait was snaffled even before the float cocked and a nice perch shot out from the slack into the main current - a nice fish of 2½lbs... I'd added 3 smaller ones to this when I had a call from Paul. He'd caught a big pike and could I come and take its portrait with its captor. It was a VERY nice pike short and very fat as trout fishery pike often are and at 17lbs exactly a new PB for Paul.. Paul then caught a couple of jacks and after the hiatus I returned to my Perch swim to continue where I'd left off with a couple more 2lb+ fish and half a dozen smaller ones upto 1lb. 4 O'clock and time to pack up as we wanted to be off the country roads while it was still light. Normally I'd be a bit regretfull at leaving a venue such as this while there was still fishable light - Paul too - but today we were well and truely sated!!!! Paul's 5lber - should be easy to identify again in the future... Winter Wonderland
    2 points
  12. My PB List. Haven’t done one of these for a while and it seems an appropriate way to ‘celebrate’ my 400th blog post. And I’ve even dug out and scanned a few old photos (rather crappy ones I have to admit!) which are appearing on the WWW for the 1st time. Best Carp – 27lb 6oz. 15 August 2008. Blue Pool – Burghfield. Method feeder – hair-rigged hemp bogey. I usually spend all summer trying to avoid carp as I pursue tench and crucians but this was caught on an IAC fish-in – a 24hr booking around half a dozen of us had on this CEMEX water. I was getting plagued by carp knocking the feeder but not taking the hook offering (pellet or boilies) so I figured I’d give them something EXACTLY the same as was in the feed and made up a ball of hemp with Kryston bogey and hair-rigged that instead. Above was the result! Blog Entry: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-263-1415-august/ Best Pike – 18lb 10oz. 10 February 2001. River Lambourn – Newbury. Free-lined Lamprey section. An opportunistic capture – and one of the few pike I’ve ever ‘stalked’. I saw the fish laid up in a small weir-pool and was able to lower a bait within a couple of feet of its nose. As soon as the bait hit the bottom I could see the pike’s gills ’flare’ but it still took nearly 20mins to edge up to the offering before engulfing it – exciting stuff! Best Barbel – 12lb 4oz. 27 July 2004. River Kennet, Arrowhead – Thatcham. Ledgered Halibut pellet. A bit of ‘prospecting’ which paid off at the time – but despite repeat visits a swim that never produced another fish despite also getting an 8lber and a river carp of similar size the same evening. Still the only 3 fish I’ve ever had from the swim. Best Bream – 12lb 2oz. 2 July 2011. Summer Pit – Yateley. Float fished (lift method) maggot. Really a venue I used to visit for its tench and crucians – but I was actually after bream when I caught this and had a number of 8lb+ fish that summer from the same venue. Blog entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-704-12-july/ Best Brown Trout – 8lb 12oz. 14 March 2008. Middle Kennet Estate – Newbury. Trotted Maggot. (No photo) I rarely weigh trout let alone photograph one – especially when like this they are caught right in front of the keeper’s cottage. I Usually spend the winter trying to avoid them and hoping they get off when I hook one – though was rather pleased to land this on light-ish tackle in fast water. Blog Entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-222-14-march/ Best Tench – 7lb 10oz. 18 June 2003. Wylies Lake – Thatcham. Float fished (lift method) black pudding. Black pudding (it needs slicing and frying up first to give it a skin) is one of my favourite tench baits – and one that was first suggested to me by reading the very first printed book on angling. Published in 1496, The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle (also from which the woodcut of an angler float fishing is my Anglersnet Avatar) is attributed to one Dame Juliana Berners – though there is scant evidence such a person ever existed. In it a recommended bait for tench, is described as a paste made from black sheep’s blood, honey and flour – which must have looked like (and smelt like) black pudding. Best Chub – 6lb 7oz. 19 February 2012. Middle Kennet Estate – Nr Kintbury. Trotted Red Sweetcorn. Patience rewarded. A swim I had a hunch held big chub but which I think I’ve rushed at too much in the past – often getting a few schooly ones before killing the sport. This fish was the last one of half a dozen caught in a morning where I rested and fed the swim after each capture. Just in time too – this winter’s floods have changed this swim significantly – washing away the bush that used to create the slack that held the chub – I didn’t get a bite here from 2 visits this (12/13) winter…ho hum. Blog Entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-848-19-february/ Best Salmon – 5lb 10oz. 13 October 2008. Lower Itchen Fishery. Trotted Maggot. (No Photo) Again a species I’d rather not be catching when I’m fishing for grayling – was still nice to get my first ‘proper’ one though! Blog Entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-281-13-october/ Best Rainbow Trout – 4lb 10oz. 5 March 2004. Barton Court – Kintbury. Trotted Maggot. (No Photo) A species I rather wished wasn’t in the Kennet at all! Best Perch – 4lb 2oz. 16 February 2013. Kennet & Avon Canal – Thatcham. Float fished lobworm. Don’t think I need to say any more about this! Blog entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1017-16-february-part-2/ Best Crucian – 3lb 13oz. 26 June 2011. Newbury AA Lake – Widmead. Float fished (lift method) bacon grill. One of my favourite summer species. Blog Entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-699-26-june/ Best Grayling – 2lb 15oz. 6 January 2002. Lower Itchen Fishery. Trotted maggot. One of my first winters at LIF – and looking through my diary I’d forgotten just how awesome the grayling fishing was back then. In just 2 trips in 01/02 I had 27 grayling over 2lb of which 9 were over 2½lb. This 2.15 was the biggest – over a decade later and I’m still hunting a 3! Best Roach – 2lb 11oz. 7 February 2003. Middle Kennet Carrier – Nr Hungerford. Trotted maggot. A red letter day to end all red letter days. 7 Feb 2003 is now hard-wired into my consciousness. I had a 1-15 roach pretty much 1st cast and this beauty last cast. In between these 2 redfins I had…. Best Dace – 1lb 2oz. 7 February 2003. Middle Kennet Carrier – Nr Hungerford. Trotted maggot. …3 dace over 1lb including this fat pigeon chested female (plus 5 more between 13-15oz). Martin Bowler catches a 1-02 dace from the same swim in Catching the Impossible (filmed sometime after my capture I have to add!) And finally some odds ’n sods… Brown Goldfish - 1lb 14oz: 21/06/05, Float fished Bread, Pumphouse Lake, Yateley. Sea Trout - 1lb 12oz: 06/01/02, Trotted Maggot, Lower Itchen Fishery. Eel - 1lb 6oz: 11/10/03, Trotted Maggot, River Test, Timsbury Rudd - 1lb 6oz: 27/07/91, Float fished Maggot, NAA Lake, Widmead.
    2 points
  13. River Kennet - Thatcham 0700 - 1200 Sunny morning after a rainy start - rain stopped almost as soon as I started fishing. 2 Perch; 3lb 10oz & 1lb 2oz. 19 Dace (5 of which were in the 8-10oz class - very nice). 3 Roach. Fished trotted corn for the first 45 mins in the hope of snaffling one of the big chub that are usually in residence - but didn't get a touch. Was rueing that decision by 0830 with the swim now in full sunlight thinking I'd wasted the best part of the morning. I needn't have worried - though I was contemplating switching to Plan B and a venue just downstream when at around 1000 I connected with something distinctly chub-like which headed for the trailing branches on the opposite bank. However once I'd bullied it into open water I could see it was a really good perch and I thought I'd be celebrating my 500th blog posting with a 4lber - alas 6 ounces shy - but my best of the season (so far). Also nice so see some really chunky dace in this swim this season.
    2 points
  14. Lower Itchen Fishery 0830 - 1630. Cool and overcast after a soggy start, rain returning just as we packed up, temps didn't get above 4ºC all day. River quite pacey with a slight tinge of colour. 37 Grayling; 14 over 1lb with half of these over 1½lb. Best two; 2lb 5oz & 1lb 13oz. 1 Brownie and 2 Salmon Parr. IAC fish-in in memory of Paul Goulbourn. A poignant day on the Itchen. Paul and I were introduced to this fishery back in the late 90's - via an IAC fish-in and we made a point of fishing it every season since - always scheduling a trip in mid to late Feb - so today was full of recollections of trips past and a fitting venue for some of his old IAC mates to gather in his memory. The talk on the list this week has all been about otters and blow me if the first thing we saw when we arrived at Gaters Mill at first light was an otter. And not just a fleeting glimpse - we watched as it scampered up the bank, crossed over the track and plunge into the river to head upstream under the M27. After this early excitement the first challenge was to get the cars up the track - we'd been warned that it was in a poor state but everyone made it up safely even if a few cars had to be pushed out for the return journey. The angling was everything I'd hoped it would be (save for the lack of chub). The river was quite 'full' but thankfully the lack of rain in the previous days had meant it had had a chance to fine down. The weather was exactly as per forecast - early rain giving way to a dry, cool, overcast day. I started in a spot where I expected there to be chub but the extra water meant that the slack that is usually there - wasn't. However it wasn't long before my trotted corn was snaffled by my first fish of the day a 1lb 9oz grayling - a super start. It quite quickly transpired that the fish appeared to be shoaled up in a few specific spots - and I ended up catching all my grayling from just 3 swims - rest and return being my mantra for the day. Sometimes at fish-ins you can go all day without actually meeting up with anyone - especially on a large venue such as LIF. Dave had a arranged for everyone to down rods and meet up for lunch - with the offer of freshly cooked sausages, toasted sandwiches and cupcakes! It made for a nice sociable interlude - even if Ed did miss the photocall in his urgency to return to the river! Thank you's to: - everyone who came especially those that travelled some distance to make it - Dave Smith for organising the day and acting as treasurer -£120 (+ Gift Aid) was raised by the event which will be given to Duchess of Kent Hospice where Paul spent his final days. - Chris (Rusty) for offering to give me a lift and being great company. Some the IAC Reprobates! (That's Brian on his knees - praying for a 2lber?) My biggest of the day.
    2 points
  15. Middle (just ) Kennet Estate. 0900 - 1645 Bright afternoon after a soggy morning. AT up to 11ºC. River quite full but with little colour. 28 Chub; nearly all in the 2½-3½lb bracket. Only 2 under 2lb and only one over 4lb (and that by just 3oz). 2 Dace. 7 Trout (6 Rainbows & a Brown) up to 2¾lb. Treated myself to a late birthday trip. Keeper directed me to a carrier that he said was 'black' with chub back in the summer (but warned that the extra water might have pushed them out). He (and I) needn't have worried. First 6 trots all produced chub and I had a dozen in no time at all. Rested it in favour of another chub swim on the main river - and that was pretty much the pattern of the day - rest and return! Most fish (around 2/3rds) on trotted red corn - the rest on trotted maggot. The swim on the main river.
    2 points
  16. River Frome - Wool 0800 - 1400 Dull, overcast and cool - AT around 6ºC all day with a breeze picking up. River VERY full, barely within its banks and that only recently given the state of the field. 1.30m at the East Stoke river gauge - much higher than I'd usually fish it - BUT after a dry week it was reasonably clear. 10 Grayling - only 4 needed the net - biggest 1lb 11oz but that was the only really 'decent' one. 1 Sea Trout (1¼lb and still with sea lice on it), 1 brownie - small. Bit of a gamble - but the river levels have been so high on the Frome since the start of the season (1st Nov) it looked like my DDAS ticket was going to go to waste - and with more rain forecast this week - it was a case of now or never! The venue is never prolific so it was nice to get a few, and would often get a fish first trot when I moved swims. Frustratingly I lost nearly as many as I landed including a large fish which I had on for sometime before the hook pulled (again!) - hope it was just a troot! Resting and returning to swims was the order of the day - all fish coming from just 3 spots (and one of those only produced one fish!) One of yesterday's 'hotspots'.
    2 points
  17. 8th August - Shh So I managed to secure a ticket on the water that featured in my last blog and thought it was about time I christened my new rod so I popped down there to fish the afternoon into the evening. As before I baited a good number of likely looking spots with soaked pellet, corn and a few chops and fished them in rotation judging by what I'd seen. It's seriously exciting stuff, watching these dark, old cheese's feeding, all the time willing them to drift off momentarily so you can sneak a rig in. When they come back it's as if time stands still, you freeze to the spot, even trying to breathe quietly as you watch them edge closer to the hookbait. Then in an instant the serenity is broken, the centerpin turns into a blur and your holding the rod at full compression in an attempt to stop them reaching any cover. I had 3 and a tinca over about 5 hours fishing. - 9th August - Shh Another day off... Lasted a couple of hours sitting around at home before I gave in and hotfooted over to the forgotten lake with 4 hours to try and outwit another of it's residents. Baited a number of swims, concentrating on trying to catch from new ones this time. Got off to a very good start in the first swim. Sneaked a hookbait onto a new spot that only had one fish feeding on it, put the rod down and sneaked the 5 yards next door to check another spot when the pin went into meltdown. Pressure off. I had a bit of a wander around after that. The other spot I'd seen fish on had become occupied by a chap that I'd met the day before... he'd been a member for over a season and was yet to land a carp. Anyway, I crept about checking spots before spotting a couple of tails waving at me from the dark water next to a very snaggy tree. It seemed like I waited forever for them to drift off before getting the rig in with a fresh handful of bait. 10 minutes later they were back, 5 or 6 of them feeding with gusto, somehow avoiding my rig. Then out of nowhere a familiar looking ghosty sped in, beelined for the hookbait and hooked itself instantly. A real hit and hold scrap later and as I suspected it was the same fish that I'd opened my account with a week previously. They played hard to get after that with all the spots looking quiet, until I saw a fish ghost over the area I'd had the most action from. They had obviously cleaned all the bait out and were looking for more, so in went the rig and a handful of grub. 20 minutes and one aborted take later I landed another absolute stunner. I'm sure you can see why I love the place and understand that I want to keep it's location quiet.
    2 points
  18. 31st March - K&A Canal Popped back to the canal with the soft plastics tonight. It was rather an impromptu trip after unexpectedly getting off from work early but it was certainly worthwhile. I thought I'd try another new stretch to prevent it getting a little stale, and to give the other stretches a bit of respite. I made a quick call to see if the old man wanted to join me and 3/4 of an hour later we were tackling up, full of expectation. We fished for an hour or so in the biting wind with only a little jack to show for it and feeling rather deflated we came close to admitting defeat and going home. Somehow I managed to persuade him to stay, with the promise that it would pick up as the light was fading. For once my premonitions rang true and as the sun dropped below the horizon I had a right result. 4 good'uns in approximately 15 minutes, and when you consider half of that time was spent weighing and photographing fish, it was pretty hectic. 2.11 2.13 3.0 The other one was 2.4, which I slipped back without a pic. Dad chipped in with a beauty of 2.10 a few minutes after mine which rounded the evening off fantastically. I don't think I could ever get bored catching these perch on the jigs. That said I have ordered some gear for drop-shotting, just to mix things up a little. No doubt I'll be straight back out there when it arrives so hopefully the next entry won't be too far away.
    2 points
  19. Disruption is the word that springs to mind when I look back over the past season. After a bone dry winter relief (from an angling point of view) came in the form of heavy rain leading up to June 2012, as you would expect this bolstered levels and provided some temporary respite for the struggling Kennet. Only the respite didn’t turn out to be temporary, I kept expecting to see the water drop back during the dry spells but there weren’t many of those for the rest of the season. As a consequence there was a period of about three months during the summer when the Kennet was in prime condition, wading was still possible and it was a pleasure to fish. From there on it became more difficult, during autumn and winter the rain kept coming and what we have now is a river just within its banks and very susceptible to the lightest of rainfall. I don’t mind this situation, it’s much better than if we’d had a dry summer but it has had an impact on the fishing, swim availability has been more limited with some stretches like Brimpton being a muddy torrent most of the time. As regards results well it’s been a pleasing year with January 2013 being particularly notable. This is when I found a swim which produced perch after perch and all of them a good size. Early season activities centred around barbel, the first week off work saw me feeding pints of maggots into what I thought were reliable swims but it wasn’t until the last day of my holiday (24th June) that I finally managed to catch one, only 4lb 4oz but enough on light trotting gear; July and August were fairly quiet for me fishing wise, motorcycling took priority as I prepared my bike for what was to be week long holiday in Cornwall. In the event the weather was terrible so I went in the car and then a family emergency ended the holiday not long after it had started. The time I did spend fishing though was to prove invaluable, in trying to avoid September boat traffic I chanced my arm in a canal swim and stumbled across a shoal of decent perch. Exactly how decent I wasn’t to find out until later in the season but for now 2lb 12oz was pretty good; September also accounted for one of the more amusing moments of the season. A pike grabbed a dace that I’d caught and managed to hook itself neatly in the top jaw, probably a PB pike on the float at 6lb 14oz; October was the last month that my club stretches were fishable without any restriction due to high water levels. After that it was a case of fish the Lambourn, the K&A Canal or search out slack water on the Kennet and there wasn’t much of that. Before the Autumn deluge I did have one final fling at Speen Moors (the APFA Kelly Kettle swim) and achieved a venue PB chub at 4lb 10oz; The onset of winter brought with it the worst fishing conditions I’ve known. The Kennet was high, coloured and fast in most places and the Thames was quite lierally all over the place. The location of last year’s PB chub was four feet under water and although the high levels eventually receded a days rain would see them straight back up again. I never did get down to Goring for winter chubbing which is a real shame. Another disappointment was the lack of access to the Middle Kennet Estate venue but this is perfectly understandable given the conditions the riverkeeper was having to deal with. I did get there twice late in the season and both times caught chub so I’m very grateful for that. November saw me having a brief encounter with roach on the Lambourn. After initial success with a nice little specimen and eyeballing a shoal which contained much bigger fish I really thought I was onto something. As usual though my impatience got the better of me and after failing to tempt the larger roach I abandoned the mini campaign after a couple of visits; January was without doubt the highlight of my season, remember that perch swim I found on the canal during September? Well it accounted for a PB perch of 3lb 8oz and one of the best sessions I can remember, six fish for just under 18lbs in weight This spot was to retain my focus until the end of the season though it never quite lived up to that session again. In fact it dumped me firmly in my place when it failed to provide a fish on an occasion where I was absolutely certain that I’d do well. It was also responsible for my season going out in a quiet whimper rather than a big bang, my final evening session on the 14th March resulted in a spectacular blank. So that’s my review of the 2012/13 season. All things considered it’s been a pretty good year and I’m now looking forward to hot sunny days fishing for carp off the surface and (on the occasions I can manage to get up early enough) misty dawn mornings after tench. Oh and there’s Wingham, I fully intend to put my hand up again this year so if I’m fortunate enough to go who knows what that might bring?
    2 points
  20. Ok a bit of a cheat title because it was over two sessions but it was from one swim during consecutive dusk/dawn periods. I had no intention of spending a night by the K&A Canal. Saturday 5th January, River Kennet, Newbury and the K&A Canal, Thatcham At last an opportunity to get on the river trotting. The Kennet has been pretty inaccessible with all the rain so the few short sessions I've had have been on the Lambourn catching grayling, nice but I was beginning to miss catching chub. Chris Plumb's blog indicated that there might be a chance at one venue so that's where I headed for the late morning session, the afternoon would be spent on the canal trying to take advantage of the perfect perch conditions. As I drove over the bridge first impressions weren't good, despite the dry spell the river was still way over its banks and I wondered whether it was actually higher than when Chris had fished it. Walking the venue revealed just one fishable swim but it looked a corker, sure there was loads of water but it wasn't coloured and the increased flow on the far bank had created a beautiful glide between the middle of the river and the near bank. Trotting commenced and I'm pleased to report that it was interrupted on several occasions by fish. The first two were chub with 3lb being the largest, unfortunately a trout put an end to those but small grayling, roach, dace and perch followed over the next few hours. Exactly the sort of session I was after. So off to the canal buoyed with enthusiasm, that is until I spent an hour in my chosen swim with no sign of any perch being present. Thoughts of my local pub and dinner started to enter my head as it got darker and creepier, I phoned Steve to let him know that somebody has stolen all of the fish in the canal and that I was thinking of going home. He made the valid point that I may as well stick it out through dusk until it got proper dark, I just needed to be careful about the ghost of an axe murderer who'd drowned in one of the locks (it was a heavy axe and he wouldn't let go apparently). I couldn't fault his logic and also couldn't remember the last occasion Id fished for perch at the 'right' time of day so I pressed another lobworm into service and cast out. Not long after that fry started showing on the surface, not in large numbers but it was activity at last. It was like a switch had been flicked somewhere, my float shot under and I lifted into a solid lump of a perch, I haven't yet caught a tiddler from this swim and that trend continued with this 3lb 2oz beauty; About 20 minutes later another bite and another 'three' but no spare ounces this time, 3lb exactly; I was both elated and speechless but amazed myself by retaining enough composure to re-bait and cast out in rapidly fading light, sadly there was no more action, the feeding spell had only lasted half an hour. Fumbling around and packing up was a tricky business (I'd forgotten my headtorch) but I got back to the car in one piece and contemplated the evening ahead. Forget the pub, early dinner and early to bed, dawn was only a few hours away. Sunday 6th January, K&A Canal, Thatcham and the River Kennet, Newbury Back to the same canal swim and at 7:30am on the dot I could just see well enough to fish. I'd been feeding maggots for half an hour by then and the time had come to lower in the first lobworm of the day. I thought the float had disappeared as soon as it hit the water but in the gloom I wasn't sure that I could trust my eyes, a tentative strike provoked something at the other end and a couple of minutes later the first perch of the day was on the bank, 2lb 12oz; I won't go into chapter and verse about the following two hours, suffice to say it was the best perching session Ive had and included a new PB. The next fish, 2lb 15oz; And the PB, I'm really pleased that this looks noticeably larger than the other fish. Sometimes I look at my perch photos and wonder whether they really look the weight, this one does at 3lb 8oz; Finally 2lb 7oz to round the morning off; At 9:30am I hadn't had a bite for a while so I concluded that the morning feeding time had come to an end. The canal was getting busy with canoeists, dog walkers and pesky anglers so it seemed a good time to move back to the river. The sun came out for a bit and the chub and dace came out for a bit longer, nothing large but it was really pleasant to finish the day on running water. It had been a memorable weekend, the perch weren't full of spawn yet so itll be interesting to try that swim nearer the end of the season, I wonder how much heavier a 3-08 will get?
    2 points
  21. Middle Kennet - carrier (and main river), Marsh Benham 0900 - 1400 Mild & misty. At 11ºC - 16ºC. River at normal levels with a tinge of colour. 3 Chub: 4lb 3oz, 3lb 7oz & a chublet. 3 Barbel: all small ½-1lb. 1 Bream: 3lb 6oz. 20 Roach: all small. 5 Dace: all chunky with one real goodun of ½lb+. 1 Perch c6oz. 5 Brownies; four between 2-3½lb and a smallun. Super morning's trotting - first cast resulted in a 1lb barbel - quickly followed by a couple of even smaller ones! All fish from the carrier apart from the 3lb chub & bream which were my only bites on the main river. Second consecutive trip here when I've caught barbel - having never had one here before! And another first - there was a large white egret hanging around the venue all morning - a rare (but becoming less so) UK visitor - think oversized white heron with a yellow beak - a very impressive bird!
    1 point
  22. Warwick's Water - Thatcham 1900 - 2300 Warm and sunny. 21º - 15ºC. 3 Tench: 4lb 11oz, 4lb 8oz, 3lb 11oz. An evening float fishing worm - hoping for a tench but hedging my bets for one of the pond's fabled big perch. What I hadn't reckoned on was one of the water's rogue carp. They are not meant to be in this venue but one grabbed my bait within ½hr of starting and pulled my rod off the rests - a desperate lunge saved the day as I just about grabbed the butt in time before my rod disappeared into the drink - but the fish had already found freedom in the lilies. All went quiet until it got dark and then on the stroke of 10pm - the dinner bell must have rung as I had all three tinca's in quick succession and by 2215 it was all over! Still no sign of those perch but 3 tench is a good return from here!
    1 point
  23. Warwicks Water - Thatcham 0700 - 1300 Warm, calm and overcast (though a thunderstorm rolled in just after I packed up ) AT 16º-18ºC 2 Tench: 5lb 14oz, 2lb 2oz. Doz+ Perch: all fairly small. Reports of big stripeys had me starting my autumn perch campaign on this rarely fished and somewhat neglected pond. It was always going to be a case of trying to avoid the small perch and hope a biggie turned up. However I thought I'd hit the jackpot first cast - my float hadn't even cocked properly when it sailed away and I was into something putting a good bend in the rod. I was just thinking 'well that was easy' when the smaller tench rolled into the net. Not quite what I was after but an autumn tinca is always welcome. There then followed a couple of hours of small perch - nothing to trouble the scales and some barely bigger than the whole lob they took. The tench weren't finished with me however and for the second time I thought I was into a good perch - though this would have been a REALLY good perch! Not a Perch Also not a Perch!
    1 point
  24. River Kennet - Brimpton 1415 - 1615 Mainly overcast and quite breezy. AT 20ºC. River up a good couple of inches and carrying a bit of colour. The Colthrop sluices are obviously open more than the Crookham ones' as there was a lot more flow here than a couple of miles upstream - before The Aldershot joins the river. 3 Chub: 4lb 6oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 3oz. 5 Brownies, a 'pounder', the rest between 6-10oz with one a repeat capture! All chub from my banker swim which I fished twice - with a rest in between while I went blackberry picking! 4lber first cast after the usual bait and wait approach - made a pleasant change from a splashy trout grabbing my maggot first put in!
    1 point
  25. Right, a big full moon, so a chance to test the theory about how this might affect fish behaviour. With hot sun and a brisk west breeze, 3pm til 8pm proved pretty hopeless with just one tench, albeit a pretty one of over a pound. With the heat of the day waning, 8pm til 9pm was frustrating. My swim by the lilies produced cloud after cloud of pin-prick feeding bubbles and had some large tench rolling within feet of my float, but fishing corn on a size 14, I missed bite after bite. Even switching to artificial corn on a hair rig didn't snag any until 9am when one finally stuck. I had to clamp down to keep it out of the lilies but instead of the hoped-for tench it was a 5lb 6 Common. With the bow waves from the resultant fight still crossing the lake, I did my usual trick of switching rods to a method feeder while I rested the lily swim. Before I'd even put the rod down something had taken it on the drop and was now headed for the island some 40 yards away. I was never going to cajole it back past the lily pads to my right, so I held the rod high and manoeuvred it and the landing net, whose frame had snapped earlier in the session, to an adjacent swim. The net held, which considering it was a beautiful fat 18lb mirror, I was rather relieved about. With no other bites in the final 45 mins, a disappointing trip had become a memorable one, albeit the jury was still out on the effect of the moon. ps - sorry, in the fading light this isn't the greatest pic I've ever taken.
    1 point
  26. 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! Nearly all the fish from a 'new' swim - or at least one that has been opened up by the removal of some branches by last week's little working party - (thanks chaps!). Meant I can now get a cast across the river to run a float under the far bank trees....
    1 point
  27. River Kennet - Speen Moors 1000 - 1530 Bright and mainly sunny after early morning rain. AT around 13ºC all day. River still quite low and clear despite a wet October (109mm and counting!) 6 Chub; 4lb 10oz, 2lb 0oz and 4 in the ½-1lb bracket (of course!). 1 Perch 1lb 11oz. 17 Roach - only one troubled the scales (as I thought it would make a pound!) @ 14oz. 3 Dace. 1 Bleak. 2 Brownies; a 2+lber and a smallun. First hour and a half on Parliament Draft which accounted for both the bigger Chub. Then enboldened by the news that a working party had cleared a path on the back carrier I set off to find a favourite chub swim of the past. Alas, less than 50% of the length had been cleared and after a sweaty 30 mins trying to fight my way through the undergrowth and fallen trees I gave up and headed back to the big weirpool - where I pretty much spent the rest of the session. Chub and Speedia
    1 point
  28. River Kennet 0500 - 1430 Bright and sunny - and VERY breezy. River very full - highest I've ever seen it at this time of year. 0500 - 0800 - Newbury. 1 Barbel, 4lb 9oz, 7 dace, 2 roach and a brownie Always try and get a session here early in the season - though last year was the first time in over 30 years I didn't get a barbel from here - something I put right within 10 minutes of starting to fish. The surprise was it came from my 3rd choice swim! Choice number 1 was inaccessible due to depth and flow (it can only be accessed by wading something which would have been foolhardy - I tried but had to turn back!). Choice number 2 was occupied by someone overnighting at the venue. So confidence wasn't high but the swim has produced decent dace before now - but a barbel on the bank was a real bonus. Note to self - add 'check camera batteries' to start of season checklist! 0845 - 1145 - Thatcham 1 Chub 4lb 14oz, 16 Dace, 1 brownie. So after a trip to Tony's to replenish the maggot supply (and pop next door for some batteries) it was off to a swim which pretty much saved my winter fishing last season and a spot which a certain Mr Brasier has purchased some new fangled float to surf the far bank trees. In truth a rod held high and a stiff cross wind achieved the same effect this morning and the 'chunky' dace Chris reported as being in residence yesterday were very obliging. Bites from the dace were just starting to dry up when a strike met with a very solid resistance and a hefty chub burying itself into the ranunculus on my bank meaning a scramble downstream to effect an extraction - well worth it though. 1200 - 1430 - Thatcham 2 Chub;2lbs and a chublet, 2 dace, 4 brownies to 1¼lb One of my favourite trotting venues though the heavy flow made for a bit of a struggle - and the winter floods have re-modelled a number of my favourite swims (and not in a good way!). Still it was nice to stand in the river with the sun beating down and catch a few fish. Also saw an enormous carp - wonder which lake that escaped from in the winter!
    1 point
  29. Middle Kennet - Nr Newbury 0800 - 1700 Overcast, mild (9-10ºC) with some milky sunshine at times after a drizzly first hour. A lovely benign winter's day. River quite pacey and carrying a little colour. 14 Chub: 6 over 3lb - best 4lb 13oz. 3 Pike; All jacks - biggest just under 7lb. 7 Perch; all small, save for one goodun of 2lb 8oz. 2 Dozen Dace & Roach. 3 Brownies all around 2lb+. Cracking day's sport (as always from here). Plan was to do a bit of piking for a change (hoping to meet the monster of the weirpool from 2 seasons ago), as well as go after the usual glut of chub. Paul spent more time chasing dace than me so didn't end up with so many chub (but had twice as many dace). A very satisfactory chub to trout ratio too!! Smiling for once!
    1 point
  30. River Frome - Wool 0815 - 1445 Bright and sunny with a cool breeze. River in good flow but quite coloured up. River gauge at East Stoke 0.90m 10 Grayling; 7 over 1lb - best 3; 2lb 13oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 12oz. 4 Brownies - 3 over 1lb - biggest just under 4lb, 1 Salmon Parr. After last winter I was determined to get down to Dorset at the first opportunity - even if conditions were likely to be sub-optimal. Which certainly was the case. There was a lot more colour in the river than I would have liked and after a couple of hours I was beginning to think it was a wasted journey. I had caught by then - a small grayling in the first 10 mins was followed by not a lot else. And by now the place was heaving with other anglers also making the most of a lovely autumn day. Most like me were roaming so all the swims on the top beat quickly had a visit - so imagine my surprise at dropping into a recently vacated swim and getting a 2lb 13oz grayling within 5 mins!! The next hour in the same spot produced the 2nd and 3rd biggest of the day along with another pounder and a trout. Hooray! My 3rd= biggest ever lady and justification for getting up at 0500 on a sunday! After lunch was spent exploring the lower beat - one that I rarely visit - but I also reasoned there wouldn't be many others either (Rusty called this beat the wilderness due to it lack of features - and lack of fish!) I didn't quite have the beat to myself - but spoke to a couple of anglers who had been catching regularly. I dropped in downstream and soon snaffled a couple of grayling but thereafter kept hooking trout - including the biggie and a couple more which got off - one after doing quite a bit of aerobatics! As ever trying to take a picture of a grayling is akin to trying to give a cat a pill. This was the best of around half a dozen - but is still flicking its tail....
    1 point
  31. River Kennet - Nr Thatcham 1930 - 2345 Cool (down to 10ºC) and clear - perfect evening to be out watching perseids - and with no moon nature put on a stunning display! River down a couple of inches at least on my last visit here (29 July). 3 Barbel; 4lb 10oz, 3lb 15oz, 3lb 9oz. 1 Chub 4lb 5oz. 4 Dace (all chunky ones requiring a net!), 1 Roach and 4 spotties. Wayhay! So there are still some fish in the Kennet!! Trotted until it was too dark to see my float and all the fish bar the biggest barbel came to these tactics. Switched to ledgered pellet for last 2½hrs and had the 4lb+ barbel at around 2200. Missed another good bite due to spending more time staring at the sky than looking at my isotopes! A couple of obligatory fish plus pin pics...
    1 point
  32. Harris Lake, Marsh Farm - Godalming AS 1400 - 0930 Hot and sunny. Night was clear and felt quite cool by dawn with a mega heavy dew! Gorgeous night to be out fishing under the Perseids! 14 Tench; Biggest 3, 5lb 13oz, 4lb 10oz, 4lb 8oz. All the rest in the '3lb class' save 2 which were smaller. 7 Crucians - all over 1lb (though a couple by not much!) biggest 2lb 5oz. 2 roach, 1 rudd & a perch. A really lovely session which came to life at 2130 as it got dark - had hardly a touch in the previous 7 hours in the heat (hardly surprising!) Nearly all fish taken on Paul's lunch!!! Prawns - a handful of which he threw in a tupperware at the last minute before leaving home - but which eventually went to the fish! Paul had 13 tench - though nothing bigger than the 3lb brigade and 12 crucians with 3, 2lbers to 2lb 12oz - ALL being caught with said lunch (we cut them up into 4mm chunks). Certainly a bait we'll bring here again! Saw a lot of meteors - especially in the first part of the night before the moon rose. Sunrise. My Biggest Tench (of the session) Paul's best Crucian of the trip.
    1 point
  33. Summer Pit , Yateley 1900 - 0000 Cool, clear and still. Temp dropped from 18ºC - 8ºC 3 Tench - (6lb 11oz, 4lb 14oz, 3lb 3oz) 4 Crucians (2lb 10oz, 2lb 4oz, 1lb 15oz, 1lb 14oz) All fish caught after dark - 1st bite around 2045. Unusually, most fish to float fished meat (lift method as per usual!). 4.14 Tench and the 2.10 Crucian falling to bread. Biggest tench of the season and my biggest ever from this venue - had gorgeous, almost vermilion, colouration on its stomach. Biggest Crucian was a bit of a fluke - very much a last cast fish - in fact I had my back turned as I packed my stuff away. Rod got pulled from its rests and, 'what I took for a tench' headed for the tree roots in double quick time against the clutch. Really surprised for it to turn into a Crucian - who said they were shy biters??!!
    1 point
  34. Middle Kennet 0645 - 1815 Bright and very breezy after early rain. River at 'normal' levels and quite clear. 5 chub (4lb 13oz, others all around 1lb), 7 perch (3 X 1-1¼lb) 12 dace (just 1 good un - 9oz), 5 grayling (all 10-14oz), 3 small roach, 2 gudgeon & 20 trout to 3½lb. A hurriedly re-arranged trip in the light of Monday's weather forecast (when we were due to go!). Biggest Chub and 4 of the Grayling on trotted sweetcorn. Perch on lobs everything else on maggot. Paul had some nice Perch at dusk - his best a plump 2lb 9oz stripey. Paul's Perch. Where he caught it.
    1 point
  35. Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1100 Overcast, mild and drizzly. AT 57ºF. WT 52ºF 4 Perch: 3lb 5oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 5oz and a tiddler. All fish in first couple of hours (3lber first cast!). Spent last hour exploring so probably did more walking than fishing.....Float fished lobs as per usual.
    1 point
  36. River Itchen - Lower Itchen Fishery 0830 - 1745 Bright and sunny start - clouding over in afternoon. Max AT 13ºC. River still quite high and carrying a surprising amount of colour given that we've had no rain for a fortnight. 16 Grayling (10 over 1lb - in order of capture: 1lb 2oz, 2lb12oz, 2lb 6oz, 1lb 4oz, 2lb 10oz*, 1lb 5oz, 2lb 1oz*, 1lb 10oz, 2lb 11oz, 1lb 7oz*), 1 Chub 3lb 3oz, 2 small brownies. Hard (well harder than usual!) but very rewarding day's trotting. All fish on sweetcorn except * which fell to single white maggot. No fish caught at all on red maggot! 3rd, 4th= & 6th= (!) biggest ever grayling. 2lb 12oz 2lb 11oz
    1 point
  37. River Kennet & Carrier - Marsh Benham 0745 - 1200 Bright and mild. River down an inch or two on last visit (10 January)- and quite clear. 3 Chub; All 1¾ - 2½lb. 1½doz Roach - all a 'nice' size but nothing over 8oz. 8 Dace - most small with one chunky one of 8oz. 8 Brownies 1-2½lb & 3 Rainbow's to 4½lb Another morning failing not to catch trout! Fished all the usual chub banker swims - but they were mainly full of trout. The rainbows as ever gave a very chubby like fight so was doubly disappointed to see that flash of pink as I got them to the surface.
    1 point
  38. Middle Kennet Estate - Nr Hungerford 0730 - 1715 Cold, mainly overcast with some sunny spells especially after noon. -1ºC->2ºC but felt MUCH colder in a raw NEly wind. River still quite low for late Jan. 42 Grayling; 15 over 1lb - best 3, 1lb11oz, 1lb10oz, 1lb 8oz. 3 Dace; small(ish!), 8 Brownies - biggest 2lb 10oz - but most were parrs, 7 Rainbows to 3¼lb. A chilly days grayling fishing with Paul. Tried and failed to find any big dace - water levels were too low for them - so concentrated on what this venue does best - the ladies. Paul fared even better with 59 (over 100 between us!) his biggest going 1lb 13oz. He even managed to get more dace than me despite spending less than ½ the time I did looking for them!!! Still thawing out! Paul's Biggest... Frosty Sunset
    1 point
  39. Summer Pit - Cemex Yateley 2030 - 0600 Still, balmy night with high cloud - temps 20ºC->13ºC but felt a lot milder under the trees! 3 Bream; 12lb 2oz - another PB , 8lb 7oz, 4lb 15oz. 2 Tench; 4lb 1oz, 3lb 3oz. 3 Perch & 2 Rudd. I'm utterly gobsmacked - 2 PBs and 1 = PB in a week! I said last weeks crucian would take some beating - this might just be the fish for me, that does! My first ever double figure bream - previous PB was 9lb7oz - so this has annihilated it!!! What's even sweeter I was tring to catch bream too!!! On our visit here on the opening day Paul and I suffered quite a few liners - I had a hunch that these were caused by bream - not tench as we might have supposed. So last night I just wanted to fish the dark hours and fish maggot on my lift method float rigs. During the day this is suicide as the bait gets massacred by the micro rudd and perch - but I guess these are feeding by sight as I didn't get bothered by them at all during the night (but did as soon as it got light again). First fish (the small tinca) just on 1100 - and thereafter bites were slow but steady - also bumped a couple - probably striking at liners. Big Bream caught at 0100 - the 8lber a couple of hours later as the first traces of dawn streaked the eastern sky in front of me. Pic shows a rather scarred and beat up looking slab - I wonder if this is spawning damage - no sign in the mouth that this has ever been caught! I cannot believe the amount of slime on my landing net when I packed up!
    1 point
  40. River Itchen 0800 - 1815 Mainly cloudy with sunny spells. 11ºC -> 15ºC -> 9ºC. 41 Grayling; 18 over 1lb, best 5 - 2lb 4oz, 2lb 2oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 14ozX2. 2 Chub 4lb 6oz, 3lb 7oz. 10 Brownies to circa 1¾lb. A 2lb crucian and a 2lb grayling in the same week!! River was low and consequently the fish were quite spooky so it was a case of catch a couple and rest the swim - my biggest 2 fish both came from swims that had already been fished 3 or 4 times. About half my fish on trotted red corn - including most of the bigger fish, the rest of single red maggot. Paul had a frustrating morning - but did much better in the afternoon once he changed down his hook size (!) - think he ended up with a couple of dozen ladies to 1lb 14oz....(and a couple of chub too ) Piccies of one of my 2lbers, one of Paul's chub and a belligerent cow who took exception to where Paul wanted to fish and refused to budge!
    1 point
  41. Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1200 Mild/warm, still and overcast - 13ºC -> 17ºC. Neigh on perfick! 18 Perch: In order of capture: 2lb 14oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz,*, 2lb 6oz, tiddler, ~, 2lb 6oz, 1lb 6oz, 3lb 3oz, 2lb 6oz (again! all different fish I think!), 1lb 7oz, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 2oz, 3lb 0oz, 3lb 14oz (equal PB!), 2lb 13oz, 1lb 3oz, tiddler,tiddler,~. !!! Nearly 40lb of perch ! 1 Tench*: 4lb 3oz. 2 Chub~; 1¼lb and a chublet. WOW - make hay while the sun shines. Or rather catch perch while its a dull overcast day!!! Never been so disappointed to catch a 4lb tench - for a couple of minutes I was convinced I was connected to a huge perch. I knew it wasn't a pike - never even entered my head that it wouldn't be a perch! Most fish caught by 1030 - and the run of 4, 3lbers in 4 casts was just after a couple of barges had come through the swim. Often the death knell for sport but not today! Had planned to do a lot of wandering and did fish one new swim on the way back to the car - did mean I didn't have a keepnet with me - which I have taken to bringing for perch sessions - putting them back 40/50yards upstream didn't seem to affect the swim, mind! First time I've ever had 5, 3lbers in a single session! Pics below are of the 3 biggest & the tinca...
    1 point
  42. River Kennet - nr Thatcham 0745 - 1015 Cool, overcast and breezy with some light drizzle. Travelling light so forgot thermometer (in other bag!). River low and looking rather threadbare. 2 Chub; 3lb 2oz, 2lb 15oz. 3 Grayling 10 - 12oz+. 1 Brownie c12oz Every year I try and get a chub in every month of the season - so that's December ticked off! In truth I was hoping to make a re-acquaintance with the 5lb+ fish I caught from this swim back in the summer but given the low water a brace of 3lbers will do just fine!! Grayling are packing on some weight - second one I caught was close to a pound - hope they're still around this time next year..... Big gob...
    1 point
  43. River Frome Worgret 0800 - 1130 Wool 1200 - 1600 Bright and sunny after a foggy start - felt positively warm in the sun - had far too much on! River clear and low. 11 Grayling: 10 over 1lb (9 over 1½!). Best 5, 2lb 14oz, 2lb 5oz, 2lb 2oz & 2 at 1lb 14oz. Last trip down to Dorset this winter as the water closes to coarse anglers at the end of Feb. I wanted to give Worgret a proper go this time as it was the colour of milky tea when I came here in November. Some of it looks really nice - lots of long glides with some deep holes on the bends but I fished down the entire length of it for a solitary bite and fish (one of the 1-14s). So whilst I had planned to stay all day here it was a call for an early lunch and off to Wool. Walking back to the car I stopped to chat with another angler who had turned up after me (and was fishing the one spot where I'd caught!) to find he was using the same reel as me - A 1920 Witcher copy! I think most of those that were made have ended up in display cabinets so it was nice to see another angler using one. Being the last Sunday of the Frome season I expected Wool to be quite busy - so was quite relieved to only see a couple of other anglers. I started in the bridge swims but after a biteless ¾hr it was time to move upstream. I had the 2lb2oz fish in the first swim I dropped into - and ended up not moving from that spot for the rest of the afternoon!! In the morning I'd blamed the bright sunshine for the lack of fish - but they didn't seem to put them off here and I had a slow but steady session bringing some fine grayling to the net. The 2-05 and 2-14 were the last 2 fish of a fine afternoon's sport - and seeing the 2-14 twisting in the current I thought this was my 3 at last - alas not to be - but ranks as my 2nd biggest ever - and a grand way to end my first winter on the Frome. Pics of my 2-05 And 2-14 As usual the buggers wouldn't keep still for the camera!
    1 point
  44. River Kennet - nr Thatcham 0830 - 1230 Cool (for June) and overcast - with heavy rain for last ½ hour which persuaded me it was time to pack up early and go home for lunch. Heavy overnight rain - but the river was in good nick with good clarity and down a bit on the 16th. 1 Chub; 4lb 10oz. 2 Barbel; 2lb 13oz, 2lb 1oz. 13 Dace. 4 Brownies - 2 circa 1lb. (Rusty's going to hate me!) A quick return to the venue we visited briefly on the opening day in order to get Paul a float caught barbel. Paul had to work today so I was going solo. My choice of todays venue was influenced by 2 factors. 1, I knew it would be pretty quiet and I should get my first choice swims and 2 -, said swims have recieved 6 pints of Rusty's maggots over the previous 48 hours - thanks for the baiting up - Chris!!! I started in the swim I put Paul in last Saturday and within 5 minutes of starting - the float dipped and I was met with solid resistence. A battle, as much with the current as the fish ensued and it wasn't long before I had the chub subdued in slightly quieter water - my biggest from here for over 2 years. I was saying to Paul yesterday at Padworth that it's a pity this venue didn't produce more dace - so of course today I started to catch some - interpersed with the odd trout. My starter swim produced no more rod benders - so I followed the bait downstream and fished another favourite - the Bridge swim. Again success was almost instantaneous - with a hard fighting fish stripping line off the centre-pin on the strike - when I eventually got it under control I couldn't believe how small it was! Half an hour later and the trick was repeated - this barbel being even smaller - great fun though. Chub Baby Barbel
    1 point
  45. Newbury AA Stillwater - Thatcham 2000 - 0700 Warm and overcast night, didn't get below 14ºC. Drizzle until midnight but by dawn our brollies/shelters were dry. Lovely night to be out. 2 Crucians; 3lb 7oz & 2lb 3oz. 1 Carp 10lb 5oz. Not quite mission accomplished first cast - but certainly 1st bite!! Biggest crucian of the season, my 3rd biggest ever and the first 3lber I've ever had from this water. Plan was to try and avoid attracting the carp - so didn't feed the swim - a ploy which appears to have worked (nearly!). Paul and no such qualms and even crossed over to the dark side with the purchase of a pellet waggler for this trip! He had arrived well before me and being a true gent didn't drop into the swim I wanted - though I think he may have rued that decision when I landed my 3lber as I think it would have been a PB for him... Still he caught a lot of carp - and was landing his 16th of the session as I left - he even managed a 1-10 crucian. My 3lb+ Crucian... Not Paul's biggest carp of the night (think this was 8lb something), but certainly the best looking one!
    1 point
  46. River Kennet - Nr Newbury 0730 - 1745 Cold and overcast with a raw easterly wind - though thankfully reasonably sheltered on most swims at this venue. Max temp all day was 2ºC though judging by the times the line was freezing in the rings it was close to or below freezing for all but 2 or 3 hours around midday. WT 43ºF River clear with good flow. 10 Chub; 8 over 2lb, best 3, 4lb 12oz, 4lb 6oz, 4lb 3oz. 18 Perch; all small except for one clonker of 3lb 3oz!. 3 Pike; biggest 7lb 4oz. 22 Dace; 2 worthy of the scales one at 10oz and a really nice fish of 12oz. 1 Bream; 1lb 6oz, 6 Roach; 4 of which in the 6-8oz bracket, 1 bleak; 5 brownies to 3¼lb. Plan C! We had hoped to be fishing further upstream for big dace but we couldn't get the required permissions. We also considered a trip to the Itchen but in the end settled for this venue - which is becoming a bit of a go to when conditions are as sub-optimal as they were today (see also, blog entry for 19 January). The day started with a toss of a coin as both Paul and I wanted to begin fishing where the chub were all holed up last month. As it happened though they were spread throughout the fishery so whilst I won the toss and did get my biggest from the hotspot I also caught decent chubfrom 6 different swims - as did Paul who had a near idientcal return with 7 chub and the same number of 4lbers as me. As usual the day was spent wandering the fishery and dropping into pretty much every likely looking swim (at least twice!). And like last time we took a couple of hours out to hunt for preds - though this time it was me that was after a pike or two - as I'd not caught one this season. My big perch though was a bit of a fluke - caught trotting maggot when after chub - my 1st ever 3 from this venue! My best chub of the day. 3lb stripey Me in the swim where I had my big perch. Under the dogwood in this photo (far bank) was black with chub - we just couldn't tempt them out into the open!
    1 point
  47. Willows Lake - Thatcham 1900 - 0500 Warm overcast night - lovely night to be out! 4 Carp; 6lb 5oz, 6lb 14oz, 7lb 12oz, 13lb 9oz. 5 Tench - best 2lb 7oz and all the others C2lb±2oz. 1 Crucian; 3lb 3oz. ½doz+ perch - all small. Nice to see some tench in Willows - bin many years since I've had this many in a session. All fish fell to lift method tactics less than a rod length out - with simple maggots as bait - did also bring a feeder rod but it stayed in the quiver all night. Snaffling one of the lake's big elusive crucians is always the target here - so extremely pleased to get one! Most fish caught before midnight except for 3 of the carp including the bigger one which took an absolute age to get in on a 4lb bottom!
    1 point
  48. River Lambourn - Newbury 0915 - 1215 Bright, crisp and cold. -2º->3ºC. A lovely winter's morning. River low and clear (as always!) 20 Grayling; 3 over 1lb - best 2; 1lb 12oz & 1lb 10oz. 2 Dace. 4 trout parr. A great way to kill time while my car was having its MOT! Had arranged to meet up with Paul (who provided a lift back to the garage) and we leap frogged our way down the fishery - for near identical returns. Think Paul ended up with 21 grayling to 1lb 10oz (6 over 1lb) had a solitary dace and a bonus roach of 13oz. A couple of arty pics from Paul - plus a roach which looks like it's been crossed with a fantail goldfish!!!
    1 point
  49. 3rd Paul Goulbourn Memorial Trophy - Harris Lake - Marsh Farm. 0800 - 0800 Hot, bright and breezy. Breeze never really died down even at night. 19 Tench - biggest 5lb 4oz with nearly all the rest in the 3½-4½lb class. 13 Crucians; 3 over 2lb (just!) - biggest 2lb 3oz. Around half the rest were 'Big 1's' (had 3 @ 1lb 15oz!). 3 Roach, 3 Rudd & 4 Perch. IAC came out in force to do Pauls' memory proud! Record attendance at this meant £400 being raised for Sue Ryder. Despite challenging conditions quite a few fish caught with the lead (prize goes to biggest crucian caught) changing hands a number of times before Ed snaffled the winning fish (2lb 5oz) close to the 5 o'clock cut off. I struggled for bites for most of the day (except when using maggot) and didn't get my first decent fish until my swim was in shade at around 1800. Once it got dark however the action was frenetic - at least two-thirds of my catch coming between 2200 & 0400 and all caught in 15inches of water right under my rod tip a couple of feet or so from the bank on float fished prawn. A great day for a great guy - still fondly remembered.
    1 point
  50. 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.
    1 point
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