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Chris Plumb

Anglers' Net Contributor
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Everything posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Picked 4lb of blackberries last night - they are really early this summer!
  2. Warwick's Water - Thatcham 1900 - 2300 Warm and overcast. AT 24ºC and still 19ºC when I drove off. 2 Tench: 8lb & 3lb 7oz. 2 Perch - small. Mug tench visits the bank again! I'm pretty sure it's the same fish as last year - though its tail has got even more frayed. All bites after 2130 again - place appeared pretty lifeless before then.
  3. Final amount raised for Sue Ryder came in at £325. MANY thanks to all who came and gave....
  4. Chris Plumb

    9 July

    Middle Kennet Weir Pool, Marsh Benham 0500 - 1100 Warm and sunny - though feeling a tad chilly when I arrived. AT 10º - 24ºC. River low and looking a little threadbare. 9 Chub; 3lb 3oz. a 'pounder' and 7 chublets. 1 Bream; 2lb 4oz. 2 Doz Dace; all a 'nice' size but nothing particularly noteworthy. 5 Roach; small. 2 Rainbows both 2lb (and possibly the same fish!), 1 Brownie C½lb. Pleasant morning's trotting by the shade of the bankside trees - hadn't realised how warm it had got until I walked back to the car! Nearly all fish from the weir pool apart from the 3lb chub which was from further downstream. An otter came up through as I was packing up - swam through the pool and scampered up the weir to head upstream!
  5. Chris Plumb

    7 July

    Warwick's Water - Thatcham 1830 - 2300 Warm and sunny. AT 21º - 14ºC. 2 Tench: 2lb 13oz & 1½lb. 1 Perch 1lb 9oz. Summer tench campaign on this water starts with a (half) decent perch - my first over a lb from the water - which is rumoured to hold MUCH bigger ones! The perch came early in the session when the sun was still one the water and I wasn't really expecting a bite. Both tench, however, were caught after 2130.
  6. Harris Lake - Marsh Farm fishery, Milford. 0600 - 2245 Warm with bright sunshine for most of the day - clouding over somewhat for the last 3-4 hours of daylight (thankfully!) AT, a chilly 5ºC when I arrived, highs of around 24ºC and 16ºC when I drove off a little after a 11pm. 12 Tench. Various sizes over 2lb with 4 over 4lb - biggest 5lb 12oz. 2 Crucians; both pounders though not by a lot. A doz roach and rudd - mainly rudd with sizes ranging from tiny up to a rudd of 14oz. Annual get together of the IAC and it was great to see faces old and new and remember those that are no longer with us. Today would have been Paul's 65th birthday hence why I chose it for the date of the 10th crucian fish-in. I think most folks caught 'something' with quite a few tench showing , biggest I heard of was Geoff's tinca of 6lb 8oz. The goal though is to get a crucian as the trophy goes to the biggest one caught and they were noticeable by their absence - unless you were in Peg 37. Alex drew this peg and put us all to shame by catching no fewer than 18 crucians - the only one out of 16 anglers to get one! His biggest was a modest 1lb 8oz so Alex wins the trophy for a 2nd time with a fish just half as big as his 2019 win. I caught mainly roach and rudd but fished on with Gary after everyone else had left and eventually manged to winkle out a couple of crus amongst the plethora of tench. Gary managed a 2lb 3oz warrior literally last cast (we agreed to pack up at 1045pm so as to be on the road home by 1100pm and he had this fish at 2243!) Here's to next year - and I might bring my own signs this time to say the lake is booked (I had to kick off 4 interlopers, as whilst the booking was on the match calendar on the website it wasn't on the fishery noticeboard!) My biggest.
  7. Marshall's Mere (formerly Willows Lake) 1815 - 2245 Warm, mainly overcast and quite breezy. AT 21º - 16ºC. 2 Tench: 5lb, 3lb 13oz. 5 Carp, in order of capture: 7lb11oz, 11lb 12oz, 8lb 7oz, 13lb 2oz, 9lb 4oz. 2 Roach; small. A lively evening not catching tench (for the most part)! Started off float fishing prawn sections, but after 3 bumped carp and one lost in the lillies (to a hook pull, thankfully) in the first hour it appeared the carp were being just too active for anything else to get a look in. I figured if I caught a couple the rest might scarper from my swim, however 5 fish in quite quick succession rather defied that logic. All caught dapping crust mere inches from the bank. Dusk eventually brought some respite from the carp and in the fading light the tench moved in (and the crucians which were rolling in my swim - though not taking my bait - alas).
  8. Johnsons Lake - Milford 1500 - 2300 Bright and breezy. AT 21º - 15ºC. 2 Tench: 3lb 3oz & a 'pounder'. 2 doz roach and rudd (more rudd) all 6-10oz with a couple of rudd a tad bigger. Fruitless hunt for a big crucian and it's amazing how quickly you can get bored of catching ½lb rudd! The roach and rudd were actually a bit of a pain snaffling baits on my float and feeder rod with regularity. This stopped at dusk - and was hopeful a crucian would put in an appearance - but the only two bites I had after 2030 resulted in a brace of modest tincas....
  9. River Kennet - Brimpton 0430 - 0830 Warm & sultry. AT 15º-23ºC. River low - usual summer levels. 1 Bream (!): 5lb 2oz. 1 Chub 3lb 9oz. 6 Dace - all quite chunky, 1 Roach (diito). 1 Gudgeon. 5 Brownies; a couple 1-1¼lb the others half that. Great to be out in the relative cool of a June dawn - especially when it's forecast to be so hot later. A morning of firsts. As usual my banker chub swim produced a splashy trout first cast so I immediately rested it and went uspstream. 1st cast here produced the gudgeon - my first from here in a decade . Most of the dace and the roach soon followed and returning to my first swim quickly produced the chub - which set up the pattern for the morning alternating between the 2 spots giving each half an hour or so. The bream was the real surprise - my first EVER from the venue (and I've fished here every year since 1982). I hooked it in surprisingly fast water and it fought so tenaciously I thought I was connected to a ginormous chub! Brimpton Brace
  10. River Kennet - Marsh Benham 0430 - 1100 Hot and sunny (though quite nice in the shade under the trees!) AT 12º - 26ºC. River low. 2 Bream: 5lb & 3lb 10oz. 4 Chub: a brace of 2lb+ and a couple of smalluns. 14 Dace - all a good size. 2 Roach: small. 2 Gudgeon (!), 1 Brownie: a brute of a fish - over 4lb. 1 Rainbow: c2½lb. A favourite summer weirpool swim - and one I often start my season in. However it got off to a slow start - which was not surprising as I had a large dog otter for company on and off for the first hour! Didn't actually see it catch anything but I didn't get a bite until an hour after the last sighting - and that was the 5lb bream. They don't half fight well - both bream did good imitations of large chub! First gudgeon from here since 2018! First Gonk of the season!
  11. No Gudgeon though .
  12. River Kennet - Hambridge 0430 - 1200 Warm and mainly sunny. AT 15º - 20ºC. River quite low - normal summer levels though a lot lower than this time last year. 12 Chub: 10 over a lb, best 3lb 6oz with one other over 3lb - all the others 1½-2½lbs. 4 doz (!) Dace & Roach. More dace than roach and whilst nothing particularly noteworthy all the dace were a nice size. All the roach were quite small save one that needed the net and may have pushed 8oz. 11 Brownies - 1 'pounder' and 10 small uns - probably multiple captures - I caught one with an identifiable scar on it three times! 1 Grayling - c6oz. 1 Bleak. Super start to the new season - great to see sooooo many silvers in the river. After last year's extravaganza here, this had to be the venue to kick off a new campaign and whilst no specimens were banked it was great to see so many fish in the river. Fished 4 swims and had chub from all of them while most of the dace and roach came from the road bridge swim - bite a chuck at times! First fish of the season...
  13. Loretta Swit - Hot Lips https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Swit
  14. Concur with what's been said - I've tried plastic maggots and grubs and had very limted success with them - and will only resort to them if I'm getting totally murdered by - say bleak or minnows. But why not try worms? - easy to acquire and theres not a fish that swims that won't take one!
  15. George Wendt - Norm!! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2xx998102o
  16. George Foreman. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg8ez8201yo
  17. Not done one of these since 2019, though not much had changed until the season just finished! Best Carp – 27lb 6oz. 15 August 2008. Blue Pool – Burghfield. Method feeder – hair-rigged hemp bogey. Best Pike – 18lb 10oz. 10 February 2001. River Lambourn – Newbury. Free-lined Lamprey section. Best Barbel – 12lb 4oz. 27 July 2004. River Kennet, Arrowhead – Thatcham. Ledgered Halibut pellet. Best Bream – 12lb 2oz. 2 July 2011. Summer Pit – Yateley. Float fished (lift method) maggot. Best Brown Trout – 8lb 12oz. 14 March 2008. Middle Kennet Estate – Newbury. Trotted maggot. (No photo) Best Tench – 8lb 2oz. 30 July 2024. Warwicks Water – Thatcham. Float fished (lift method) prawn section. Best Chub – 7lb 3oz. 28 February 2025. River Kennet (flowing canal) - Colthrop. Trotted maggot. Best Salmon – 5lb 10oz. 13 October 2008. Lower Itchen Fishery. Trotted Maggot. (No Photo) Best Rainbow Trout – 5lb 5oz. 10 March 2023. Middle Kennet - Marsh Benham. Trotted Maggot. (No Photo) Best Perch – 4lb 5oz. 28 October 2013. Kennet & Avon Canal – Thatcham. Float fished lobworm. Best Crucian – 4lb 2oz. 20 June 2022. Johnsons Lake - Milford. Float fished prawn section. Best Sea Trout - 3lb 15oz. 1 November 2024. River Frome - Wool. Trotted red sweetcorn. (No Photo) Best Grayling – 2lb 15oz. 6 January 2002. Lower Itchen Fishery. Trotted maggot. Best Roach – 2lb 11oz. 7 February 2003. Middle Kennet Carrier – Nr Hungerford. Trotted maggot. Best Eel - 2lb 1oz: 12 June 2015. Mill Farm, Pulborough. Ledgered prawn. Best Brown Goldfish - 1lb 14oz: 21 June 2005. Float fished Bread, Pumphouse Lake, Yateley. (No Photo) Best Rudd - 1lb 11oz 18 June 2018. Johnsons Lake - Milford. Float fished prawn section. Best Dace – 1lb 2oz. 7 February 2003. Middle Kennet Carrier – Nr Hungerford. Trotted maggot.
  18. Another season comes to a close and a rather splendid one it was too. Bookended by two fabulous chub which twice upped a PB that had stood since the 2011/12 season. My tench best also fell, a record that had stood since 2003 was bettered by something of a mug fish which was caught multiple times over the summer by different anglers (I caught it twice!) Record rainfall in September burst the springs on the downs unusually early and put the Kennet into flood or near flood all winter. This, again, led me to explore and get to know some new stretches of river notably at Colthrop which produced some amazing chub! Best Carp: 12lb 6oz. 20 August. Free-lined bread crust, Marshall's Mere. One of the few carp caught 'by design' as I usually try and avoid the blighters when I'm after tench. This rather ugly looking one was caught after a blank evening for the tincas! Best Tench: 8lb 2oz (New PB). 30 July. Float fished prawn section, Warwicks Water. I had some splendid evenings' tench fishing on this small lake over the summer with several tench over 5lb including this stunning specimen. This fish was caught by other anglers over the summer and came out at 9lb, full of spawn, in May. I caught her again, 4 ounces lighter,at the end of August. Best Chub: 7lb 3oz (new PB). 28 February. Trotted maggot, River Kennet (flowing canal) - Colthrop. First days of the season are just about being back on the bank - not chasing personal bests yet my season started with me breaking a PB that had stood for over 12 years. I do love catching chub and that 6lb 10oz fish on a bright June morning was the fish of my dreams. A very plump fish which I don't think had yet spawned, it was the highlight of a superlative morning's angling. I could little imagine that less than 9 months later I'd be celebrating a chub over ½lb bigger! I've fished Colthrop sporadically over tha last 2 or 3 decades and never really caught much of note despite whispers that there were decent fish to be found. A flooded Kennet put a couple of my favourite venues (Hambridge & Brimpton) out of action for large parts of the autumn and winter and meant I fished Colthrop more times this season than the previous 10+ years combined. The venue is close to home so lent itself to short sessions of exploration. The results have been sensational - I've caught exactly 2 dozen chub of which over ½ (14) have been in excess of 4lb, culminating in this spectacular 7lber, which was another gravid fish at its top winter weight. In addition - and somewhat surprisingly,the venue threw up a number of decent grayling to over 2lb! 6lb 10oz 7lb 3oz Best Bream: 6lb 13oz. 18 June. Float fished prawn section - lift method, Marshall's Mere. I don't catch many bream on this lake and this fish, a by-catch on a tenching session is by far and away my biggest ever from the water! Best Sea Trout: 3lb 15oz (new PB). 1 November. Trotted Maggot - River Frome, Wool. I got rather plagued with sea trout on my two trips to Wool this season - I did actually weigh this one as I thought it was well over 4lbs - but didn't realise I hadn't caught a bigger Sea Trout until I got home (might have taken its picture if I'd realised!) Best Perch: 3lb 9oz. 15 November. Float fished maggot - River Kennet, Hambridge. For the third year running my biggest perch was a 3lber from the River Kennet (as opposed to the K&A Canal). 6 of the 7, 2½+lb perch I caught this season came from the river at Hambridge - though as I never caught more than two in a session I do wonder how many were repeat captures! Best Barbel: 3lb 6oz. 9 October. Ledgered Elips pellets - River Kennet, Hambridge. The biggest of 7 barbel I caught from the Kennet this season - my best since 2013/14 (when I had 14) and whilst all modest in size they were a very welcome sight! Best Crucian: 2lb 10oz. 1 July. Float fished prawn section, Harris Lake, Marsh Farm. Scratchy summer on the crucian front and the first season since 2014/15 that I failed to catch a 3lber. Best Grayling: 2lb 6oz. 1 December. Trotted Maggot, Lower Itchen Fishery. Its been a stellar autumn/winter for grayling with 13 fish over 2lb - my best since 2008/09 (when I caught 13 X 2lbers in a day on the Lower Itchen!). For the first time ever in the same season I caught 2lb+ ladies from 4 different rivers (Frome, Itchen, Kennet & Lambourn). Best Dace: 13oz. 8 November. Trotted maggot - Northcroft Stream, Newbury.
  19. River Kennet - Colthrop 1300 - 1530 Cool & mainly cloudy with the odd spot of rain. River full and fairly clear. 1 Chub: 3lb 13oz. 1 Grayling: 2lb 2oz !! 2 Brownies: 6-10oz. This venue is on the way home from my syndicate stretch so I couldn't resist giving it a few hours for the 4th Friday afternoon in a row!! Fished my 3 'banker' chub swims giving each ¾hr. Had the chub from the first swim followed by the brownies and the grayling from the second. Think its the same 2lb lady I caught in December - twas an ounce heavier this time and looked in better health and was caught a few hundred meters upstream. Somewhat fittingly, as its been a super winter for grayling, it was my last fish of the season....
  20. Middle Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham 0700 - 1200 Cool, with sunny spells. AT -2ºC - 7ºC. River full pacey and reasonably clear. 4 Chub: all between 2½ - 3½lb. 1 Roach: handsized. 8 Brownies: all between 1¾lb - 3½lb. Last day session failing at playing 'Avoid the Trout'! 3 of the chub from a newish swim - one that produced a few roach last time out. Resting it and returning just resulted in more trout!
  21. Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne (down) 1430 - 1730 Mild and overcast with a light shower as I packed up. AT 12ºC - 9ºC. 7 Perch, in order of capture: 2lb 6oz, 1lb 11oz, 1lb 15oz, 2lb 3oz, 2lb 2oz, 2lb 7oz and a tiddller to finish! 1 Pike 2lb* With 'winter' forecast to return for the remaining days of the season I wanted to use the last mild day for a while to target some canal perch from my 'new' swim on DS alley. For 2 hours it looked like I was wasting my time - not a flicker of interest until 4.30pm when I got my first bite - heralding a busy hour's sport and a super stamp of stripeys (apart from the last one!). * The pike was caught twice within a minute - after its first release it immediately snaffled my next lob! (It was released some way downstream afterwards!)
  22. River Kennet - Speen Moors 1000 - 1330 Mild, overcast with light showers. AT 8ºC - 12ºC. River at 'normal' winter levels quite full but with little colour. 2 Chub: 3lb 0oz, 2lb 4oz. 3 Brownies: 3lb and 2 of around ¾lb Again, bites at a bit of a premium (where have all the roach and dace gone?) and a splashy first cast trout in one of my more reliable chub swims wasn't a great start. Thankfully a somewhat less reliable spot produced a welcome brace of chevins...
  23. River Kennet - Colthrop 1230 - 1500 Mild, cloudy with light showers. AT 12º-13ºC. River very pacey still with a little colour. 1 Chub: 6lb 5oz. 1 Grayling 1lb 3oz. Another stellar chub from the venue - though a different swim to the one that produced last week's 7lber. That's now 14 chub over 4lb from this stretch of river/canal since late October...
  24. River Lambourn - Newbury 0830 - 1130 Mild, overcast with light showers. AT 11ºC. River very full and gin clear as expected! 1.73m on the Shaw gauge. 21 Grayling: 8 over a lb, best 1lb 9oz. 2 Brownies: small. As per my last trip here nearly all the fish from just 2 hotspots just off the faster current. Lost a very large trout (least I assumed it was a trout as I never saw it!) after having it on for an age, but eventually the hook pulled - perils of using an 18!
  25. Middle Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0700 - 1200 Bright and sunny, cold start. AT -3º -> 11ºC. River full, pacey with most of the colour dropped out. 2 Chub: a couple of ounces either side of 3lb. 3 Roach: all around 4-6oz. 5 Brownies: 4 between 1½-3lb and a small-un. Another sparkly day in West Berkshire which prompted an early start to get on the water before the sun did. The strategy paid off with both chub in the first 20 mins. Nice to find a few roach as they've been few and far between this winter....
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