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Chris Plumb

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Blog Entries posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Another season comes to a close - my first one since retiring and as a consequence I got out a lot more especially in the autumn/winter though plans were somewhat thwarted by the high water levels in the rivers. Since I left work in June we have had 9 consecutive months of significantly above average rainfall. The springs of the Kennet 'broke' unusually early in mid-October (they typically start flowing late December/early January) and as a consequence many venues have been inaccessible  let alone fishable. This did at least nudge me to seek out some new swims - with some success!
    Best Carp 11lb 6oz. 25 September Free-lined bread flake - Willows Lake. As usual, I spent most of the summer trying NOT to catch carp in my pursuit of big tench. This was one of the few I caught deliberately on an evening the tincas didn't turn up.

    Best Tench 6lb 8oz. 20 June. Lift method, prawn sections - Willows Lake. A good summer on the tench front with 13 fish over 5lb and this was the best of 3, 6lbers. Rumours of an 8lber coming out of a club water had me putting in a lot of effort for the species!

    Best Chub 6lb 2oz. 9 February. Trotted maggot. River Kennet, Newbury -Whitehouse stretch. A venue I re-discovered as a result of trying to find bits of river I could actually get to in the floods! This particular swim became an instant favourite producing 3 chub over 5½lb in 3 of my first 4 visits to it. I wonder what it will fish like in normal levels! All in all though another great year for chub with 100 over 1lb for the 4th consecutive year, though average weights were down a little with 21 over 4lb of which 6 were over 5.

    Best Bream 5lb 2oz. 16 June. Trotted maggot. River Kennet - Marsh Benham. The majority of my Bream were river caught (same as 22/23 season) and this opening day catch was the only one over 5lb.

    Best Crucian 3lb 4oz. 10 August. Float fished prawn sections. Harris Lake, Marsh Farm Fishery, Milford. I only made 3 trips to Marsh Farm this summer - some quality tench fishing on club waters keeping me on 'home soil' - This super crucian however was a good reminder of why I make the effort - and was actually my biggest ever from Harris.

    Best Perch 3lb 1oz. 21 November. Trotted maggot. River Kennet, Hambridge. For the 2nd season running my season's best perch comes from the river as opposed to the canal though the K&A did throw up a number of big 2s this season.

    Best Grayling 2lb 6oz. 22 October. Trotted red sweetcorn. Lower Itchen. A feature this winter has been how well my local stretches of the River Lambourn have fished for Grayling. I've had over 70 1lb+ fish with quite a few 1½lb or better - including my first 2lber in 2 decades. My season's best however was this stroppy fish (twas a nightmare to try and photograph) from my only trip to the Itchen - my February trip being cancelled due to flooding.

    Best Barbel 2lb 2oz. 11 July. Trotted maggot. River Kennet, Hambridge. Always good to see barbel these days whatever the size and whilst there have been a smattering of half decent barbel coming out this season to other anglers, my only contribution, whilst float caught, was much more modest.

    Best Dace 1lb 1oz. 21 November. Trotted maggot. Kennet & Avon (flowing) canal, Thatcham. My best 'wow' moment of the season! A venue that has thrown up some big autumn dace in the past few years had me returning with the intention of trying to do just that again. Never expected anything of this calibre - my first 1lb+ dace since 04/05 season.

  2. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse)
    1330  1500
    Mild overcast and breezy. AT 12ºC. River very pacey but surprisingly clear given all the rain yesterday.
    1 Bream : 2lb. 3 Perch, 1 Roach (all small).
    Having fished down the Lambourn twice, a quick bite of lunch was followed by a 90 min session in my new favourite chub slack. Alas, ole rubber lips wasn't in residence - a bream taking my bait at just the spot I expected a chub to be!
  3. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet (& Carrier) - Marsh Benham
    0830 - 1400
    Mild with sunny spells - topped and tailed with rain. AT 10º-16ºC. River very high and clear.
    2 Chub; 5lb 2oz & 3lb 3oz. 3 Roach - all small. 2 Brownies - both 3lb+.
    Both chub from my south bank slack on the main river. Rested it after catching the 5lber and caught the smaller one when I returned ¾hr later. Best chub from my syndicate stretch this season - a nice way to end the campaign...
    A Fat Five

  4. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0830 - 1300
    Mild, overcast and breezy. AT 11/12ºC. River very high - 1.96m on the Shaw gauge (21cm above top of normal range) but crystal clear despite nearly (yet) another ½ inch of rain yesterday.
    13 Grayling: 5 over a lb - best 3; 1lb 13oz and 2 @ 1lb 9oz. 2 Brownies - both around 1¼lb (and might have been the same fish!!).
    Usual rest and return tactics - most fish from 3 swims and most fish on trotted red corn.
    Not so much The lady of the Stream - more The Black Prince!
     
     
     

  5. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
    0700 - 0900
    Cool and mainly cloudy with a raw easterly wind. AT 3º-5ºC - but felt sub-zero with the wind chill!
    1 Pike: c2lb. 4 Perch all small.
    Not the most ideal of conditions for a dawn perching session and a bite off from a pike first cast didn't help either - nor did the duck gangbang that kept kicking off in my swim, 1 poor female mallard was being molested by 4 males at the same time! Bites at a premium when things did settle down and the only fish to put a bend in the rod was yet another lob munching jack - this time just nicked in the scissors...
  6. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Speen Moors
    0915 - 1300
    Bright and breezy with a raw Easterly. AT 5º-9º but felt a lot chillier in the wind! River in full flood, in the fields and over the footpaths - but very clear.
    5 Chub: 3lb 4oz, 2lb 14oz, 2lb 9oz*, 2lb 4oz* and a chublet of around 8-10oz. 1 Brownie c 2½lb.
    Surprisingly productive morning given the sub-optimal conditions - all fish on trotted maggot from the one swim which I rested for over an hour and caught 2 more chub* when I returned to it.
  7. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Shaw
    1000 - 1400
    Cool and mainly cloudy. AT 7º-9ºC. River VERY high but as clear as gin. 1.96m on the Shaw gauge (21cm above top of normal range) - first time I've ever seen sandbags on the Lambourn!
    6 Grayling - a couple of pounders (though not by much). 5 Brownies - biggest 3lb+ with another around half that and the rest all small.
    Scratchy morning on a very pacey river. No swim gave up more than 2 fish and resting and returning was largely unsuccessful - though the last hour was a lot brigther which didn't help!
  8. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet (& Carrier) - Marsh Benham
    0900 - 1300
    Wind and rain to start followed by a couple of hours of sunshine - though I then packed up in a very heavy shower of sleet and hail - 4 seasons in a morning! AT 4º-7ºC. River VERY high (of course) and with a tinge of colour.
    3 Chub: 4lb 6oz, 3lb 7oz, 2lb 11oz. 2 Roach - handsized. 4 Brownies - all around 3½lb+
    I was meant to be fishing the Itchen yesterday but it was called off due to a flooded river. However I'd prepped some red sweetcorn for the day so thought I'd use it on the Kennet chub rather than the Itchen's grayling! And first cast produced a fish - the 3lb chub from a slack on the main river and as usual it was my only bite from the swim - but more than adequate compensation for the long walk. All the other fish came from the carrier - and, alas, brownies love corn as much as chub so I ended up switching back to maggot - this produced the biggest chub of the morning - which had been attacked by something (see below), and the 2 roach.

  9. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0830 - 1230
    Cool with sunny spells. AT 4º-9ºC. River in flood. 1.95m on the Shaw gauge (20cm above top of normal range). Riverside Lane was under water. Also carrying a bit of colour after it rained all day yesterday - fullest I've ever fished it!
    17 Grayling: 9 over a lb, best 4: 1lb 15oz, 1lb 14oz, 1lb 11oz, 1lb 7oz. 5 brownies all around 4-6oz.
    The ever reliable Lambourn comes up trumps again. Most fish from 4 swims which, as I had the place to myself, I was able  to fish twice, with 3 of the 4 producing good fish again after the rest and return policy. Waders a must for nearly every swim on the venue!
    Nearly a 2...

  10. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse)
    0900 - 1230
    Mild and mainly overcast. AT 8º-12ºC.  River very pacey and VERY coloured up (AGAIN!) after heavy weekend rains.
    5 Roach - all fairly small.
    Bit of a gamble given the state of the river - but my new favourite chub slack has been producing is such conditions this winter. This morning however I fluffed my lines - I was briefly connected to something solid within a few minutes of starting, alas, a maggot folded over the hook point expedited a quick escape for whatever had snaffled my bait (probably a chub!). It would be my only chance.  A move to another slack (all be it a lot shallower) produced the modest haul of blank saving roach and a return to my original swim after resting for an hour or so produced nothing more.
     
  11. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham 
    0930 - 1430
    Mild, mainly cloudy with sunny spells. AT 12ºC. River very pacey with a tinge of colour.
    2 Chub: 3lb 6oz, 2lb 3oz. 16 Roach - all quite small. 1 Dace (ditto). 4 Bleak.
    Nice to see some silvers showing again! Usually when the Kennet is in flood this carrier is a mecca for silver fish and one of this season's mysteries was where had they got too - all syndicate members had struggled to find them. Nothing of any size alas - but there was an added bonus of no trout showing up! Made the long walk to fish my south bank slack - and was rewarded with the bigger chub (the smaller one had come from the carrier...)
  12. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
    0930 - 1400
    Overcast with constant drizzly rain, with the wind picking up considerably for last hour. AT 7º-9ºC.
    11 Perch: 5 over a lb - best two 2lb 11oz & 1lb 14oz.
    Biggest perch first cast! And they seemed to get progressively smaller as the morning wore on! Had intended to stay until dusk but it was becoming rather unpleasant in the wind and with no bites for an hour and with a biggie already under my belt, the "I'll be glad when I've had enough of this" moment kicked in rather sooner!
    Fat as a football...

  13. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse stretch)
    0900 - 1100
    Mild, breezy and drizzly. AT 11ºC. River very pacey and very coloured up (again!) - after 42mm of rain in the past 48hrs.
    1 Chub: 6lb 2oz - SB. 1 Roach - hand-sized.
    En route to the Lambourn I thought I'd drop in on my 5lber slack for an hour (herein after called my 6lber slack!) With the Kennet the colour of builder's tea I really wasn't at all hopeful but the roach first cast gave me a glimmer of confidence - rewarded by the big chub 20 mins later. They would be my only 2 bites but after such a fantastic fish 1 hour became 2 before I lost my hook on what I think was a shopping trolley - signalling time to go. I had the usual audience when I landed the chub - one of who asked if it was a pike! (makes a change from asking if it's a carp I s'pose!)
    Season's Best Chub
     

  14. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Shaw
    1115 - 1415
    Mild, breezy with some sunny spells and some drizzle. AT 11ºC. River VERY high. 1.95m on the Shaw gauge - 20cm above the top of normal range and 27cm higher than my last visit here. Even had a tinge of colour!
    13 Grayling - 7 over 1lb - best 1lb 7oz. 5 Brownies - a pounder and 4 parrs.
    Never seen the Lambourn so high - took chesties and needed them to stand up to my thighs in water, where I'd normal stand on dry land! Also very rare to see it with some colour - sure sign we've had a lot of rain in the past day or so. Most ladies from the church stretch - in fact, unusually, most from one swim.
  15. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Frome - Wool
    0800 - 1400
    Mild, overcast and very windy! AT 11º-13ºC. River still very pacey with a little colour but well within its banks at last. 1.16m on the E Stoke gauge still higher than I would have liked but lowest since early autumn!
    11 Grayling: 7 over 1lb - best: 1lb 10oz, 1lb 8oz, 1lb 7oz. 1 Trout - small. 6 Salmon parr.
    2 trip of the season to Dorset - and looking at the forecast for the next week probably my last - heavy rain will stuff the river up for several weeks again. Wind made fishing a bit of a challenge at times it was straight downstream in most swims - actually standing up in the stronger gusts was a bit of a challenge at times!! Most grayling from one swim which I kept resting and returning to.
    Sign on Wool bridge - might amuse some of my readers - Martin?
     

  16. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet (& Carrier) - Marsh Benham
    0900 - 1500
    Mild, overcast and quite breezy. AT 11ºC. River continues to fall - now at normal winter levels - clear and pacey and still breaching the banks in places - but passable with wellies.
    5 Chub: 4lb 12oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 11oz, 3lb 9oz, 3lb 3oz. 2 Roach - small. 5 Brownies 1½-2½lb. 1 Sea Trout (!) c 2½lb.
    A full day on my syndicate stretch - a morning on the main river - pleased that I can at last get access to some of the main swims now that levels have dropped. The afternoon was spent on the carrier. 2 chub from the main river - including the biggest of the day and 3 chub from the aptly named 'chub corner' on the carrier. Sea trout was a bit of a surprise has come a long way from the sea - though they've also been turning up in the Thames locally as well!
     

  17. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1300 - 1400
    Mild and overcast. AT 7ºC River very high and clear, but down a few inches on last week.
    1 Chub 3lb 10oz.
    Bit of a recce to see if I could actually access the river. Pleased to say I could (just), so it would have been churlish not to have a few minutes with my grayling gear. One bite, one fish - normal service is resumed!!
  18. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0900 - 1200
    Mild and overcast. 7ºC. River very high. 1.85 on the Shaw gauge upstream. Clear as always though.
    12 Grayling with half over a lb. Biggest two 1lb 10oz & 1lb 6oz.. 4 Brownies a 'pounder' and 3 parrs.
    Usual catch a couple and move on tactics - waders needed to get access to most swims. The Lambourn has been very slow to run off after hitting record levels at the beginning of the month it has 'only' dropped 20cm (the Kennet has dropped 46cm in the same period). Nearly all of the 'pacey' swims which usually hold fish in normal years were devoid of fish - they were in the slacks! Had intended to walk back to the top and work my way down again after lunch but other anglers showing up put paid to those plans.
    A Lambourn Lady
     

  19. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet -Speen Moors
    0900 -1200
    Bright and sunny and quite breezy. At 6º-9ºC. River gin clear but still in the fields here and breaching the banks at multiple points -  highest I've seen it this winter but it has still dropped considerably looking at the state of the fields surrounding. Found some dead, stranded fish in the field between the two weirs ☹️. They were quite decomposed, but looked like trout parr. 
    1 Roach (small). 1 Brownie - 4lb 14oz (yes I actually weighed a trout - thought it was bigger - a brute of a fish with a pronounced kype.)
    A trout first cast is never a good start - especially as it was in the swim that produced 4 chub for me on my last trip here. Bright conditions and a clear river made for very sub-optimal conditions and I struggled for bites all morning  - the large weirpool producing just the solitary redfin.
  20. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet - Marsh Benham
    1000 - 1400
    Mild with milky sunshine and very windy (remnants of Storm Jocelyn). AT 9-12ºC. River very high with a hint of colour after recent rains.
    3 Chub: 2lb 11oz, 3lb 10oz, 4lb 5oz. 1 Roach - c6-8oz.
    Long walk to fish the south bank of the main river of my syndicate stretch paid off with 3 nice chub. Started with the roach with the 4lber next cast. Resting and returning resulted in winkling out another two - with the added bonus of no trout showing up!
  21. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Frome - Wool
    0830 - 1400
    Cold with  unbroken bright sunshine. AT when I started was -6ºC warming to a balmy 5ºC when I packed up. River high - barely within its banks, VERY pacey and quite clear (though not as clear as the Kennet ATM!). 1.36m on the East Stoke river gauge (highest I've ever fished the Frome).
    7 Grayling: the two that went on the scales went 1lb 13oz & 1lb 6oz the others all around 12oz. 1 Sea trout - circa 2lb +.
    The river gauges on the Frome have been registering levels above the top of 'normal range' since mid-October - until Tuesday of this week. With more rain forecast for the weekend plans were changed and a trip to Dorset was hastily arranged in case this was my only chance to actually use my DDAS ticket this year (the Frome season only runs from Nov - Feb). In truth there was still way too much water than I would have liked and I suspected it would be a bit of a struggle. Actually trotting a line was the biggest challenge for the first couple of hours, with the line freezing in the ferrules between each cast I was mightly pleased when air temps lifted into positive territory. Those 2 hours produced just 1 modest grayling from the fastest stretch so I spent the rest of the session below Wool (old) bridge where the water is a bit deeper (and slightly calmer). This second half was topped and tailed by the bigger grayling and the sea trout which stayed deep and had me convinced I was into a really big lady - ho hum!
  22. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse stretch)
    0900 - 1200
    Cold, calm & cloudy. AT -2º - +1ºC. River very pacey and crystal clear.
    2 chub: 4lb 1oz & 3lb 7oz. 1 Brownie: 2lb+.
    This is rapidly becoming my new favourite winter venue! Started in my '5lber swim' but couldn't get a bite which was repeated in my next 2 swims which produced the silvers on previous trips. So more in hope than expectation I went exploring further swims. The river is fairly featureless so I was looking for nice 'glassy' glides. I hit the jackpot with the very next swim I dropped into - hooking a brace of chub at the very end of a long trot. Unfortunately my next fish had an adipose fin and went airborne a couple of times and whilst I fished a couple more promising looking runs I got no further bites.
    This was to be part one of a double header - with a trip to Hambridge planned after lunch. Alas the river downstream is still way to high - I couldn't even get to my favourite swim at Hambridge safely!
  23. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0930 - 1300
    Cool and bright to start - clouding over. AT 5ºC. River VERY high (1.78m on the Shaw river gauge) I donned thigh waders and needed them to get to most swims I fished!!
    19 Grayling: 9 over lb - best two; 1lb 10oz & 1lb 8oz. 4 Trout - all small/parrs.
    I usually like to start the New Year with a chub but on a recce yesterday I deemed the Kennet unfishable (I was wrong - see part 2!) so opted for the Lambourn as a safer bet. All my usual hotspots produced a fish or 2 (unlike my last trip). Can't remember when I saw the Lambourn so high - which is probably putting off a lot of anglers - I didn't see another rod - which is a bit unusual even on a weekday...
    First fish of 2024.

  24. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham.
    0930 - 1430
    Cold, cloudy to start clearing to bright winter sunshine. AT 1º-3ºC but feeling MUCH colder in a biting North-Easterly wind. River VERY high - clearly down a few inches on the last couple of days based on all the debris on the bank but still higher by far on my last trip here - gin clear however.
    2 Chub: 3lb 2oz, 2lb 13oz. 7 Brownies 2-3½lb.
    Started on the south bank of the main river with trotted red corn - which met with instant success - a chub first cast. Alas, second cast was a brownie that thrashed the swim to a foam putting paid to anymore bites! The carrier was the usual game of trying, and generally failing, to avoid the trout so thankful for at least one more fish without an adipose!
  25. Chris Plumb

    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse)
    1330 - 1430
    Started raining the second I cast out and got progressively heavier - blowing in my face so becoming deeply unpleasant!! AT 5ºC. River bank high, really pushing through and very coloured up.
    1 Chub 5lb 10oz (!)
    Well, as I was parked around the corner for my Lambourn jaunt I thought I'd at least have a look at the slack that produced my SB chub last week. With more water and a LOT more colour it didn't look at all promising - but that didn't stop me running a float through it! So more than a little surprised to get a bite - and even more so to get another fine chub from here. It would be my only take and with the rain lashing down (as if we need any more!!) I beat a hasty retreat....
    First chub of 2024.
     

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