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Chris Plumb

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Blog Entries posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Chris Plumb

    1 August

    By Chris Plumb,

    Newbury AA stillwater - Widmead
     
    0500 - 1000
     
    Warm, overcast and sultry. 16ºC->21ºC
     
    3 Tench; 3lb 10oz, 3lb 7oz, 1lb 11oz. 2 Carp; 9lb 14oz & 8lb 5oz. 7 Rudd.
     
    Dawn raid in the hope of another monster crucian - and whilst I had a big fish roll shortly after baiting the swim it was a case of nothing doing. Rudd were a nice size - upto 9-10oz, though in truth a bit of a pain as they kept giving crucian like bites on my lift float rigged meat! Carp off the top in the last hour - having thrown in freebies all morning!
     

  2. Chris Plumb

    1 August

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Thatcham
     
    0945 - 1215
     
    Hot and sultry - perfect weather to spend the morning up to your thighs in cool river water!
     
    1 Chub 3lb 9oz, 6 Dace, 2 Roach and 5 brownies - 2 over 1lb.
     
    Had to go to Tone's to pick up bait and permits for this evening - not that I need an excuse to fish here! Nice to see some dace AND roach putting in an appearance.
     
    Chub showed obvious signs of having recently spawned...

     
  3. Chris Plumb

    1 August

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    0915 - 1145
     
    Overcast, warm and muggy. River still in great nick for mid-summer - more water than many a year - but now shallow enough to wade out to get a trot to one of my favourite spots!
     
    3 Chub - all between 1¾-2¾lbs.3 Perch; one just over a pound the other 2 not much under. 20+ dace, 7 roach, 3 gudgeon and a brownie.
     
    Very pleasant morning's trotting - nice to see some chub back in residence in one of my favourite Kennet swims (and a host of other species too!)
  4. Chris Plumb

    1 August

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    0515 - 0745
     
    Cool (5ºC when I started) and clear. River with a little more flow and quite clear for a change.
     
    1 Chub; 5lb 13oz. 30 Dace. 20 Roach. 6 Gudgeon. 1 Grayling.
     
    Cracking dawn trotting session and home for breakfast! Chub were the target and I was at the head of the swim before 0500, trickling in maggot for 20 mins or so waiting for it to get light enough to see my float. Sure enough the trick worked and first trot through the float buried and I was connected to a lump of a chub - which thankfully I managed to keep out of the various obstructions on offer to it to effect an escape.
     
    After such a great start I was hopeful of some more chevins - however it soon became clear that Mr Esox was in residence (or probably MRS Esox judging by the size of it) and after its brekkie so I dropped downstream 60m or so and fished a fast streamy run for the rest of the morning - where it was practically a fish a trot.
     

  5. Chris Plumb

    1 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    K&A Canal - Thatcham
     
    0715 - 0845
     
    Bright and breezy - after heavy overnight rain (¾in fell yesterday). AT 46ºF. WT 48.5ºF
     
    7 Perch (5 over lb - 3lb 3oz, 2lb 5oz, 1lb13oz, 1½lb, 1¼lb) 1 chublet
     
    Short session - as only had about 45 mins of 'good light' - good for perch that is - bites dried up when it got too bright. Water carrying a tinge of colour which would have helped too. All fish on lobs.
     
  6. Chris Plumb

    1 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Lambourn - Newbury
     
    1100 - 1400
     
    Cold with sunny spells. 5ºC. River very full and gin clear looked in cracking nick!
     
    17 Grayling; 2 'pounders' biggest 1lb 7oz
     
    Usual catch a couple and move on tactics - venue was rather busy and bumped into that reprobate Rusty who was worming for roach! Had rather hoped to be fishing the Frome this weekend - alas it still has a flood warning out for the river - and here's why - somewhere just behind the tree Rusty and I caught 2lbers last winter!
    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=101...pe=1&ref=nf
     
    Lambourn Lady

  7. Chris Plumb

    1 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Hambridge
    0945 - 1330
    Cold (2 - 5ºC) and quite sunny. River high (well over a foot up on my last visit here in Sep) but with very little colour.
    3 Chub; 5lb 7oz, 4lb 10oz &1¾lb, 2 Grayling, 1 Dace & 3 Brownies to circa 1lb.
    Cracking brace of chub from one of my favourite flood water pools. Fish in splendid winter condition. Wished I'd brought a spinning rod with me - a pike kept attacking my float as I reeled in (but not any of the fish!)
  8. Chris Plumb

    1 December

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0845 - 1415
    Cold and cloudy. AT -2º -> +1ºC. (Proper Grayling weather!). River very full and clear.
    23 Grayling. 8 over a lb - best 4 went 1lb 14oz, 1lb 12oz & 1lb 10oz (X2 - different fish). 5 Brownies: all small/parrs.
    I do love cold days like this - wrapped up warm and staying mobile. Had the rare luxury of not seeing another angler so fished the length of the stretch twice with a break for lunch in between. Took corn but forgot it in the morning - doh - so fished with maggot first time and just corn the second. Corn caught fewer though 5 of the 8 'pounders' fell to it. Local tackle shop is stocking krill flavoured red corn which I was using for the first time. My theory is that red corn get's mistaken for trout eggs - and this stuff even smells the part!
  9. Chris Plumb

    1 February (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
    0800 - 1100
    Bright & breezy (becoming very breezy!) Mild 10ºC. River full with little colour - up around 12inches on my last visit (19 October) - but looked in fine fettle!
    2 Chub 4lb 1oz & 2lb 13oz. 1 Brownie.
    Plan for today was to try and get a big winter chub - and visit a couple of favourite swims that have produced 5lbers earlier in the season. Despite the rivers settling down after a relatively quite period - rain wise, I was a little worried if there would be enough 'quiet' water at this venue. I needn't have worried (though I'm glad I had my waders!) - the 2lber pretty much first cast and the 4lber an hour or so later. Rested and fed well as per last time here - but they were my only bites. Dropped into another pool on the way back to the car (which produce my first 6lber from this venue last winter) but only had the splashy troot!
  10. Chris Plumb

    1 February (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1200 - 1400
    Bright and VERY breezy with one brief shower. 10ºC. River still quite high but down around 4 inches on my last visit here (30 December) and quite clear.
    2 Chub: 2lb 2oz, 1lb 9oz. 7 Grayling to around 12oz. 3 Trout - a rainbow of over 3lb and a couple of brownies.
    So the second venue of the day pretty much produced the same as the first - chub wise at least. I think its the first time I've ever had a rainbow from here (and it had me convinced I was into a good chub  - rainbows don't seem to come to the surface and splash around like brownies!)
  11. Chris Plumb

    1 January 2009

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Lambourn - Shaw
     
    1300 - 1600
     
    Cold and cloudy, 1ºC. River quite 'full' and clear - suspect the springs have 'sprung' on the downs...
     
    17 Grayling - 4 'pounders', best 3 - 1lb 12oz, 1lb 10oz, 1lb 9oz (!!!), 4 Roach - all small, 3 Brownies - 1 circa ¾lb.
     
    Blimey! Where did they come from? Biggest ever grayling from here - and my first grayling over 1½lb from here since Oct 2001. All bigger fish from same swim - and all caught within first ¼ hour of fishing! Very pleasant afternoons trotting!
  12. Chris Plumb

    1 January 2013

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Lambourn - Shaw
     
    1030 - 1330
     
    Bright and Sunny. 6ºC. River just about as high as I can remember seeing it (40cm on the EA Shaw River Gauge - last winter it was 16-18cm). Gauge weir was a mere riffle and footpath under the bypass only navigable with wellies. Despite the depth, river had very little colour.
     
    21 Grayling - nothing over 1lb though quite a few in the 10-14oz bracket. 3 Brownies - 2 over 1lb, best 1¾lb.
     
    A trip that was postponed from yesterday when I had intended to fish with Paul - heavy rain put paid to that idea though Paul did get out for a couple of hours on a local (to him) stream. As ever the Lambourn is an excellent default when the Kennet is in the fields and the Witcher was given a good outing and was subjected to some admiring inspections from a couple of passers-by who stopped for a chat. Nearly all my grayling were caught on the church stretch...
  13. Chris Plumb

    1 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    Warwicks Water
     
    0800 - 1200
     
    Rain, drizzle and more rain!
     
    10 crucians (All 1lb+, best 1lb 11oz) 6 roach.
     
    All caught on float fished meat - lift method.
  14. Chris Plumb

    1 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    Summer Pit - CEMEX, Yateley
     
    1830 - 2330
     
    Hot and Sultry. AT still 21ºC at 2330. WT 77ºF in margins (about 2' depth 4' from bank)
     
    1 Tench - 2lb, 1 Rudd (Small)
     
    Another evening struggling for bites - made all the more frustrating by being able to see lots of Crucians cruising in the upper layers of the lake during the hours of daylight. Stubborn refused to even look at any bait that was offered them!
  15. Chris Plumb

    1 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    Bucklebury Ponds
     
    1000 - 1300
     
    Breezy, overcast with frequent light showers.
     
    3 Carp; all between 3-4lb. 2 Bream; both circa 2lb. A dozen+ roach and perch - mainly perch plus a roach/bream hybred of around 1lb.
     
    Quick morning visit to my 'local'. Carp were actually a bit of a menace - took an age to land on light tackle and suspect they were bullying the target species (basically anything that wasn't a carp!) off the bait. Also got smashed a couple of times - only had 1½lb hook length.
  16. Chris Plumb

    1 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    2045 - 0000
     
    Warm and overcast - river still has good flow though a little turbid.
     
    2 Dace & a spottie.
     
    Planned to be bankside way earlier - but was seriously delayed getting home. Quick 20 mins trotting followed by 3 hours looking at a mainly stationary rod tip. Had a couple of promising rattles but nothing that developed into anything 'hittable.'
  17. Chris Plumb

    1 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    Newbury AA Stillwater - Thatcham
     
    1745 - 2345
     
    Overcast, breezy with a few short sharp showers. Cool - becoming even cooler - down to 9ºC in the car on the way home.
     
    3 Carp; 7lb 9oz, 5lb 6oz, 4lb 11oz.
     
    Not long after Paul's funeral - his wife Kim wanted me and Geoff to come over and sort through his fishing tackle (and bait fridge/freezer). Kim was keen for both of us to have whatever tackle we would make use of and one of the pieces I took was his pellet waggler rod - still made up in its quiver - I also took some carp pellets and bait to go with it. It's not a technique I've ever tried before - and it's one that Paul only really got into for the last couple of years of his angling - but he swore by it as a method - proved by him landing a 16lb carp on a hot lethargic day last summer when no one else was catching!
     
    My real plan for this evening was to try and snaffle one of the few/BIG crucians the lake contains but decided to start by having a bit of fun with the pellet waggler set up. And fun it was!! I started by spending 10-15mins just catapulting in small amounts of slow sinking pellets - and pretty much first cast into the baited area produced the 4lber! The problem thereafter was trying NOT to attract the geese and ducks to the bait - but each time I had long enough for the fish to move in I had interest in my slow sinking bait.
     
    Just as well - as my planned crucian assault produce not a single bite - not even from a maraudering carp. I had intended to stay much longer - but incessant ripple was making me go boggle-eyed and I was starting to get rather chilled under clearing skies!
     
     
     
  18. Chris Plumb

    1 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
     
    1800 - 2045 - Warm, with sunny spells. River at normal early summer levels.
     
    1 Chub; 4lb 14oz, 3 Dace, 3 Brownies to 1½lb.
     
    Pleasant evening's trotting - pleased to get such a nice chub so early in the season - was in surprsingly good condition too.

  19. Chris Plumb
    Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford
    0600 - 0000
    5 Tench; biggest 5lb 4oz the others 3-4lb. 7 Crucians; 5 over 1lb with a couple over 2 - best 2lb 4oz. A dozen+ rudd - most tiny with one of around 4-6 oz.
    Annual IAC get together in memory of Paul - a chance to catch up, raise some money for Duchess of Kent Hospice and this year, put a face to a name - Stephen Jackson  who has been on the IAC list forever ventured down from Carlisle for his first IAC fish-in. 
    A slow day angling wise - however and somewhat unusually for an IAC event most people actually caught a few - tench admitedly for most, but even Crucians turned up in quite a few different nets. Even Glenn caught - a tench AND a crucian! I had a few daylight fish as well so didn't have to rely on fishing on after dusk for angling redemption (which was just as well as it wasn't as reliable as expected!)
    The winner of the trophy for the biggest crucian was decided early doors with Geoff's first cast fish of 2lb 12oz though this was nearly eclipsed by a fish from Alex in the next swim just fractions of an ounce lighter! Even the weather behaved itself!
     
    Geoff's winning fish.
     

  20. Chris Plumb

    1 June

    By Chris Plumb,

    Warwicks Water - Thatcham
    1800 - 2300
    Warm sticky evening - shirtsleeves weather - apart from the mossies!
    1 Tench; 2lb 7oz. 2 doz+ Roach & Perch (2-1 in favour of roach) - all small - save for a couple of perch which might have pushed 6-8oz.
    Started off float fishing maggot - a plan that I was quickly dissuaded from - as the float never had time to cock before I had a fish on. So within half an hour I'd switched to corn and settled down to an evening watching a stationary float. With the light fading I switched to prawn sections - hoping this wouldn't be a magnet for the perch! Thankfully the only bite came a little after 2200 just as I was contemplating packing up when without warning the float shot under and a muscular male tench was the result. This success prompted me to stay another hour without so much as a flicker of further activity.
  21. Chris Plumb

    1 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham
     
    0630 - 0900
     
    Dull, overcast and mild. AT & WT 47ºF. Water quite clear.
     
    4 Perch: (2lb 14oz, 2lb 6oz, 1lb 11oz & a tiddler), 2 Chub: 2lb 10oz & 1lb 14oz, 1 Pike 3lb.
     
    Perfect perch dawn - so somewhat surprised to find some chub taking up residence in my favourite perch swim. They were the first two fish I caught. Lost another at the net and then caught the pike so moved swims to (succesfully) find some perch! All fish on float fished lobs.
  22. Chris Plumb

    1 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Hambridge
    0930 - 1230
    Cool, bright and quite breezy at times. AT 5-7ºC.  River very high - highest I've seen it this winter - though with minimal colour.
    1 Chub 2lb 13oz. 3 Grayling - one close to 1lb the other 2 half that. 1 Dace. 2 Brownies a 2lber and a tiddler.
    Fished for over an hour for my first bite - just starting to doubt my sanity and planning a move around the corner to fish the Lambourn when the bigger grayling turned up. Clearly the slow trickle of maggot worked as the chub was next cast and thereafter had slow but steady sport in unpromising conditions.
  23. Chris Plumb

    1 March

    By 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.

  24. Chris Plumb

    1 November

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    0700 - 0945
     
    Cold, overcast with a chilly easterly breeze. AT 1º -> 4ºC. WT 43ºF (down 6ºF in 5 days) .River quite low, clear with some leaf litter.
     
    1 Pike (6lb 6oz), 4 Chub (all between ¾lb - 1¾lb), 11 Dace, 1 Grayling.
     
    Slow morning in one of my favourite trotting swims. Pike followed a couple of dace in - so 10 mins with a floating plug soon had him on the bank! All other fish on single red maggot.
  25. Chris Plumb

    1 November

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - nr. Thatcham
     
    1830 - 2330
     
    Mainly overcast and quite breezey. AT54ºF, WT52ºF and both rising. Positively balmy compared to last Monday evening, despite the wind!
     
    4 Barbel: 10lb 7oz, 9lb 5oz, 7lb 4oz, 5lb 15oz
     
    Cracking evening in a swim not a million miles from where John, Chris & Steve have been in the last 72 hours! 9lber first cast - all be it ¾hr after casting out and the double right at the end of the session. Biggest barbel for 3 years. All on hair-rigged halibuts.
     
    9lb 5oz

    10lb 7oz

     
    Just realised I haven't reset the clock on my camera!
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