Chris Plumb

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1515 - 1715 Clearing skies after 24 hours of continuous rain courtesy of Storm Dennis. Canal very full and coloured up. 2 Perch; a 'pounder' - but not by much and a tiddler. Snatched session to cure a weekend of cabin fever!

River Lambourn - Newbury 0830 - 1100 Mild and windy with some drizzle in the wind (Storm Dennis approaching!). River VERY full with just a hint of colour which is unusual for here. 8 Grayling; 4 'netters' biggest 2 went 1lb 7oz & 1lb 5oz. 2 Brownies - both around ½lb. This weekend had been pencilled in for months for an IAC fish-in. I'd booked Lower Itchen Fishery and filled all the places with folks coming from far and wide to attend. Unfortunately Storm Dennis had other ideas and the event was cancelled - pity as I was really looking forward to my annual late winter trip here. The day like all fish-ins' I organise these days was a charity event in memory of Paul and with no fishery to pay and most of my rods asking that their monies go straight to the charity - Storm Dennis will at least have benefitted Sue Ryder! So with the storm not quite arrived (the rain at least)and to ward off cabin fever - I sneaked a couple of hours on the Lambourn - so that I wouldn't be denied a grayling this weekend!

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.

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!)

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!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1545 - 1700 Dull & drizzly. 8ºC. 5 Perch; 3 tiddlers and a couple in the ¾-1lb class. Short session at the 'witching hour' hoping for a big stripey to come out to feed - alas not to be. All bites between 1630-1645.

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'.

https://neal.fun/deep-sea/ C.

River Lambourn - Newbury 0800 - 1245 Cold (-1º -> 4ºC) bright and sunny. River very full but clear as always! 18 Grayling with around half a dozen in the 12oz class and a couple of bigger ones to 1lb 6oz. 1 Dace; 10oz & half a dozen brownies 1 fish of a 1lb plus the rest small or parrs. Another 2 inches of rain since last weekend has really stuffed up the Kennet and with the first frost of the year there was only really one choice if I wanted to get on the bank this weekend. Seems I wasn't the only one - I encountered 8 other anglers fishing here this morning! Usual tactics of catch a couple and move on - dace was a bit of a surprise - especially the size of it.

Well it definitely wasn't one of mine as it was an eyed hook - I only use spades in smaller sizes and this was a 14/16...

Thanks Phone confirmed what I thought! C.

Probably wrong forum - but at least it will get seen here! Caught a nuisance Rainbow Trout today on the Kennet and it shed a load of eggs in the net - which somewhat surprised me as I thought that these stockies - which I'm sure it was - are meant to be sterile Triploids! How are they sterilised - and is it fool -proof?

River Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0815 - 1430 Bright and cool (5ºC when I started). River still very full but with little colour despite over ½inch of rain yesterday. 5 Chub; All bar one over 2lb though the biggest was not quite 3lbs. A doz Roach - all 'hand-sized' with a couple slightly bigger. 4 Dace - including a brace of 10oz fish. 10 Brownies & 5 Rainbows - all in the 2½-3½ class. Day off - to treat meself fo my birthday and it turned into a day of trying (and usually failing!) to avoid the trout! Biggest chub first cast and it had another angler's hook in its scissors (one of yours - Rusty?) - but thereafter I had to keep moving to try and find fish without an adipose! One of the rainbow's shed a load of eggs in the net - which somewhat surprised me as I thought that they were meant to be sterile Triploids!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0800 - 1630 Cool and overcast morning, bright sunny afternoon. AT 4º - 8ºC but felt cooler in the breeze! 9 Perch; Most around 12+oz but nothing over 1¼lb, 1 Pike; 2lb. 1½doz Roach, 2 Dace & a Gudgeon. Another session after big stripeys and just like most of my catches further downstream fish of a remarkably similar stamp. Started off with Pike trouble - got bitten off first cast - and landed it (same one!) second - so I got my hook back. ALL perch dawn and dusk.

Eventually got around to having a play with the functionality on the blog - loving the new headline feature - will start using that a lot plus the fact yiu can upload pics directly no more need to find somewhere to host pics...

Northcroft Stream - Newbury 1030 - 1130 Overcast with a chilly breeze - AT 6ºC. 1 Chub 2lb 3oz. Quick, impromptu session as Jaq hit the sales (again!). In truth, I didn't expect to catch as the stream was somewhat turbulent so rather surprised to see my float disappear on my first put in. It proved to be my only bite!

K&A Canal - Woolhampton 1400 - 1615 Bright sunshine - and quite mild at 9ºC but quickly got cooler as the sun set. 1 Perch; 1lb 3oz. 1 Pike 3lb 9oz. With a couple of cracking perch already 'under my belt' (see 30 December part 1)! for the day I decided to fish a couple of new swims on this stretch. The first appeared to be Pike heaven - lost one, then landed one, so moved to another new spot - where I had a solitary bite right at the death resulting in the stripey....

River Kennet - Hambridge 0945 - 1245 Bright sunshine, calm and quite mild (9ºC). River FULL! Bank high and up another 6 inches or so on my last visit here at the begining of the month - little colour though. 2 Perch; 2lb 11oz & 2lb 8oz. 8 Grayling - (all 6-10oz), 2 Roach, 1 Dace & 3 Brownies to circa 1lb. So, the plan for today was to start on a favourite flood water swim - hoping to snaffle a big chub and then switch to the canal for the witching hour for some perch. The perch therefore were a big surprise - my biggest from here since 10/11 season when I had a 2lb 14oz fish from this swim. And can't remember getting so many grayling at one go either - usually 1 or 2 show up amongst the dace. Not a hint of any chub!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1345 - 1615 Dull, calm and cool. AT 7ºC despite forecasts promising double figures! 7 Perch; 1lb 8oz, 1lb 5oz & 5 smalluns. Lovely benign afternoon on the canal - near perfect winter weather for perching - though would have preferred it to be a bit milder. Biggest 2 on the dinner bell time of 4 o'clock!

River Lambourn - Shaw 1000 - 1300 Cool (7ºC) and drizzly - river very full and with a merest hint of colour. 5 Grayling - all smallish & 5 Brownies (ditto apart from one 'netter') As Sam was in Newbury for the NAC Boxing Day run and Jaq was hitting the sales - I had the perfect excuse for a quick session (not that I need an excuse!). Picked here as I wanted to see what the river was like now they've removed the gauge weir plus I wanted to try out my new wading boots. Fishing was very scratchy with no more than a couple from any one spot. Boots fit much better than my old pair which were too tight - and falling apart anyhow and the river minus the weir looks rather good - a lovely long deepish glide where the weir was - looked like it should hold fish when it settles down - and hopefully gets some weed growth!

Rather nice collection of pics - methinks! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-50742373

River Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0845 - 1245 Mild with bright sunshine. River very full - up at least a foot on normal levels and quite coloured (for here!) 3 Chub; 2 over 1lb (but not by much!), 20 Dace and Roach in equal nos - some quite chunky ones too - best roach was 14oz and had 3 dace over 8oz. 4 Brownies from 2lb to over 4lb & a Rainbow of nearly 5lb! Winter chub hunt thwarted by troot turning up in all my banker swims, some really chunky ones too, which didn't fight at all like trout, keeping low in the water imitating ole rubber lips. Carrier was in really good nick with so much water in it - just as well as the main river was unfishable and over-topping its banks.

River Lambourn - Newbury 1130 - 1430 Cool (3º->6ºC), bright and very blowy! River well up and with just a hint of colour. 25 Grayling; With half over 10oz. Best 1lb 4oz with quite a few more an ounce or two shy of that. 3 Brownies, a lber and a couple of parr fish. Default venue when the Kennet has burst it's banks (It's flowing into on of our club lakes atm!). Usual catch a couple and move on tactics, though I did get 8 or 9 from one spot including the biggest one.

Eeek this was from a couple of years ago - corrected a typo and the blog software has pushed it to the top!

Don't remember carrot fishing rods - I do recall carrot pike lures.....