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Chris Plumb

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Blog Entries posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Chris Plumb

    31 October (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham
    1000 - 1400
    Bright and sunny with heavy showers to finish! AT 10ºC - 15ºC. River at normal levels with a hint of colour.
    7 Chub: 3lb 3oz, one of 12oz+ and 5 chublets. 1 doz Roach: all small. 4 Dace: one good-un of at least 8oz. 1 Perch - small.
    'Popped' into my syndicate stretch on the way home from Avington. And as I had my lobs with me I started out with them to try and snaffle a decent perch from here - though they produced not a single bite. Back to trotted maggot for the usual mixed bag - and not even bothered by brownies...
  2. Chris Plumb

    27 October (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Speen Moors
    1000 - 1400
    Bright and sunny (for the most part!), AT 9ºC - 13ºC. River up 3 or 4 inches on my last trip here but with little colour.
    7 Chub; 3lb 6oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz, a 'pounder'  and 3 chublets. 5 Perch: all between ¾-1¼lb. 1 Roach - small, 1 Gudgeon, 1 Brownie; 3lb+.
    A lively morning - went for a wander initially, though ended up relying on my favourite spot on the weir pool, with all fish of substance coming from it. It's becoming a bit of a banker swim!
  3. Chris Plumb

    27 October (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
    0730 - 0930
    Continuous rain for the entire 2 hours I was bank-side. Started just as I made my first cast and eased off just as I made my last! AT 9ºC
    13 Perch - with the majority a lb or better - the six I weighed went: 2lb 12oz, 2lb 7oz, 2lb 3oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 14oz & 1lb 12oz with most of the rest in the 12oz-1lb class.
    First part of a favourite 'double-header' and a repeat of my trip here at the start of the month - with 3, 2lb perch in my first 3 casts! I had watched a forecast as I had my brekkie an hour earlier and the was no mention of morning rain (just afternoon showers which duly arrived) so was not amused at the drenching. Still the biggest of the morning decided to bite when it was at it's heaviest and my relatively new fishing coat was put to the test! Pike trouble ended proceedings again mirroring my session here 3 weeks ago and with clearing skies I was off to Speen....
    2nd biggest of the season...

  4. Chris Plumb

    22 October

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Lower Itchen Fishery
    0830 - 1700
    Bright start - clouding over somewhat after lunch - with a brief shower, AT 5º-15ºC. River full - bank high in places - though, thankfully not too much colour.
    20 Grayling - very few under 12oz  and quite a number around the 1lb mark. The three I weighed went 1lb 10oz, 1lb 15oz & 2lb 6oz. 1 Chub 4lb 10oz. 7 Brownies - 2-3½lb.
    Super day's sport and thanks to Neal for organising. We had permission to fish the upper beat - alas the river was in the fields and this stretch was all but inaccessible. However the one swim I could get to in wellies produced all the big grayling and the chub. Spent the afternoon working my way down the lower beat - in a case of 'catch a couple and move on'. Everything caught on red corn - I actually ran out of the stuff - I brought 2 pints of maggot and didn't use a single one!
    Itchen 4lber

    Trying to photograph grayling is akin to giving a cat a pill!!

  5. Chris Plumb

    20 October

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham
    0930 - 1400
    Sunny spells after another night of heavy rain. Mild/warm for the time of year. AT 12º-17ºC. River up several inches and carrying quite a bit of colour - which had noticeably dropped out somewhat by the time I packed up.
     4 Chub; 4lb 13oz & 3 chublets. 1 Bream: 2lb 11oz. 3 Perch: 1½lb and a couple of tiddlers. 16 Roach - nothing noteworthy. 3 Dace (ditto). 1 Brownie -3lb.
    Despite spending a lot of time and effort on the main river - nearly all fish from the carrier. Trotted corn was largely ignored and I didn't start to catch until I switched back to maggot - and wandered upstream- abandoning the weirpool,  to find some quieter water.
    Biggest chub of the season(so far!) from here...
     

  6. Chris Plumb

    17 October

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0730 - 1100
    Cool and overcast - clearing to bright sunshine. AT 8º- 12ºC. River at normal levels.
    19 Grayling with over half around the pound mark or better - the three I weighed went 1lb 8oz, 1lb 9oz & 1lb 12oz. 1 brownie - small.
    First frosts of the autumn always put me in the mood for grayling and this was a bit of an insurance session in case Storm Babet stuffs up the Itchen for my planned visit this weekend. Usual tactics of catch a couple and rest the swim with quite a few fish caught by sight - just striking when the bait gets taken. Session curtailed by a group of conservationists wading up the river to do some bank work!

  7. Chris Plumb

    13 October

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1100 - 1400
    Warm and breezy - becoming increasingly sunny after a wet morning/overnight. AT 17º-20ºC. River down 8 inches on my last visit here but carrying a bit of colour after heavy overnight rains....
    1 Chub: 1½lb. 1 Perch - fairly small. 11 Dace - most small with a couple of chunkier ones. 3 Roach - all small. 2 Brownies: 2½lb and c¾lb.
    Bit of a scratchy session - had hoped the rain might have pepped the river up - but a couple of splashy trout is never a good start. Resting the swim for an hour while I went exploring did at least eventually produce the modest chub but I had hopes for something better!
  8. Chris Plumb

    11 October (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Speen Moors
    0945 - 1415
    Warm, overcast and breezy. AT 16º-18ºC. River down around 6-8 inches on my last trip here 3 weeks ago.
    14 Perch: All 12oz or more - best two went 1lb 10oz & 1lb 12oz but all of the others were a few ounces either side of a lb. 6 Chub: 2lb & 1lb 10oz and 4 chublets. 9 Roach - all small apart from one 'netter' of round 10oz. 1 Dace - small. 12 (!) Gudgeon. 2 Brownies - a lump of around 3½lb and a parr.
    Super morning's sport and I was glad I'd saved some lobs as I started out on worm in a spot where I usually catch perch - but never in such numbers. And it can't be a coincidence that the sudden increase in gudgeon numbers - is linked to the number of perch around. 12 gonks is more than I've caught in an entire season - in some recent years (2021-22 for example when I only caught 11 all season!)
  9. Chris Plumb

    11 October (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Warwicks Water
    0700 - 0900
    Warm, overcast and quite breezy. AT 16ºC
    14 Perch - nothing noteworhty.
    Another fruitless session after mythical monster perch - without the redemption of a tench or two. Small perch were everywhere I tried and a high lobworm attrition rate had me packing up and moving venues much quicker than I'd hoped!
  10. Chris Plumb

    6 October

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet -  Brimpton
    1230 - 1500
    Warm and mainly sunny. AT19ºC. River with good flow (for mid autumn) and a tinge of colour.
    3 Chub: 3lb 6oz, 2lb 15oz and a 'pounder'.
    Hooray NO trout! Both my 'banker' chub swims gave up a fish and nothing with an adipose fin - which makes a change - first time this season that I haven't caught a spottie from here - long may it continue!
  11. Chris Plumb

    5 October

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
    0700 - 0900
    Warm, calm and overcast. A lovely, benign autumn morning - perfect perching weather! AT 11º-14ºC
    10 Perch: 7 over 1lb (6 over 1½lb). Best 3: 2lb 13oz, 2lb 6oz & 2lb 4oz
    After Monday's false start (on the Perch front at least) it was a first visit of the season to a more reliable perch venue - though one that didn't produce a 2lber for me last season. That was all put right in the first ½ hour when I had 6 perch from my first 6 casts - including all 3, 2lbers. Bites then suddenly stopped - and it was soon apparent why - Mr Esox - which chased in one of the smaller perch and then bit me off precipitating a, slightly earlier than planned, pack up!
    Biggest of the morning.
     

  12. Chris Plumb

    2 October

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    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!

  13. Chris Plumb

    29 September

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet (& Carrier) - Marsh Benham
    0700 - 1400
    Bright and sunny after overnight rain. AT 14º-16ºC. River at normal levels with a tinge of colour.
    12 Chub; 6 over a lb - best 3lb 6oz, and half a doz chublets. 8 Perch; 1lb 12oz & 7 small-uns. 1 Bream 2lb 2oz. 30 Roach & Dace (more roach), 'a' roach of 12oz the only noteworthy fish. 1 Bleak. 1 Rainbow -  unwelcome as ever but a real lump @5lb 10oz.
    All out attempt at trying to snaffle some bigger chub and avoid the smaller fish (at least initially) so it was out with the trotted red sweetcorn for the first time this autumn. Seemed to work - though i would have liked something a little bigger. First 2 fish on corn were actually the bigger perch and the bream.The only noteworthy roach also snaffled my sweetcorn offering. I caught a pike on sweetcorn from this venue a couple of seasons ago - seems like the predators are going vegan!😆 Most fish from the main river.
    Vegan Perch

  14. Chris Plumb

    25 September

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Willows Lake - Thatcham
    1730 - 2200
    Warm(ish!) with a pleasant southerly breeze to keep the mossies and dew away. High cloud - but not enough to mask a bright gibbous moon. AT 20º-14ºC
    2 Carp: 11lb 6oz & 8lb 2oz. 2 perch - small.
    Last evening here this summer (probably!) and first time this season I haven't caught a tench from this lake. Smaller carp was early doors (though preceded by the two micro-perch) and I then spent 2 hours staring intently at a stationary starlite - willing it to go under. Eventually I started flicking in bits of bread in the margins and it wasn't long before they started to get sucked under - so a quick switch to my carp rod and my dapped bit of bread was taken instantly - resulting in my only 'deliberately' caught carp of the summer! Not quite what I came here for - but needs must! Everything then went quite again and after another hour or so staring at a red spot in the lake and with the breeze starting to have a chilling effect on my bones I opted for a slightly earlier than planned pack up!

  15. Chris Plumb

    22 September

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Speen Moors
    1045 - 1430
    Bright and breezy with one light shower (and one cloudburst to finish!). AT 15ºC. River 'full' and with some colour - though not as much as below Newbury.
    5 Chub: 2lb 7oz, a couple of 'pounders' and a couple of chublets. 3 Perch; 2@1lb 6oz (definitely different fish) and one of around 10-12oz. A dozen Roach - quite a few chunky ones. 2 Dace, 1 Gudgeon. 1 Trout parr.
    First visit here this season and the thundery showers kept me to the weir-pools. Had planned to recce up Parliament Draft but blackening skies and rumbles of thunder in the distance had me packing up early and route marching back to the car - failing by around 100 yards to get there before the heavens opened and I was lashed with hail and rain....🌩️☔
     
  16. Chris Plumb

    21 September

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1400 - 1630
    Bright with thundery showers. AT 15ºC. River up 10 inches on my last trip (I measured it!) and quite coloured up.
    1 Bream; 2lb 4oz. 2 Perch 1¼lb and one around half that. 10 Roach - all handsized. 2 Dace. 2 Gudgeon.
    With 37mm of rain yesterday (1½inches in old money) making it the 9th wettest day in the last 20 years - locally, I wasn't surprised to see the Kennet close to winter flood levels. Perfect excuse to drop into my favourite flood swim for a couple of hours between the showers. No chub in residence but the Perch and Bream both came in the opening 20 minutes and the roach were a nice size too. Unfortunately there was also a pike occupying the slack which kept attacking my float on the retrieve - but thankfully didn't snaffle any of my roach...
  17. Chris Plumb

    8 September

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham
    0600 - 1230
    Hot and muggy. AT 18ºC - 28ºC. River a little on the low side but not at all bad for September.
    12 Chub; A couple of around ¾-1lb - the rest all juveniles of around 6 inches. 1 Bream: 3lb 14oz. 50 Roach & Dace (more roach) - nothing especially noteworthy. 5 Perch - all small. 2 Rainbow's; 3½ & 4½lbs.
    Early start to try and make the most of the cool of the morning - but didn't really feel it after the long hike to my swims! Most fish from the weirpool - where there was also lots of predator activity and I also had a bit of pike trouble - played one for an age which took my maggots - but it eventually snapped me - and had to stop fishing another swim as my catch kept getting snaffled!
     

  18. Chris Plumb

    4 September

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Harris Lake, Marsh Farm Fishery, Milford
    1500 - 2300.
    Hot and sunny with a stiffish southerly breeze - clear, warm evening. AT 28ºC and still 17ºC when I left.
    7 Tench; best 6lb on the nose plus a variety of sizes (1X5lb+, 2X4lb+, 2X3lb+, 1X2lb+). 2 Crucians; 2lb 6oz, 1lb 13oz & 1lb 11oz. 20+ Roach up to 10oz. 3 Rudd - all around 8-10oz, 1 Perch- small.
    The return of summer put me in the mood for some more crucian fishing - though in truth they didn't get much of a look-in amongst the tench. Both smaller crucians in daylight but once it started to get dark the tench moved in - despite me giving them NO free offerings! Thankfully tinca time was over by 10pm and my only bite in the last hour came from the bigger crucian. Biggest tench from here since 2020....
  19. Chris Plumb

    30 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1600 - 2230
    Overcast, breezy and quite cool - clearing to reveal great views of the blue super moon! AT 17ºC - 12ºC. River a little on the low side...
    1 Chub: 4lb 13oz. 2 Perch 1lb 9oz & a tiddler. 5 Dace & 3 Roach (all small). 4 Gudgeon. 4 Brownies - all small.
    Evening session ledgering for barbel preceded by half an hour's trotting to inoculate me from a blank! I needn't have worried however, as the chub fell well into the dark on my ledgered pellet and gave a very good impression of a barbel in the fast current and giving that classic 'three foot twitch' when it picked up the bait. And whilst I love chub I was actually disappointed to pick this out with my head torch as I landed it as up to that point I was convinced I was getting my first decent beard from here in ages!
  20. Chris Plumb

    29 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Brimpton
    1400 - 1700
    Cool, overcast and breezy with fine drizzle for last hour. AT a decidedly autumnal 15ºC. River a little on the low side - but not out of the ordinary for late summer.
    1 Chub- un-weighed but around a 1lb. 9 Dace - all quite chunky. 10 (!) brownies all around 8-10oz with one a tad bigger.
    DAMN TROUT! Rare foray to the lower and slower stretches of this venue - but not before starting in my 2 'banker' chub swims - where the trout were insatiable - can't help thinking they'd been recently stocked - all a remarkably similar size. Dace from a swim at the bottom which warrants a bit more attention methinks!
  21. Chris Plumb

    23 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet & Carrier - Marsh Benham
    0700 - 1330
    Warm and sunny (after a cool start) and with a very helpful couple of hours overcast from 9-11am - bites at a premium once this burnt off! AT 11º - 24ºC. River at normal levels with a tinge of colour.
    3 Chub: 4lb 4oz, 3lb 1oz, 1lb 13oz. 7 Perch - 1lb 15oz the rest all quite small. 2 doz+ Dace - various sizes with quite a few chunky ones - biggest went 12oz and had another 4 or 5 around the 8oz mark. 15 Roach - all small. 1 Bleak. 1 Brownie - unweighed but easily over 3lb - probably pushing 4....
    Super morning's sport - wandered around quite a bit and had fish from several different swims - smaller chub from the carrier - largest one plus the biggest perch from the weir pool.
    Had a curious little episode - when landing the bigger perch - one of it's smaller brethren swam into the net with it!! One of the maggots had been blown up the hook length and I think it was chasing that !


  22. Chris Plumb

    21 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Alders Lake - Thatcham
    1730 - 2230
    Bright and breezy. AT 20º - 15ºC.
    4 Bream: 4lb 8oz, 4lb 5oz, 4lb 2oz, 3lb 10oz. 4 Tench: 4lb 3oz, 3lb 3oz X2(different fish I think!), 2lb 11oz. 2 Carp: unweighed but both around 1½lb. 6 Perch; - most around 6-8oz. 2 Rudd.
    A very busy evening with bites and fish from the off - smallest Bream was actually first cast!. Bites tailed off after dark - only one fish after 9pm - exact opposite of what usually happens. All fish on float fished prawn (of course!). Annoyingly I also got smashed 3 times by the lake's rogue (they were never meant to be stocked in here) carp - the third time after scaling up to a 6lb bottom - which was still snapped like cotton! Still - one of my best returns on this lake - good thing I remembered my stink bag for my net and mat!
     
  23. Chris Plumb

    18 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1230 - 1530
    Warm and overcast after heavy rain this morning (15mm in 3 hrs). AT 19º-23ºC. River up a tad and with a bit of colour after said rains!
    2 Chub: 4lb 5oz & 3lb 11oz. 9 Dace and a Roach - all small. 6(!!) Gudgeon. 3 Trout parr.
    I had intended to spend today on my syndicate stretch further upstream - but torrential rains this morning put paid to that idea. It's not really a venue for a short session as it takes me over an hour from door to swim so it was back to old reliable which is a mere 20 minutes away and I could drop into my banker swim without having to undertake major tree clearance first! Both chub from here - though over an hour apart after resting and returning - and those gudgeon certainly are making a comeback - can't remember when I last had half a dozen in a session!
  24. Chris Plumb

    16 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Willows Lake - Thatcham
    1730 - 2230
    Warm and overcast - clearing. No breeze so copious amounts of DEET required to keep the mossies at bay! AT 23º-17ºC
    2 Tench; 4lb 7oz & 4lb 3oz. 2 Carp; 8lb 6oz & 6lb 11oz
    First evening this summer on here when the carp have been a nuisance. Along with the 2 I landed I lost another 3 to hook pulls - two after lengthy fights and getting close to netting - ho hum they weren't what I was after any hows! Thankfully there was a lull in carp interest for around an hour either side of 9pm  when the tinca's got a look-in and I had 2 fish in 2 consecutive casts just as it got dark.
  25. Chris Plumb

    14 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1130 - 1330
    Dull and drizzly - quite breezy too. AT 16ºC. River still with nice flow for late summer.
    1 Chub: 4lb 1oz, 11 Dace & 3 Roach - all small. 3 Gudgeon, 2 Grayling c6oz, 1 Perch - small, 2 brownies (ditto).
    Mrs P at the hairdressers was an opportunity to return here with a bigger saw to do some more 'gardening'! And of course I wasn't going to pass up the chance to wet a line for an hour or so.... Nice chub first cast - followed by the usual mixed bag!
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