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Chris Plumb

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Blog Entries posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Chris Plumb

    10/11 August

    By Chris Plumb,

    Dobsons Lake - Thatcham
     
    1800 - 0500
     
    Cool clear night. Temp down to 5ºC when I packed up!
     
    4 Carp: 9lb 12oz, 8lb 2oz, 7lb 15oz, 6lb 9oz. 1 Bream 5lb 12oz. 1 roach.
     
    Brrrr - a slow but steady night looking out for Perseids as much as fishing! Surprised how cool it was at dawn - compounded by a very heavy dew!
  2. Chris Plumb

    8 September

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
     
    0615 - 1300
     
    Overcast and quite breezy at times - drizzly rain for first hour. River not as low as I expected.
     
    2 Chub: 5lb 6oz, 4lb 13oz. 7 Dace, 1 Roach, ½doz+ brownies - most quite small with one circa 1lb.
     
    Took a ledgering rod As I wanted to have a daytime try for a barbel - however they were removing willows just upstream and an absurd amount of branches and crap coming downstream made it impossible. So back to usual trotting tactics for a lovely brace of chub.
  3. Chris Plumb

    17 November

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Frome - Wool
     
    0730 - 1330
     
    Overcast with a cool easterly breeze - brightening up as I packed up. River low with (dropped over 40cm since last weekend) 67cm on the East Stoke River Gauge.
     
    7 Grayling; 3 over 1lb went 2lb 5oz, 2lb 1oz, 1lb 8oz. 1 Bream 7lb 14oz (!), 1 Roach 8oz, 6 Brownies - all quite small.
     
    I ummed and ahhhed about renewing my DDAS card this winter - the last 2 seasons have been very scratchy and its a long way to travel to catch grayling that I could catch within 10 miles of home... Reports from this season (the venue opens on 1st Nov) also weren't hopeful - but I reasoned that last weekend's flush through might have livened things up a bit - and so it proved. It's never a prolific venue but thankfully 2 of my first 3 grayling were the 2lbers. Both caught on trotted orange corn that had been soaked in salmon oil, I reason that they're a good imitation for salmon eggs - whatever I have confidence in it as a bait. Bream also caught on it - and not entirely a surprise as a 7lb+ slab came out a couple of winters ago - and I was talking to its captor not 20 mins before landing my bream (probably the same fish!).
     
    ps How did the demise of Little Chef pass me by - both of my options for an Olympic breakfast are now Subways - despite still being advertised on the Little Chef website - the Bere Regis one even boasts as having been refurbished. Had to make do with a cheese and bacon melt - not happy!
     

     

     
     
  4. Chris Plumb

    9 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
     
    1045 - 1415
     
    Bright and sunny after a brief but torrential shower. River lower than I expected after a wet week and carrying a tinge of colour.
     
    6 Chub: 6lb 4oz, 5lb 6oz, 4lb 7oz, 3X 1-2lbers. 1 brownie circa 1lb.
     
    I've fished Brimpton regularly since I joined NAA in 1982 and whilst I catch 5lb+ chub most seasons I've never had a 6 until today! Thing is I didn't even plan to fish here today but I turned up at Hambridge to find my 2 favoured swims surprisingly occupied - so a quick change of plan was called for. Fished 5 swims in total giving each around 40mins - and had the fish from 3 of them - and didn't even drop into what I usually consider to be my banker chub swim - didn't seem much point after such a splendid return!
     

     
  5. Chris Plumb

    31 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton
     
    1300 - 1600
     
    Mild, cloudy and benign - perfect perching weather. AT 10ºC
     
    9 Perch; 2lb 15oz, 1lb 13oz - the others all around 8-10oz. 1 Chub 1¼lb and a Rudd(!)
     
    The CRT have made it very difficult to locate big stripeys on the canal - by removing pretty much every bit of over hanging vegetation from miles of bank - however conditions were ideal for winter perch so a roving approach - travelling light and giving swims 30 mins or so before moving on was the plan for the afternoon - and 5th swim - bingo! Biggest perch for 3 seasons - delighted!
     

     
  6. Chris Plumb

    10 February

    By Chris Plumb,

    Lower Itchen Fishery
     
    0830 - 1600.
     
    Drizzle all day becoming quite breezy! AT around 8/9ºC after a frosty start. River quite 'full' with a little colour.
     
    18 Grayling - with a dozen or so 1lb or better! Best 4 went 2lb 10oz, 1lb 13oz, 1lb 12oz X2. 3 Chub 4lb 7oz, 3lb 11oz, 3lb 6oz. 2 Brownies;3lb+ & 2lb +.
     
    A soggy day on the Itchen with the IAC. 20 of us getting together for the 3rd Paul Goulbourn grayling day. Raising money for Sue Ryder in the process. Despite the conditions I think everyone caught - I had a real purple patch after lunch when I had 9 ladies over a pound including all my biggest fish of the day (with the added advantage of the wind and rain being at my back!!) Fished mainly with corn in the morning - which accounted for all the chub but switched to maggot on a smaller hook for the afternoon - which seemed to do the trick!!!! My biggest grayling from here since Feb 2009.
     
     

  7. 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.

  8. 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!)
  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

    26 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    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.
  11. Chris Plumb

    25 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    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'.
     

  12. Chris Plumb

    3 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
     
    1800 - 2200
     
    Cool and clear with a very heavy dew/mist making it feel cooler still by the end of the evening.
     
    1 Chub; 2lb 13oz, 1 dace and a brownie.
     
    Quick trotting session - primarily to try and get a chub - so that box got ticked though I was hoping for something a little bigger. Then it was 3 hours or so looking at static isotopes. No crayfish activity at all - which was a bonus - the traps have clearly made a difference here. Saw an otter twice - it came up through my swim at around 1900 and returned a couple of hours later.....
  13. Chris Plumb

    7 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Speen Moors
     
    0645 - 1300
     
    Bright after a chilly start - river quite low despite yesterday's rain.
     
    2 Chub; 3lb 6oz & a chublet, 3 Roach, 1 Gudgeon & 3 brownies - all pounders.
     
    Not so much a fishing session as a hike with full pack. Walked pretty much the entire fishery - covered 9.7km in the process which is over 6 miles in old money! And there's been a few changes since last I was here - the top of the fishery has been scalped - a whole wood as been felled and bankside vegetation removed on one of my favourite stretches - bit of a shame though I understand they were mainly Ash which were diseased - still a shock to see - looks completely different. Mainly struggled for bites all morning (I spent the early hours fishing lobs hoping for a perch or two) but the only fish that put a bend into the rod were ruddy trout. Eventually dropped into a favourite swim of old and snaffled a nice chub.
     
  14. Chris Plumb

    18 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
     
    1730 - 2230
     
    Cool, clear evening, lovely for spotting the conjunction of the moon and Mars but not great for sitting on the riverbank with insufficient clothing! River at normal autumn levels.
     
    4 Roach & 2 Dace.
     
    Another fruitless attempt at a Kennet barbel without the hoped for trotted chub as hors d'oeuvres! No crayfish activity at all (there's been extensive trapping here recently) but an otter came through my swim just as it got dark - and returned downstream a couple of hours later.....
  15. Chris Plumb

    20 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton
     
    0700 - 1100
     
    Cool, bright and sunny.
     
    5 Perch - all around 6-10oz.
     
    The CRT really are a bunch of ****s! I rocked up at first light and made my way to a spot I knew held good perch - a nice bush and fallen branch on the far bank which produced 1lb+ perch (and some nice chub) for me last season - but which also produced a 3lb stripey last year (I've seen the pics!). This feature is on the widest part of the canal on the outside of a slight bend, a LONG way from the 'shipping line' and has caused boat users no problems for years. So why have the CRT seen fit to grub it out? I wonder how much revenue CRT get each year from angling clubs - coz they don't appear to give a **** about the aquatic environment - ALL my favourite perch spots on the K&A from Woolhampton to Marsh Benham have now been destroyed by these environmental terrorists over the past 2-3 years!
  16. Chris Plumb

    24 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Padworth
     
    1800 - 2200
     
    Cool and clear (down to 5ºC when I packed up - but came better prepared this time!)
     
    Blanked
     
    Not enough daylight for a blank saving trotting session so it was straight out with the ledgering rods for 4 hours at staring at static isotopes. Again no crayfish activity and YET AGAIN saw an otter come through just after setting up. Also had a barn owl swoop between the trees not far above my head!
  17. Chris Plumb

    27 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    0930 - 1345
     
    Bright and cold start, clouding over. AT no higher than 5ºC all day. River at normal autumn levels (actually slightly up on some previous autumns) and carrying a LOT of leaf litter.
     
    4 Chub: 3lb 4oz, 3lb 1oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 10oz. 5 Grayling; Best 1lb 3oz. 13 Dace (quite a few in the 6-8oz bracket), 5 Roach and 5 small brownies.
     
    A morning's trotting in the cold - this venue is starting to return to it's old productive self (just need some barbel to show!)
  18. Chris Plumb

    18 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    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.
  19. Chris Plumb

    10 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    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!
  20. Chris Plumb

    4 January 2020

    By Chris Plumb,

    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.
  21. Chris Plumb

    8 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    K&A Canal - Woolhampton
    1330 - 1615
    Bright & breezy - with one very lumpy shower. AT 10º ->6ºC
    7 Perch; 5 over 1lb, best 3, 1lb 9oz, 1lb 11oz & 2lb 2oz.
    Similar conditions to Friday's session though slightly LESS windy. Fished a different swim and had all 3 bigger ones  in the last half an hour - getting progressively bigger.  All 3 had damaged flanks, seems they've all escaped the attentions of the local pike!
  22. Chris Plumb

    17/18 June

    By Chris Plumb,

    Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford
     
    0700 - 0400
     
    Bright and breezy, mainly sunny. Lovely clear night with some high cloud and a gorgeous full moon.
     
    9 Tench; best 5lb5oz with 6 of the rest over 4½lb. 2 Crucians; 2lb 0oz & 1lb 11oz. 2 Perch.
     
    4th IAC Paul Goulbourn memorial fish-in. Yet again 20 of Paul's friends came together to honour his memory and try (and mainly fail!) to catch a crucian! Bites were at a premium all day though I think most anglers caught at least 'A' tench - I had my biggest pretty much first cast. However only 6 crucians were caught by the allotted time. Gary started the ball rolling with a splendid fish of 2lb 12oz - easily enough to win in previous years - however he had only seconds to enjoy the moment as news spread along the bank of a 2lb 15 (and a ½!) oz fish which fell to Alex - which naturally was the winning fish. I fished on after everyone had gone and as in previous years the fish came on the feed at 2130. I then had a lively few hours catching mainly tench until it went completely quiet at around 0200. I packed up as soon as it got light and headed home for some sleep. Money raised for Duchess of Kent Hospice was in excess of £300 meaning the IAC has now raised nearly £3K through this (and the winter Grayling) fish-in. MANY THANKS to all who came and gave.
  23. Chris Plumb

    19/20 June

    By Chris Plumb,

    Johnsons Lake - Marsh Farm
     
    1600 - 2315 & 0245 - 0500 (with 3 hours kip in the car)
     
    Warm, muggy overcast with showery rain all evening. Bright an breezy in the morning.
     
    11 Tench; 5 over 5lb, best 3 - 7lb 7oz, 6lb 7oz, 6lb 4oz. 3 Crucians; 3lb 14oz (new PB), 3lb 2oz, 2lb 10oz. 2 Rudd to 10oz.
     
    Another cracking June trip here - 4th season in a row - though this one was definitely more eventful! My hopes weren't high to start with as reports from the first few days were of anglers struggling. Most of these were casting to the horizon and after carp whereas I would be float fishing the first few yards of lake for crucians. Things did get off to a slow start but quickly got going as the light faded. The 2 rudd were all I caught before 2000 - then came the 3 crucians in ascending size order - I thought the biggie had to be a 4lber and was shaking as a weighed it! After that the tench moved in - bullying the crus out of the swim methinks as I didn't get another sniff of one.
     
    The morning was just as eventful - for all the wrong reasons because I, err, fell in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No half measures either, slipped/tripped just as I was casting out my float rod and went head first into the drink. Lost my glasses and head torch - thankfully I have some prescription sunglasses which got me home. Phone seems to have gone into some kind of safe mode so it 'might' be ok - currently drying out....Pride comes before a fall they say! Pity as I was still catching and had planned to stay much longer......
     
     
     
     
     
     

  24. Chris Plumb

    14 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    Lower Itchen Fishery
     
    0800 - 1800
     
    Rain, rain and more rain - yes pretty much non-stop all day - though thankfully not particularly heavy apart from a few brief 'pulses'! River carrying a tinge of colour but otherwise looked in fine fettle!
     
    3 Doz Grayling with half of these 1lb+. Best, 1lb 15oz with another half dozen in the 1lb10oz - 1lb12oz class. 3 Chub; 3lb 11oz and a brace of 2lbers. 9 Brownies - all between 2½-3½lb. 3 Salmon; 2 parr and a grilse of 5lb - on trotted corn!
     
    A soggy day in Hampshire though thankfully there was little wind and regular trips to the hut meant there were opportunities to dry out (a bit!). Nice average size of grayling - the trout though got to be a bit of a pain and meant I stopped using red corn - my usual first choice bait here for the ladies - but the trout were shooting to the surface and snaffling the stuff whenever I threw in free offerings it was if it were trout pellets in a stew pond and to get a salmon on the stuff is - well!!!!!
  25. Chris Plumb

    19 October

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
     
    0800 - 1115
     
    Bright and sunny. river up a couple of inches and carrying a bit of colour - looked perfect!
     
    5 Chub: 5lb 11oz, 4lb 14oz, 3lb 5oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 0oz. 3 brownies - 2 over 1lb...
     
    Cracking morning's trotting - all the chub from the same swim - took it nice and slow - fed well before my first cast then rested & fed between each fish - certainly paid off as I don't usually get more than a couple at any one time....
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