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Chris Plumb

Anglers' Net Contributor
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Blog Entries posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Chris Plumb
    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!
     
     
     
  2. Chris Plumb
    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!
  3. Chris Plumb
    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!
  4. Chris Plumb
    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!
  5. Chris Plumb
    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.
     
  6. Chris Plumb
    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.
  7. Chris Plumb
    K&A Canal - Woolhampton
     
    1400 - 1615
     
    Mild, overcast and breezy with drizzly showers turning to rain. AT 10ºC. WT 9.1ºC
     
    3 Perch; 1lb 9oz, 1lb 4oz, 13oz. 1 Pike 2lb 4oz. 2 Chub(lets)
     
    Mild snap had me heading for the canal in pursuit of stripeys. Didn't get a bite until 1530 then a flurry of fish around 4 o'clock - usual pattern for winter perching on the canal!
  8. 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!)
  9. Chris Plumb
    K&A Canal - Enborne
    0730 - 1230
    Dull, mild and calm. Ideal weather for perch. Canal however was very coloured up which was less than ideal.
    1 Perch - small - barely longer than the lob it gorged on! 2 Roach.
    Bit of an epic fail. Had high hopes for today - milder weather and reports of big stripeys had me setting off full of expectation. Hadn't planned on the canal being so coloured however - and somewhat strangely above Guyers Lock it was clear - enough to see the bottom. Only decent bite of the day proved to be a jack which bit me off as I was bringing it to the net - ho hum!
  10. Chris Plumb
    K&A Canal Enborne (& Speen Moors)
     
    0715 - 1230 (with an hour at Speen in the middle)
     
    Cool, overcast with drizzly rain for a couple of hours.
     
    1 Chub; 2lb 9oz.
     
    Fruitless search for a perch - not a single bite on the canal - and not a lot of interest on the river after the first cast chub!!
     
     
  11. Chris Plumb
    Kennet Carrier (& main river!) Marsh Benham
     
    0900 - 1500
     
    Cool, calm and mainly overcast. AT around 6ºC all day. River a couple of inches lower on my last visit over Christmas - with most of the colour dropped out.
     
    8 Chub; 5 over 1lb - best 3lb 2oz, 2 doz+ Roach, 4 Dace - to 8oz & 4 Perch (all small). (NO trout - bit of a first for here!)
     
    Birthday treat with Rusty as my guest. Low water meant chub were a little on the spooky side - only found one swim where I caught more than one in succession. Roach were in abundance as always - just as well as Rusty had a frustrating time losing chub!
  12. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Padworth
     
    1800 - 2300
     
    Warm(ish) and overcast. River very low.
     
    7 Chub; a couple circa 1lb, the rest half that size. 3 Roach, 2 Dace & 3 Perch.
     
    Another barbel blank on what used to be called barbel alley - preceded by a blank saving trotting session before it got dark - nice to see a few small chub - shows there's been some recruitment recently.
  13. Chris Plumb
    River Frome - Wool
     
    ​0745 - 1500
     
    ​Mild, sunny spells interspersed with fine drizzle. VERY windy! At 10ºC.
     
    ​6 Grayling: 5 over 1lb - all between 1lb 4oz - 1lb 11oz. 2 Small trout. River at 'normal' levels with a bit of colour. 92cm at East Stoke.
     
    ​Last weekend of the season here and it was a bit of a slog in challenging conditions - wind in particular was very strong and downstream in most swims. Bites at a real premium, but thankfully usually resulted in a half decent (and very fat) grayling.
  14. Chris Plumb
    ​River Frome - Wool
     
    ​0800 - 1400
     
    ​Cool, and murky! River at normal levels with a tinge of colour (more than I expected to see! 74cm at East Stoke river gauge.
     
    ​8 Grayling; all 'netters' with 6 over 1lb - biggest 1lb 9oz. 4 Trout: to 1½lb.
     
    ​Slow day in Dorset. Bites at a premium - in fact was fishing for nearly 3 hours before I had my first fish. All ladies were of a nice stamp though was hoping for something a little bigger. Main excitement of the morning was being briefly connected to a goodish salmon - rather relieved when it threw the hook!
  15. Chris Plumb
    ​Kennet & Avon Canal (flowing) - Thatcham
     
    ​​0630 - 1030
     
    ​Cool, clear and bright. River quite low but with a tinge of colour after yesterday's rain.
     
    ​4 Perch - all between ¾ - 1¼lbs. 13 Dace, 1 Grayling.
     
    ​First perching trip of the autumn and with a bright clear day forecast I wanted to make the most of the dawn light, Consequently I was at the water's edge way too early and had to wait a while before I could see my float. But as soon as I could it went under with some alacrity - in fact there was a lot of predator activity and I was hopeful of a frantic hour's sport before the sun got up. Alas, after 15 minutes an otter came through the swim - working its way upstream to return 10 minutes later - resulting a bites completely drying up! 3 other swims were then visited - and bumped into Rusty who clearly had the same idea as me - as we met at a banker swim from a couple of winters ago - but which hasn't produced since - our first visit to this spot this season - and we arrive within 5 mins of each other!
  16. Chris Plumb
    K&A Canal - Thatcham
     
    1515 - 1815
     
    Bright and sunny. AT around 15ºC - a very pleasant afternoon.
     
    11 Roach. Best 12oz, with another fish circa 8oz - the rest all smalluns.
     
    Failed perch hunt (part 2)! Paul and I were hitting the canal for the first time this autumn in search of stripeys. Conditions weren't exactly in our favour and the boat traffic was heavier than we would have wished. Plan was to start off fishing maggot and hope that by attracting the silver fish the perch would follow - however we never really got the silvers established before a boat would arrive and neither of us had some much as a sniff from a perch. Paul did at least get a bigger variety of species including a bleak which he needed for the species race we're in this year!
  17. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Nr Thatcham

    1815 - 2315
     
    Cool and clear - temp down to 6ºC when I got back to the car!
     
    1 Barbel 8lb 2oz, 1 Chub 2lb.
     
    At last a barbel and a decent one too!
     
    Quite a few rattles during the first couple of hours - which I'm kicking myself for not hitting - thought they
    were crayfish - but when I did eventually decide to hit one it turned into a 2lb chub!
     
    Rattles stopped when it got dark and at around 2215 had a very strange juddery kind of a bite which
    when I struck connected with nothing - however on winding in realised I WAS connected to a fish
    - it had taken the bait and shot upstream - was right under my rod tip by the time I tightened in to it- when it then proceeded to go absolutely mental. Can't remember ever having such a hard fight off a barbel, which when I eventually got it in the net went 8lb 2oz. Un-suprisingly it took a while to recover.
     
     
  18. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Colthrop
     
    1000 - 1100
     
    Warm and muggy.
     
    6 Dace, 4 Roach & 3 brownies - biggest around 1¼lb.
     
    Quick trotting session while Jaq picked blackberries. (Blackberry crop not a patch on last year!)A couple of the dace and one of the roach needed the net.
  19. 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!)
  20. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    1845 - 2315
     
    Hot and muggy - temp still 21ºC when I got back to the car at 2330!
     
    1 chub; 2lb 10oz, 2 Grayling 1lb 2oz and one not far under 1lb, 7 Roach - 4 really chunky ones biggest weighed in at 14oz, 4 Dace, a perch and a gudgeon (but yet again NO barbel)
     
    This is getting a little repetitive! Another decent short trotting session - in fact for half an hour it was like fishing the Kennet of old - almost fish a chuck and never quite know what species would turn up next. I was also extremely hopeful of a barbel after the sun set as I'd seen a couple of flashes in the streamy water whilst trotting - but both isotopes didn't budge in 3 hours.
  21. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Colthrop & Brimpton
     
    1000 - 1500
     
    Cool (ish), overcast with drizzly rain at times. River down an inch or two - but still at a good level for this time of year.
     
    4 chub; Best 3lb 6oz. 6 dace. A doz + brownies to 3lb 2oz!
     
    Jungle fishing! Travelled light and covered quite a bit of water - looks like I'm the first to visit Cothrop this summer - had to cut my way in through the brambles on at least 5 swims! Trout were a bit of a pain - especially the big one as I thought I was into a barbel! Nice to get a few chub, biggest was from Brimpton - the other 3 all in the 1-2lb bracket from Colthrop.
  22. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Thtacham
     
    1900 - 2330
     
    Warm evening with temps dropping quickly once the sun went down. 9ºC when I got back to the car (drenched in dew!)
     
    1 Chub 2lb 15oz. 11 Dace, 1 Gudgeon.
     
    Ever since the winter I've hankered after doing a summer evening in this swim thinking that it ought to hold barbel. First hour and a half it was out with the trotting rod and after a biteless 20 mins I then had a steady stream of dace - including some very chunky specimens - I even weighed a couple of them - both went 10 oz. Around 8.30pm it was out with the ledger rods and I was soon settled down staring at a couple of rod tips. It wasn't long before my first bite - a lovely wrap around - which alas turned out to be a chub rather than the hoped for barbel. Plenty of other half hearted tugs and rattles followed - but nothing hittable.
  23. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Thatcham
     
    1600 - 1800
     
    Sunny with some broken cloud, Cool (4ºC). River still very high and carrying a bit more colour than last weekend.
     
    1 Perch 2lb 4oz, 3 Roach; 14oz and 2 smalluns, 1 chunky dace of around 6oz.
     
    Had a free afternoon so with the forecast heavy showers by-passing West Berkshire it seemed a shame not to visit my new favourite swim! And yet again it threw a bit of a curve ball - no chub - 1st time that has happened - but a smattering of silver fish turning up - also for the 1st time. Perch was literally last cast - almost too dark to see my float - consequently nearly missed the bite when it came!
  24. Chris Plumb
    K&A Canal - Enborne
     
    1415 - 1615
     
    Rain! 5ºC. Canal the colour strong tea - and flowing unusually fast! WT 45ºF
     
    3 Perch; 1lb11oz, 1¼lb and a sub pounder.
     
    Paul and I had planned a morning trip - but given the forecast I'd switched to a post lunch session and Paul packed the whole idea in! Was still touch and go whether I went - but with the wind dropping right out I thought I'd at least go and have a look! And when I got there I nearly turned around and went straight home. Normal float tactics were never going to work - the bait just didn't stay near enough to the perchy looking 'features' long enough. So it was out with a plan I've been meaning to hatch for some time. A paternoster rig. Swung out across the canal to as near various features as I dared - it wasn't long before I had my first bite - followed by a couple more - given the conditions I was quite chuffed!
  25. Chris Plumb
    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    1000 - 1345
     
    Cool, bright and breezy. River 'full' but not in flood condition - carrying a little colour but not as much as I expected!.
     
    2 Chub; 1¾lb & 1½lb. 1 Pike 3lb 14oz. 18 Dace, 8 Roach. 3 Gudgeon.
     
    Not so much a trotting session as a hold the float in a slack behind the tree session. Seems a lot of fish were shoaled up in a very small slack! In truth I hadn't intended to go today - Paul and I had acquired the required permissions for a session on the Middle Kennet tomorrow. But we've been keeping an eye on an unchanging weather forecast for over a week - and called it off!
    Still today was the relative calm before the storm and I wasn't overly surprised to see Rusty on the bank shortly after I made my first cast and he too snaffled a couple of chub (and not a lot else) from the next swim upstream. He only gave it an hour and a half and I slipped into his spot for the last ¾hr for a few more dace and roach plus a lob gobbling Esox!
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