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Everything posted by Chris Plumb
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Kennet & Avon Canal & River Kennet backstream - Colthrop 0730 - 1400 Mild and overcast with occasional light showers. AT 14ºC. River quite pacey with a tinge of colour. 6 Chub (!) 5lb 6oz, 5lb 1oz, 4lb 11oz, 4lb 8oz, 4lb 4oz, 3lb 13oz. 7 Roach: all hand-sized. 3 Perch: all c6-8oz. 4 Brownies; 4lb 6oz (yes I actually weighed it!), 2 'pounders' and a parr. Another recce session - started off on a stretch of the canal I've never fished before hoping to find some decent perch. 2 hours later and with just 3 modest stripeys to show for my efforts I moved back upstream to the river proper to again fish some new swims in the hunt for chub. Third swim I dropped into I hit the jackpot! Really nice stamp of fish - all in mint condition and all from surprisingly fast water - which meant I also lost a couple (one of which I'm pretty sure was a big trout). Rested the spot twice for ½-¾hr each time and had fish almost immediately when I returned after each hiatus. Definitely a spot I shall be revisiting this winter! Biggest of the morning.
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1330 - 2130 Sunny spells, cool after dark and very dewy! AT 16º - 9ºC. River quite 'full' and with a little colour. 1 Perch: 2lb 14oz. 2 Chub: 2lb 10oz & a 'pounder'. 1 Barbel: 2lb 2oz. A doz+ Roach - all small. 5 Dace - nothing noteworthy. 3 Grayling: 6-10oz. 2 Gudgeon. 5 Brownies; C2lb+ and 4 parrs. Another trotting/ledgering session and another small barbel - hooray! This swim is in danger of returning to its former glory! The highlight of the afternoon was the super perch - my 2nd biggest of the season - and a real barrel of a fish. Trotting produced the usual mixed bag - 9 species caught in total, including minnows. Ledgering into dark produced just 2 twitches - the bigger chub followed by the, hoped for, barbel - again great to see some juvenile fish in the river. Just shy of 3lb!
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River Kennet backstream - Colthrop 0930 - 1330 Misty at first clearing to bright sunshine. AT 10ºC - 15ºC. River quite full with a tinge of colour. 2 Grayling: 1lb 6oz & 1lb 4oz. 1 Roach: small. 10+ Brownies; a couple of 'pounders' the rest all small or parrs. A venue that always flatter's to deceive - it looks fantastic - but I've always struggled here. However I'd heard of some decent chub coming out back in the summer which had me returning for a rare visit. Needless to say the trout were a pain - I caught them in every swim I tried - often first or second cast - so the chub didn't get a look in before they were spooked. The grayling then were as welcome as they were unexpected!
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River Kennet - Widmead 0715 - 0900 Cool and misty. At 7º - 9ºC. River fairly full and a little coloured up. 5 Roach; all handsized. Decided on a recce day today - visiting a couple of less frequented venues. This bit of river is reputed to hold good perch and they were my intended target. Alas, all I could attract were crayfish which depleted my modest stock of lobs at an alarming rate - also a sign that perch are unlikely to be in residence if crayfish are around. Trotted mag for the last 15mins - just to see if there were any fish in the swim - but soon got bored of small roach (which seem to be everywhere this season)!
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Middle Kennet - carrier (and main river), Marsh Benham 0900 - 1400 Mild & misty. At 11ºC - 16ºC. River at normal levels with a tinge of colour. 3 Chub: 4lb 3oz, 3lb 7oz & a chublet. 3 Barbel: all small ½-1lb. 1 Bream: 3lb 6oz. 20 Roach: all small. 5 Dace: all chunky with one real goodun of ½lb+. 1 Perch c6oz. 5 Brownies; four between 2-3½lb and a smallun. Super morning's trotting - first cast resulted in a 1lb barbel - quickly followed by a couple of even smaller ones! All fish from the carrier apart from the 3lb chub & bream which were my only bites on the main river. Second consecutive trip here when I've caught barbel - having never had one here before! And another first - there was a large white egret hanging around the venue all morning - a rare (but becoming less so) UK visitor - think oversized white heron with a yellow beak - a very impressive bird!
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River Lambourn - Shaw 1245 - 1515 Sunny spells. AT 11ºC. River at normal levels - 1.48 on the Shaw gauge. 23 Grayling; 12 over a lb - best five 2lb 1oz, 1lb 12oz, 1lb 10oz 1lb 8oz X2. 6 Brownies - all small or parrs. Looks like being a stellar season for grayling on this river - never had a haul like this from this stretch in 30 odd years of fishing it, quite common to get more ladies here than further downstream - though unusual to get anything much above 1¼lb, so today was a bit exceptional - my first ever 2lber from here - and lost one MUCH bigger too! Caught in every swim I dropped in but all biggies from just 3 spots with most of those coming from the Church stretch.
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Yeah - very pleased to see a young fish - but one that's too big to have been stocked recently.
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1330 - 2130 Overcast with showery rain at dusk. Quite mild: AT 13ºC. River up around 6 inches on my last trip and quite coloured up after an inch of rain yesterday. 1 Barbel (hooray!): 3lb 6oz. 4 Chub: 3lb 3oz, 2 'pounders' and one of around ¾lb. 2 Doz+ Roach & Dace: slightly more roach - nothing noteworthy. 1 Gudgeon. 3 Brownies; a 2lber and 2 parrs. 4 Hours trotting for the usual mixed bag, followed by 4 hours hunched under my brolly in the rain peering at an isotoped quiver tip - more in hope than expectation. Rather pleased then, to actually get a barbel, all be it a somewhat modest one from a swim I used to consider an absolute banker for them. This is however is only my third from it in the last decade - good to see and hopefully they're making a comeback!
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John Gierach - American angling author (and well worth seeking out his books if you've never read them!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gierach
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River Kennet - Brimpton 1415 - 1645 Sunshine and showers. Quite warm @ 16ºC. River at normal levels with a tinge of colour. 8 Dace: 4 really chunky ones and 4 smaller ones. 3 Brownies 2 'pounders' - and one of those was probably nearer 2 and one of around ½lb. A first cast trout in my most reliable chub spot is never a good start and despite resting it for over half an hour couldn't winkle out a chevin. Good to see some nice dace throughout the stretch though - caught them in 4 of the 5 swims I dropped into....
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Northcroft Stream, Newbury 1300 - 1530 Mainly cloudy with sunny spells, Quite warm @ 16ºC. River at normal levels and reasonably clear. 1 Chub; 2lb+. 20+ dace most quite chunky - with one real good-un of around 8oz. 2 Roach - small. 1 Brownie 2½lb+ Tales of barbel, large and small showing up here recently had me checking out this rarely visited venue. Most fish from the weir pool. Though some of the bigger dace and the brownie, which did a good impersonation of a barbel (sigh!), further downstream.
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 1215 - 1345 Sunny spells. AT 14ºC. River down 3 or 4 inches on last week and with very little colour. 1 Chub: 1½lb, 4 Roach - small (ish). 1 Brownie c1¼lb. Having packed up earlier than planned on the canal - a quick hour of so on the main weir pool - provided a bit more action than last week. Though the perch that were in residence last season here seem to have done a disappearing act - not a sniff of them when I started out on lobs for the first 30mins - all fish when I switched to trotted mag.
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Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0700 - 1200 Cool and clear. AT 6º - 14ºC 4 Perch: 2lb 4oz, 1lb 13oz and 2 small-uns. Quick return here for more 'reconnaissance'. Fished 5 different swims to last weeks trip - though the bright conditions were somewhat sub-optimal for perch and had me seeking out spots with a bit of shade. Both bigger fish in the first hour before the sun was on the water - bites few and far between there-after - though a bite off from a pike didn't help either! Mustn't grumble at my first 2lber of the autumn though!
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River Lambourn - Newbury 1330 - 1600 Mild, overcast and very breezy. AT 14ºC. River at normal levels and gin clear as ever. 24 Grayling with half over a lb. Best five: 2lb, 1lb 15oz, 1lb 14oz (X2), 1lb 12oz. 6 Brownies: one of around 1½lb, four between 6-10oz and a parr. Fabulous afternoon's sport - great to see so many lovely big grayling here - harks back a couple of decades when it regularly produced fish of this stamp. One of the 1-14's was first cast and a passing (though non-fishing) angler stopped to watch me land my 2lber and offered to take my picture with it - though I'm not sure how many grayling he's caught as he estimated it at 3lbs (I wish!). First fish of the afternoon. 2lbs on the nose.
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Agreed - I was thrilled too. Seems they've been stocked by the Estates above AND below this stretch. Either way these fish will have had to come up (or down) a weir race to get to this spot!
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What's wrong with a thumb nail!
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 0945 - 1215 Sunny spells and showers. AT 13ºC - 16ºC. River up around 6 inches on my last visit and carrying quite a bit of colour. 1 Chub: 3lb 1oz. 5 Roach: small, 1 Perch; c½lb. 3 Gudgeon. 1 Brownie 1½lb. Bit of a scratchy morning here too. Most fish - including the chub from the little weir, the big weir-pool producing a solitary roach. Had planned to stay longer but looming black clouds in the west had me packing up after lunch - good thing too as it's been torrential all afternoon - nearly an inch and it's still raining as I type!
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Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0700 - 0930 Sunny spells - breezy. AT 12º-13ºC 4 Perch: 1lb 11oz, 1lb 7oz, 1lb 2oz & one around 10-12oz. Bit of a 'recce' session - fished 4 swims, giving each half an hour or so but only caught in one of them. Water seemed a little life-less and looking at the state of the banks it's been little fished this season!
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Middle Kennet Carrier (& main river) - Marsh Benham 0700 - 1300 Mild and overcast. AT 12º - 15ºC. River up several inches and carrying quite a bit of colour (after a month's worth of rain fell yesterday!) 16 Chub: 2lb 7oz and a pounder, the rest all small or very small. 2 Barbel !! 'biggest' 1lb 2oz. 9 Dace - all quite chunky. 21 Roach - most quite small with 3 or 4 better ones (4-6oz). 6 Brownies: 4 over a lb - all 2½-3½lb and a couple around 10-12oz. Had today pencilled in to go fishing for a while as Mrs P was out to lunch with her friends - but was dubious that I'd find the river in a fishable condition after the biblical amounts of rain we had yesterday (The Thatcham site recorded 49mm from yesterday's rainstorm - pretty much a month's worth!). The river was very coloured up - but I deemed it fishable and a 2lb+ chub in the first 10 minutes from the main river built a lot of confidence in my decision! However that chub was pretty much my only bite from the main river so I switched my attentions to the carrier which did appear to be slightly less coloured. Always pleased to catch barbel from the Kennet these days - regardless of size and these were my first ever barbel from this stretch. Also great to see so many juvenile chub - bodes well for a few season's time! Baby Barbel
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River Kennet - Hambridge 0630 - 1230 Warm (ish) and overcast. AT 17ºC. River low and looking a little threadbare. 2 Chub; 3lb 5oz and a 'pounder'. 1 Grayling: 1lb 2oz. 30+ Roach: most small, save the one I put on the scales as I thought it might make a pound (twas 2oz shy!). Doz Dace; all quite chunky. 1 Gudgeon, 1 Bleak and 4 Brownies; a pounder, another of around 10-12oz and a couple of parrs. Fairly 'routine' session! Chub at the 3rd and 5th swims of asking and pleased with the bonus grayling. Had planned to return to the swim where I had the 3lber but rumbles of thunder had me packing up early and racing for the car. Made it just in time before a real humdinger of a thunderstorm passed overhead!
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Warwick's Water - Thatcham 1800 - 2230 Warm and clear - with quite a stiff SE breeze - great for keeping the mozzies away! AT 21ºC - 16ºC 3 Tench: 5lb 12oz, 4lb 12oz, 3lb 3oz. Summer is giving us a last hurrah this week so it was back to my new favourite tench water (but still secretly hoping for a big perch!). Got off to the best of possible starts - was wondering why my float wouldn't cock when I made my first cast then realised it was skating across the surface of the pond - the smaller tench having snaffled my lob on the drop! A good omen for a good session but I would have to wait over 3 hours for my next bite and whilst my swim was bathed in sunshine for my opening tench the lake was illuminated by the Harvest super moon for my second - the 5lber - which fought more like a bream on diazepam! Not so my final tench of the evening - a very feisty male which I did well to extract from the lilies. So an end to a fabulous summer evenings' tenching on this water - kept up my average of 3 per session - but where are those fabled big stripeys?
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Marshall's Mere (aka Willows) - Thatcham 1800 - 2230 Calm, cloudy and cool(ish). AT 18ºC - 14ºC. 1 Tench: 4lb 2oz. 4 Carp: 11lb 9oz, 10lb 3oz, 6lb 3oz, 5lb 7oz. 1 Skimmer, 1 Perch - small. Both smaller carp on float gear in the first 30mins - but after this initial commotion bites at a premium. Tench on the stroke of 8 o'clock would be my last bite of the evening on the float. Bored of watching a stationary starlite for 2 hours I got the carp rod out for the last half an hour and snaffled the two bigger carp on floating crust in the margins.
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River Kennet - Brimpton 1330 - 2200 Warm, overcast and quite breezy. AT 20ºC - 17ºC (though felt chillier when sat down, fully exposed to the breeze!) River at normal, late summer levels, i.e. quite low. 1 Chub 2lb 11oz. 7 Dace; all quite chunky with a couple of real good-uns at around ½lb a piece. 10 Brownies; 4 between ¾ - 1¼lb, the others all around 6-8oz. 4 hours trotting down the length of the stretch - for the expected 'trout-fest', followed by 4 hours watching a couple of static isotopes in the forlorn hope of a barbel (with ½hr in-between for my tea!) Thankfully my 'banker' chub swim produced a chub within the first five minutes and there were enough nice dace as I explored my way downstream to keep me interested! Not a flicker on the ledger rods - not even signals bothering my pellet - which is often a good sign. The only excitement was bats crashing into my lines as darkness fell. Was also watched by a tawny owl perched in a tree next to me for several minutes!
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Warwick's Water - Thatcham 1830 - 2230 Warm, overcast and muggy. AT 24ºC - 16ºC. 4 Tench: 7lb 14oz, 4lb 12oz, 3lb 1oz, 2lb 6oz. Another super evening on my 'new' favourite tench water. That's now 12 tench in 4 evening trips here - on what people keep telling me is a hard water! All the action between 8:15pm and 9:15pm as darkness set in - no bites before or after. All caught on float fished lobs. The biggie was the same fish I had out at the end of July when she was 4oz heavier - not surprising she's lost some weight as this was her 4th trip to the bank this summer (at least!), I know of 2 other anglers that have caught it and she was over 9lb when she came out full of spawn in May!
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Middle Kennet - Marsh Benham 0600 - 1200 Warm, overcast with sunny spells. AT 15ºC - 21ºC. River low and looking a little 'threadbare'! 8 Chub: 4 between ½ - 1½lb and 4 even smaller! 20 Dace - all quite chunky. A doz Roach - all small. 1 Brownie: ¾lb & 1 Rainbow: 2lb. Usual morning's trotting - lots of silvers, as per usual, but hard to find the bigger chub. Loads of crayfish traps have appeared since my last visit earlier in the month, briefly met the trapper and he was collecting quite some harvest!