Chris Plumb
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Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 1430 - 1615 Cool and overcast. AT 9ºC 5 Perch; 3 between ¾-1lb+ and 2 tiddlers. All fish 10 mins either side of 1600 - not a bite before then!
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 0900 - 1330 Cool and sunny, clouding over late morning. AT 2º-10ºC. River very high but with only little colour. 3 Perch: 2lb 2oz and a couple around ¾-1lb. 1 Dace, 1 Roach. 1 Brownie - 2½lb. Bit of a gamble with the river so high - but I reasoned if I could find some 'quiet' water I'd find some fish. Morning got off to the worst of starts - trickling in small amounts of maggot for 10 mins didn't bring the hoped for first cast chub but another ruddy trout which went absolutely ballistic and totally trashed my first swim. As on Wednesday I was glad of some cloud cover bubbling up as bites were at a premium - but less so for the last hour - morning saved by the bigger perch - caught last cast!
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Yes you will - one of your favourite swims was under water (where you stand) - mind you, the only fish I got from it was snaffled by a pike (I didn't re-cast) so may pay to bring some pike gear!
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Middle Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham 0800 - 1300 Bright and sunny - clouding over for last hour. AT 7º-11ºC. River VERY full. Main river over the banks and carrier bank high but with little colour. 2 Chub: 2lber and a chublet. 30+ Dace & Roach roughly equal nos - nothing particularly noteworthy some of the dace were quite chunky and one of the roach needed the net. 1 Perch - small. 5 Brownies: all between 2½-3½lb. Sparkly morning in West Berkshire - though I was thankful for some cloud cover for the last hour - seemed to produce more bites (including the chub). A venue which usually fishes well when the river is high but this morning's efforts resulted in a rather disappointing trout to chub ratio!
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Resurrecting this very old thread! I was told recently by a keeper on the middle Kennet that elvers are being introduced into the upper & middle Kennet. This looks like there's working being done to try and re-introduce them into the Kennet (and wider Thames) catchment. https://www.riverkennet.org/projects/thames-catchment-community-eels-project
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1230 - 1515 Sunny spells after morning rain. AT 8ºC (felt a lot cooler!). River still very high - if anything up and inch or so on last Friday but with nearly all the colour dropped out and LOTS of leaf litter. 3 Chub: 5lb 1oz and a brace of 2lbers. 1 Perch: 2lb 15oz. 1 Roach - handsized. Favourite flood swim produces the goods yet again! Took it nice and slow resting the swim for at least 10 mins after each fish and keeping the bait trickling in - seemed to do the trick as every fish came from exactly the same spot in the swim. Biggest perch of the season (so far!) and 2nd biggest chub of 23/24...
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River Kennet - Brimpton 1145 - 1445 Bright and breezy. AT 8º-10ºC. River still very high - though most colour has now dropped out. 6 Brownies; a fish of around 2½lb - the rest all around 8-10oz, all almost identical in size - kept thinking I was catching the same fish. Normal service has been resumed - alas. My Nemisis turning up 'early doors' in every swim I tried - thwarting all attempts at attracting a chub or 2!
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Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton 0715 - 1045 Bright, crisp morning, though the breeze picked up a lot and was clouding over when I packed up. AT 2º - 8ºC 1 Pike: small (very - see pic below!). 1 Perch c6-8oz. 1 Roach - handsized. A cold start with bright sunshine above and grass frost under my feet are not the most ideal conditions for autumn perching! Another exploratory session and I fished 4 swims along the length of the section - but regardless of where I cast, bites were at a premium. Baby Pike
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HA HA!
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1230 - 1430 Mainly overcast, quite breezy with a couple of lumpy showers. AT 13ºC. River up over a foot on my last visit and the colour of 'builder's tea'! 1 Chub 3lb 5oz. 1 Bream 3lb 2oz. 3 Roach - all small. 1 Gudgeon. Fished my 'banker' flood water swim - but even I was surprised I caught. River was really coloured up after Storm Ciarán had dumped an inch and a half of rain on West Berkshire in the past 24 hours - and didn't look at all promising. However a gudgeon first cast grew some confidence and the chub came along shortly after. Bites were still at a premium though so with no action for nearly an hour after the bream and with darkening skies, I decided to quit while I was ahead!
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River Lambourn - Newbury 0800 - 1200 Bright and breezy with a few light showers. AT 7º - 13ºC. River very full - but crystal clear as always! 16 Grayling with 7 around a lb or better - 2 of which were substantially better at 2lb 2oz & 1lb 14oz (!). 8 Brownies - one real lump of around 3lb the rest all small/parrs. Default venue when the Kennet is in flood and my first 2lb+ grayling from the Lambourn in over 2 decades. (Last time was 27/12/01). Took red corn for a change (don't often use it here) and whilst it did catch me a couple of pounders - both big ones fell to maggot. As usual I didn't catch more than a couple from any one swim and whilst I had planned to wander back to the top of the fishery and work my way down again in the afternoon a number of other anglers turning up mid-morning had me changing my plans and 'going around the corner' to have a look at the flooded Kennet. Who needs the Frome!
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Kennet springs have already burst - 3 months early - and the result no doubt of a very wet September & October. The river gauge at Winterborne Monkton started recording about 2-3 weeks ago....
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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...
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Kennet & Avon Canal - Avington 0630 - 0930 Brightening up after overnight rain. AT 6º - 10ºC. 2 Doz perch. Nothing noteworthy - though they weren't tiddlers - most around 6-8oz with a couple twice that. I had great plans for this week - and they didn't involve prospecting for perch on my club's most westerly venue. The coarse season on the Frome opens tomorrow and I had intended to travel down to Dorset to make the most of the opening day. Alas heavy rain over the past week or so has put the river in the fields and looking at the forecast for the next week it's likely to stay that way for a while. So to a venue I last fished 4 years ago and as ever the quest was to try and find some of the big perch the venue throws up from time to time. Fished 4 swims and had perch from all of them - but nothing to trouble the scales. Increasing light levels brought the signals out in force prompting a pack up before I ran out of lobs!
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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!
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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...
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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!!
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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...
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16.10.23 - River Ely, St Fagans
Chris Plumb commented on Bayleaf the Gardener's blog entry in The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker
Ouch! That's not the first time you've snapped your Cadence is it? -
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!
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No - but might add it to my Christmas list!
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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!
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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!)
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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!
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67063835
