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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

    10/11 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    NAA Stillwater - Thatcham
     
    1930 - 0500
     
    Warm, overcast and still. No need of a shelter or brolly - could have sat in shirtsleeves all night if it wasn't for the mozzies. Super night to be out.
     
    1 Crucian; 2lb 6oz. 5 Carp; 17lb 14oz, 16lb 0oz, 10lb 1oz, 9lb 5oz, 7lb 1oz. 1 Perch (small).
     
    Love it when a plan actually comes off! One of the lake's crucians was always number one priority and I had one as soon as it got completely dark - should probably have added to it as I had crucians rolling in my swim up to midnight and bumped another couple of fish. Plan B was to try and get some of the carp feeding in the margins - so again as soon as it was dark and the ducks and geese had settled for the night I was trickling in bits of bread crust - waiting for slurps and swirls. When the carp eventually arrived it was simply a case of dapping a bit of bread under my rod tip - and then hanging on for dear life! All 4 biggest carp caught this way, the 7lb though, falling to a tiny speck of prawn meant for a crucian - which also resulted in an 'interesting' battle of light-ish tackle! My biggest carp from this lake and my biggest for 7 years... http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-263-1415-august/ . Dawn saw an armada of wildfowl head for my swim so a quick pack up saw me fast asleep in my own bed before 0600.
     

     
    17lb 14oz

     
    16lb on the nose!

  3. Chris Plumb

    11 August

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Widmead
     
    0900 - 1200
     
    Bright and breezy. River at 'normal' summer levels.
     
    1 Chub: unweighed but needed the net! 1 Grayling 1lb 1oz. 2 Doz Dace & a bleak.
     
    Swim I've not fished for 35 years! (last time was Sep 1985 - and I had stacks of dace then too!). Grayling was first cast which was unexpected thereafter it fish a chuck for the first 45 mins.
  4. Chris Plumb

    11 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Alders Lake - Thatcham
    1830 - 2230
    Warm, becoming overcast and quite breezy.
    1 Tench; 2lb 7oz. 2 Perch - both 6-8oz.
    Slow evening with all the action (if you can call it that!) unusually coming in the first 90 mins. My worst return from Alders in a while. Only excitement as it got dark was connecting with one of the lake's rogue carp, for which I was totally out-gunned. I'm not sure it even realised it was even hooked at first as it plodded up the channel - before realising something was up and took off into the central island of lillies for the inevitible smash up. Then had the frustrations of being locked in - the gate at the Discovery Centre being locked with only the combination lock - the NAA padlock hanging loose with the L-Bar - designed to allow both locks to be used independently - laying on the ground. Dave - the fisheries manager came to the rescue - but this shambles is becoming a regular occurrence.... ?
  5. Chris Plumb

    11 August

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1300 - 1600
    Warm and muggy. AT 25ºC. River still with good levels for mid August!
    3 Chub: 3lb 13oz, 3lb 0oz and one of around ¾-1lb. 8 Roach & 8 Dace - all small. 2 Gudgeon. 1 Brownie- small.
    Friday afternoons - I am 'persona non grata'  at home as Mrs P has a coffee afternoon with her friends - a tradition that goes back over 30 years (it was originally her post-natal group!) so Friday's are going to be a regular fishing day now that I have retired. Today, however I did more tree surgery than fishing - as 2 willows had come down across my favourite swim. Thankfully I keep a hand saw in my fishing bag - but it still took 45 minutes to gain access to the water! When it was time to fish I reasoned the commotion would have put fish down so I rested the spot and started elsewhere. Returning an hour later - with a few tiddlers including a rare gudgeon to show for my efforts,  both 3lb chub came almost instantly followed by a steady stream of 'silvers'.
    A Kennet gonk - rarer than a 3lb chub!

  6. Chris Plumb

    11 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    0745 - 1000
     
    Cool and overcast AT 5ºC. WT a cold 40ºF. River very low and very clear!
     
    6 Chub; 4lb 7oz, 3lb 12oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb12oz, 2lb 3oz & a chublet. 2 Dace.
     
    Quick trotting session. First 45 minutes fished with red corn accounting for the 4lber and the 2 bigger 2's. Others all on trotted red maggot.
  7. Chris Plumb

    11 December

    By Chris Plumb,

    Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham
     
    1230 - 1600
     
    Cool, with milky sunshine. AT 8ºC WT 12.1ºC
     
    1 Pike; 5lb 6oz. 5 Roach, 2 Dace, 2 Bleak.
     
    Blank perch trip! Spent the first couple of hours fishing (and feeding) mag - hoping to attract prey fish - but the only bite I had on lobs resulted in the pike.
  8. Chris Plumb

    11 February

    By Chris Plumb,

    Lower Itchen Fishery
     
    8am - 5pm.
     
    Cold and overcast with light snow flurries in the morning. AT never above 2ºC all day. River on the low side for late winter - with a slight tinge of colour and a surprising amount of weed growth.
     
    22 Grayling; 14 over 1lb, best 4 - 2lb 4oz, 2lb 2oz, 2lb 1oz, 1lb 15oz. 3 Chub - all 3 - 3lb 5oz. 1 Brownie 2½lb.
     
    2nd IAC grayling day in memory of Paul Goulbourn. Organised with great diplomacy by Dave Smith and attended by some 17 anglers - raising around £300 for Sue Ryder. A great day out even if sport was a little on the slow side for some folks (I think I was the only one to find any 2lbers ! ). I switched between trotted maggot and red corn all day - which is reflected by the fact my biggest lady was on corn my 2nd biggest on maggot. Also made the most of the opportunity to fish a few new swims as well.
    Big thanks to Dave for organising & Rusty for the lift to the venue.
     
    My biggest two grayling...


  9. Chris Plumb

    11 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Lambourn - Newbury
     
    0830 - 1245
     
    Bright and sunny 7ºC. River high as you'd expect but clear.
     
    22 Grayling. 4 over 1lb - best 1lb 5oz. 9 Brownies - biggest 2½lb.
     
    As ever the default venue when the Kennet is in flood. Paul and I leapfrogged swims all morning and when we compared notes afterwards had had a near identical day - Paul had 21 ladies, also getting 4 over 1lb - his best 1lb 7oz - also had a bonus roach of around ½lb. Very pleasant morning....
  10. Chris Plumb

    11 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Speen Moors
     
    0800 - 1345
     
    Cool , bright and sunny with a stiff breeze - clouding over for the last hour or so. River in good winter nick - quite pacey with a bit of colour.
     
    7 Chub: 6 over 2lb though only 1 over 3 and that not by much. 7 Roach, 2 Gudgeon and 2 spotties.
     
    Bin a few years since I had that many chub in one visit from this venue. Unusually for me spent the first 4 hours in one swim - which produced all the chub - every time I thought about moving I hooked another fish. In truth I was hoping for something a little bigger - but they gave a great account of themselves in a pacey swim. In fact moving produced not a lot else so I probably should have stayed there the whole day!
     
    Chub Slack.

     
  11. Chris Plumb

    11 January

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury
    0900 - 1630
    Damp, murky and drizzly all day. AT 9/10ºC. River low for mid January.
    22 Chub: 12 over 1lb, with 9 over 3lb. Best 2 went 5lb 2oz & 4lb 10oz. 3 Dace; a 10oz fish and a couple of tiddlers. 1 Roach - small. A doz+ brownies from 2½-4lb.
    It's my birthday tomorrow and as I've got the week off (and being whisked away from tomorrow by Mrs P to an unknown (to me) destination) I thought I'd treat myself to a bit of all out chub fishing. I headed straight for the the spot I bagged up in last March - and whilst there were plenty of chub in residence it proved to be a bit of a battle to keep the trout count down. Switching to another swim at the top of the venue after lunch proved a good move (and worth the long walk) - both my biggest two chub came from here plus a couple more (and no brownies!). All the big chub on trotted red corn - got through 3 tins of the stuff. Last ¾hr on the carrier trotting maggot in search of big dace - though found mainly ½lb chub which did a very good imitation of big dace...
     
    Biggest of the day.

  12. Chris Plumb

    11 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet (nr Newbury)
     
    2000 - 2300
     
    Clear.
     
    2 Barbel (6lb 4oz & 5lb 14oz), 1 Bream (3¾lb) 1 dace (9oz)
     
    New swim - all fish to 14mm pellet - including the rather overambitious dace. Barbel between 22-2300 - as per usual!
     
    River at normal levels - down about 3-4 inches on 10 days ago - carrying its usual summer colour (boat traffic has a lot to answer for) - and some - just enough to be annoying - debris.
     
     
     
  13. Chris Plumb

    11 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    ​River Kennet, Near Thatcham
     
    ​1800 - 2200
     
    ​Warm and quite breezy.
     
    2 Dace, 1 Grayling and 6 trout to 1lb+
     
    Another failed barbel session cut short early by a large dog otter surfacing in by swim THREE times in under half an hour! :-(
     
  14. Chris Plumb

    11 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    Harris Lake - Marsh Farm - Milford
    0000 - 0500
    Cool and clear. (Thermo in the car was at 4ºC when I left - and it felt chuffing cold - thankfully the fish kept me busy!). Good night for observing the night sky - lots to see. ISS went over twice, perfect  visibility of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Venus rising at dawn was stunning - and could clearly see Comet NEOWISE just before sunrise in the eastern sky - twas visible for around 20mins at around 0320 - and I even saw a stunningly long meteor.
    4 Crucians; 3lb 0oz, 2lb 14oz, 1lb 13oz, 1lb 11oz. 8 Tench - 3 over 5lb (6 over 4lb) - best 5lb 8oz.
    Succesfull salvage operation especially as I had a couple of crucians that were of Johnsons proportions - my first 3lber from Harris since 2013! Again float fishing prawn sections very tight to marginal lillies - got off to a flyer with 6 fish in the first hour or so (mainly tench). Tried a different tactic of not loose feeding at all so as not to encourage the tench - didn't work! Bites did tail off a bit after this initial frenzy - but at least when the float did go under it resulted in more crucians - 3lber was one of the last fish of the session...

  15. Chris Plumb

    11 July

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1300 - 1600
    Warm, overcast and breezy - with a couple of very light showers (much lighter than was forecast!). AT 23ºC.  River still with good flow for mid July though down an inch or two on 3 weeks ago. 
    3 Chub: 4lb 5oz, 2lb 3oz & a 'pounder'. 1 Barbel 2lb 2oz (hooray!), 2 Perch; 1¼lbs & a tiddler. 9 Dace, 4 Roach (nothing noteworthy), 1 Gudgeon, 3 Brownies two in the 12oz - 1lb class (possibly same fish!) and one half that.
    Normal service has been resumed with most of the fish from my two usual hot-spots - really nice to get a barbel trotting (and my first gonk of the season!)

  16. Chris Plumb

    11 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle Kennet - Nr Newbury
     
    0715 - 1745
     
    Cold and RAW, with frequent snow flurries and a mini blizzard around lunchtime. Strong and dessicating NE wind. Temps 0ºC or below all day (line freezing to rod ALL day), wind chill must have been minus loads! Spring is here - NOT! WT a balmy 43ºF.
     
    17 (!) Chub; Almost all over 2lb - biggest 3lb 14oz, 4 Perch; 2 'gooduns' at 2lb 2oz &1lb 14oz. 23 Dace - quite a few chunky ones and 2 real corkers; a female fish of 13oz and a male fish of 14oz. 6 Roach - all small. 2 Brownies 1½lb & 2½lbs.
     
    Brrrr We must be mad - any other venue and we probably would have cried off - but this is now the third time we've been here in sub-optimal conditions and the place has fished its socks off (see 19 Jan & 22 Feb). Certainly a day for several layers of thermals, hot soup (Jaq's Honey Roast Parsnip) and plenty of coffee. The keeper even unlocked the fishing hut for us - and what a palace it is, full kitchen, lounge, loo, heaters, spare kit. Trout anglers have it cushy!
     
    Yet again I won the toss and had first dibs at the chub hotspot and whilst I did get 6 chub from it - all the others, bar 1, came from a different swim in the afternoon - one that hasn't really produced for me in the past. So Paul having lost the toss decided to get his worming gear out and target the perch. Good luck with that says I (somewhat triumphantly it has to be said!) - I think you'll struggle to get perch today. Well what do I know - in the time it took me to get my first two chub Paul had snaffled a dozen stripeys with several fish over 1½lb and a best of 2lb 4oz. I dropped into the same spot in the afternoon and had my two biggies 1st & 2nd casts!
     
    Apart from more perch I think Paul's final tally was nearly identical to mine - slightly fewer 1lb+ chub and more trout (and I think he also worried the local bleak and gudgeon populations ). So worth getting out of bed for despite the conditions and whilst the 5lb+ chub appear a bit thinner on the ground here at present it's good to see SO many coming through. Also today I was particularly pleased with my chub to trout ratio - fewest number of trout I think I've ever had here in a day - so the cold did bring some good!!!
     
    Obligatory fish plus Witcher pictures.



     
    Some Pics from Paul.
    Our nets were doing this all day - frozen solid!

    Spring?

    Dace!

    From here!

  17. Chris Plumb

    11 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle Kennet
     
    0730 - 1800
     
    Mild, bright and sunny morning clouding over after lunch with some light drizzle at times. river lower than expected and very clear.
     
    16 Chub; All 'schooly' sized; biggest just over 3¼lb. 6 Perch 1¼lb and 5 around the 10-12oz mark. 3 Doz Roach and Dace - in roughly equal numbers 2 Biggest roach 1lb 2oz & 1lb 1oz (!) no others troubled the scales. Most of the dace were quite chunky - but none were over 8oz. 2 Grayling (1st ones ever from this venue!), 1 Bream (skimmer), 3 Gudgeon and just a couple of Brownies to 2lb.
     
    First day of my end of season extravaganza got off to a slow start - bright morning sunshine certainly put the fish down and when Paul and I met up for lunch we'd had less than a dozen fish each (though I had caught the bigger of my 2 roach by then). Thankfully the sun went in (and the forecast rain stayed away) resulting in a great afternoon's sport. Think final tallies were very similar Paul shading the dace and roach numbers - and me doubling his chub tally!
     
    Dawn

    A Keeper's work....

    Paul's Best Chub of the Day (3-10 I think)

    A nice brace of roach...


  18. Chris Plumb

    11 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    K&A 'flowing' Canal & River Kennet - Thatcham.
     
    0600 - 1330
     
    Cool and foggy - eventually clearing to bright sunshine. River quite full and pacey but starting to fine down after Wednesday's rain. AT 1-9ºC
     
    2 Chub; 2lb 7oz & 1lb 15oz. 3 Dace, 2 Grayling and 1 Brown Trout of 6lb 2oz!!!!
     
    Started off on the canal in a swim Rusty had reported having 'Pike trouble' recently so along with the float fished lobs out went a deadbait. And it wasn't long before the roach was snaffled by what I initially took to be a jack but which turned into an old warrior of a brown trout! 4th biggest ever brownie and my best fish from 'below' Newbury (ie not caught out of season from a trout fishery!). After that early excitement I soon settled into the monotony of looking at a stationary float! A switch to maggot brought another surprise - a grayling but by 1100 the swim was bathed in full sun and I fancied a switch to faster water.
     
    So a quick move a short distance downstream - only to be met with 5 cars in the fishery car park! (and I hoped to have the place to myself - anyone would think the season is about to finish ) Thankfully one of the three swims I wanted was free - which produced all the remaining fish of the morning...
     

     
     
  19. Chris Plumb

    11 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    ​River Kennet - Thatcham
     
    ​0815 - 1415
     
    ​Mild and overcast. AT up to a very balmy 16ºC when I packed up. River quite pacey and clear.
     
    ​4 Chub; 4lb 0oz, 3lb 11oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz, 3 Grayling, 1 Dace.
     
    ​Fished 2 venues - one immediately downstream of the other - though different clubs - and had a brace of chub from each. All the grayling were quite chunky - in the 12-14oz class.
  20. Chris Plumb

    11 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Brimpton
     
    0730 - 1000
     
    Bright and sunny after a foggy start - mild. River quite full with a bit of colour - in lovely winter 'nick'.
     
    3 Chub; 4lb 2oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 5oz. 1 Brownie.
     
    Breakfast on the river for some fine winter's chub then home to cook the Sunday roast for Mother's Day.
  21. Chris Plumb

    11 March (part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,

    Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham
    0645 - 1145
    Mild with sunny spells AT 12ºC when I packed up. River VERY full but with little colour.
    17 Chub (!): 8 over 3lb - best 4lb 4oz, the rest all over 2lb. 6 Brownies to nearly 5lb & a 2lb Rainbow.
    Start of my 4 day end of season extravaganza when I hope to fish 7 or 8 venues in the next 4 days. First up was 'my' syndicate stretch of the middle Kennet and for the first time this winter 'Chub Corner' lived up to its moniker.
    First 7 fish I landed were all without an adipose and whilst the 8th fish was a 2lb brownie the scene was set for a bit of a chub fest! Seems half the syndicate had the same idea - usually have the place to myself but 5 other anglers turned up this morning - including Rusty with a cunning plan to try and avoid the troot - which wasn't exactly working when I left him!!!?
     

  22. Chris Plumb

    11 March (part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,

    Kennet & Avon Canal - Woolhampton
    1500 - 1800
    Mild, bright and very breezy. AT still 11ºC when I packed up. Canal quite coloured up after all the rains.
    13 Perch; 5 over 1lb and a couple just an ounce or 2 shy of that. Biggest 2: 2lb 13oz & 1lb 13oz. 1 Roach - 9oz (on a whole lob!)
    I've now had nearly 2 doz perch over 1lb from here this winter but this was my first 2 (and I think the 1-13 may be my 2nd best from here this year!) Yet again I fished a different spot - but one which will certainly get a return visit next winter!
    Fat as a football!

  23. Chris Plumb

    11 November

    By Chris Plumb,

    K&A Canal - Thatcham
     
    0700 - 1115
     
    Very overcast with light mizzle all morning. Mild. WT 53ºF
     
    4 Perch; 1¼lb and 3 tiddlers...
     
    A morning prospectiing for perch with Paul - in seemingly ideal low light conditions. The main plan was to try and suss out some new swims - though Paul couldn't promise NOT to have a cast in one of my banker swims - which actually produced zilch for both of us. So a bit of a scratchy session - not sure we learnt much - except where the fish aren't. Paul faired a little better than me with a 2½lber, was disproportinately pleased to catch a bleak (IAC Species Race point!) - and he even managed a 4lber - trouble is it was a pike!
     
    Some pics courtesy of Paul...




  24. Chris Plumb

    11 November

    By Chris Plumb,

    Northcroft Stream
     
    0730 - 0915
     
    River Lambourn - Shaw
     
    0930 - 1145
     
    Bright and sunny after early morning rain (just stopping as I started to fish) Rivers (especially the Lambourn) surprisingly unaffected by recent rains (unlike the Dorset Frome which was Plan A for today!
     
    Northcroft: 2 Chub, 3lb 8oz & 2lb 11oz. 4 Dace and 3 Roach.
    Shaw: 11 Grayling to 1lb 3oz & 2 small brownies.
     
    Both chub from weir pool at Northcroft - pretty much my only bites from there. Shaw was hard going low water, spooky fish and 3 other anglers didn't help!
  25. 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!
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