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Chris Plumb

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Blog Entries posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Chris Plumb

    14 March (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Marsh Benham
    0630(!) - 1130
    Cool and overcast with drizzle to start - brigthening up. AT3º-6ºC. River at normal winter levels - though actually down an inch or so on last Friday.
    9 Chub: 5 over 4lb - best two - 5lb 1oz & 4lb 14oz. 3X3lbers and the smallest went 2lb 14oz. 2 Bream; 3lb 4oz & 2lb 9oz. 1 Bleak, 1 Rainbow C2½lb.
    Back to the swim - that's a gift that keeps on giving! Had 7 chub from it today plus the 2 bream - the other 2 chub coming from a swim at the bottom of the fishery when I rested it for an hour. Action stopped when the sun came out!
    Another 5!
     

  2. Chris Plumb

    14 March (Part 3)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
    1500 - 1730
    Bright and breezy to start - heavy sleet showers to finish! AT 6ºC
    3 Perch - a couple of 'pounders' and a tiddler.
    Disappointing end to the day (and the season) - I guess the topsy turvey temps over the last week have put the perch off somewhat, Didn't get a bit until nearly 5 o'clock - and then a brief flurry of activity - as the sleet fell - saved a blank!
  3. Chris Plumb

    14 March (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Speen Moors
    1230 - 1430
    Bright and sunny - though quite cool in a northerly breeze. AT 6ºC. River at normal winter levels.
    2 Chub: 2lb 1oz & 1lb 6oz. 2 Dace & 2 Roach - all fairly small.
    Killed a couple of hours in the weirpool - prior to a dusk perching session on the canal - bit too bright for good sport - so pleased to see anything in my landing net!
  4. Chris Plumb

    17 December

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Frome - Wool
    0830 - 1345
    Bright, milky sunshine - very cold start - the thaw arrived mid morning - which I was very thankful for - line freezing in the ferrules had made for a tough couple of hours prior to that. AT -6ºwhen I arrived ->+6ºC when I drove off. River at normal levels - 1.05m at the East Stoke gauge.
    13 Grayling: 8 over a lb - the 3 I weighed went 1lb 14oz & 2 X 1lb 10oz (different fish!) most of the others lbers around 1lb 6oz. 3 Trout - a lber, one half that and a parr.
    Last minute decision to go - based on tomorrow's forecast for wind and rain. Lovely bit of river and worth the long journey - even if I didn't quite get the hoped for 2lber. Most fish from just 1 swim - which I rested for a couple of hours whilst I fruitlessly searched the upper part of the fishery for another hotspot - though there were 4 other anglers on the beat - which wouldn't have helped the quest!
    Nearly a 2 - a very chunky fish, similar in length to my 1-12 from the Lambourn last weekend but much stockier!

  5. Chris Plumb

    10 March

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet (& carrier) - Marsh Benham
    1030 - 1600
    Cold and mainly cloudy - snow flurries to start - brightening up. Breezy. AT 1º->4ºC. River at normal winter levels with a tinge of colour..
    9 Chub: (in order of capture...) 1 ½lb, 4lb 6oz, 3lb 5oz, 4lb 10oz, 5lb 10oz, 4lb 8oz, 4lb 15oz, 3lb 14oz, 4lb 14oz. 6 Brownies 2½-3½lb. 1 Rainbow 5 ½lb.
    It's been quite a poor season on the chub front from my syndicate stretch and I was going into the last week of the season not having caught a 4lb+ chevin from this beat for the first time since I joined the syndicate 6 years ago. My fellow members had similar experiences and there were dark mutterings of 'its the otters' - as fish scales on the bank are a common occurence here. I never really bought into the otter theory as chub on the Kennet seem to have survived their arrival over the last decade or so, much better than (for example) barbel. Even so today WAS something a bit exceptional.
    It all started somewhat predictably - with lots of unwelcome fish with an adipose fin and only the smallest chub banked as I made my way down the carrier - leap-frogging another syndicate member (BTG) in the process. After lunch I headed for the main river and after an unpromising start in the shape of the big rainbow - found a couple of swims with decent chub. Most fish from the weirpool - where I had 4 chub in 4 consecutive casts with the float burying at exactly the same spot each time - real Mr Castwell angling!
    Biggest of the day (and a venue best for me)
     

  6. Chris Plumb

    9 March

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1100 - 1500
    Cool, cloudy with drizzly showers. Temps rose quite rapidly from 3º->10ºC. River up a couple of inches on the weekend and carrying a bit of colour after nearly and inch of precipitation (snow, sleet & rain) in the last 36 hours.
    3 Chub; best 3lb 6oz and a couple of 2lbers. 1 Dace - quite chunky and sandpapery (male in breeding condition). 1 trout parr.
    Fished 2 swims twice - giving each 45 mins at a time - bites at a bit of a premium - though chub are usually obliging even in the coldest of conditions. Didn't bring my water thermometer - but the water temps must have been low - the chub felt very cold!
  7. Chris Plumb

    6 March

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    1315 - 1500
    Overcast with light showers. AT 8ºC. River at normal levels.
    6 Grayling; best 1lb 6oz - the others half that or smaller. 5 brownies - a 'pounder' and 4 parrs.
    Quick trip before the inclement weather forecast for the rest of the week sets in! Being a weekday I expected to have the place to myself - not a bit of it - 4 other anglers on the stretch - so I had to eke out fish from less promising spots!
  8. Chris Plumb

    4 March (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Brimpton
    1330 - 1545
    Cool & cloudy. AT 6ºC. River at normal winter levels - still quite pacey on this stretch and clear.
    1 Chub: 2lb 3oz. 1 Brownie - 1¾lb.
    A couple of hours failing to find one of the 5lb chub I had from this stretch back in the summer - would love to see either in my net again at their winter weight! Gave ½hr to each of my 4 most 'reliable' swims and had just 3 bites all afternoon losing an acrobatic trout and converting the other two.
     
  9. Chris Plumb

    4 March (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    0900 - 1230
    Cool & cloudy. AT 3º -> 6ºC. River at normal winter levels and quite clear.
    5 Chub: best two 3lb 8oz & 3lb 3oz - all the others between 1½-2½lb. 1 Perch: 1lb 9oz. 1 Brownie c½lb.
    With 10 days to go until the end of the season - and a cold snap forecast - I might be looking at a tough few trips to round off my angling year. Bites today were at a premium - until I then had 3 chub in 3 casts after switching swims. My usual 'banker' swim  only producing the perch and one of the smaller chub.
  10. Chris Plumb

    25 February

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet & Avon Canal (flowing) - Colthrop
    0830 - 1115
    Cool and overcast with a stiffish breeze. AT 2-5ºC. River clear and still quite pacey.
    2 Roach, 2 Dace; all small.
    Failed experiment to try and catch a late winter (BIG) dace. They are at their heaviest this time of year so it was off to a venue that has twice thrown up really good dace (see here & here) in recent autumn visits. Fished the length of the stretch with most spots hardly producing a bite - ho hum, at least The Royals gained a welcome 3 points in the afternoon!
  11. Chris Plumb

    18 February (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0845 - 1215
    Mild, overcast and breezy. AT 10ºC. River full and gin clear, as always.
    13 Grayling; 6 over a lb, 2 not by much, 3 around 1¼lb and one of 1lb 13oz. 1 Roach; small - alas - don't get many roach from here - but they tend to be noteworthy when they do show up. 2 Brownies - both small.
    Bit of a scratchy morning - redeemed by the last hour on the bottom of the stretch which produced more fish than the previous 2½hrs including the big lady - my best from here since 2019.

  12. Chris Plumb

    18 February (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1245 - 1515
    Mild, overcast and breezy. AT 11ºC. River still very full - clear and in great nick. Would have thought it would have dropped more after only 0.6mm of rain locally since 16 Jan.
    2 Perch; 2lb 11oz & 2lb 4oz. 1 Chub; 2lb 8oz. 1 Bream 1lb 10oz.
    After fishing down the length of the Lambourn it was time for a quick lunch and a pop round the corner for a couple of hours on the Kennet. Usual bait and wait tactics met with a rare failure - was nearly half an hour before my first bite (the bigger perch). I then rested the spot for 15mins before recasting and had the bream immediately - repeat tactics resulted in the 2nd perch and the chub.
  13. Chris Plumb

    12 February (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Marsh Benham
    0815 - 1115
    Mild, calm and overcast. 6º-8ºC. Lovely benign Winter's day. River quite full - though has clearly dropped several inches in the last fortnight - very clear.
    2 Chub; 3lb 3oz, 1½lb. 1 Brownie C.3lb and 3 Rainbow's; a lump of around 4-5lb and 2 half that.
    If there's anything worse than catching brownies - it's hooking rainbows! A brownie will usually reveal itself straight away - boil on the surface - allowing one to play it hard and hope it comes off! Rainbow's on the other hand stay deep, don't charge around like their spotty bethren and do a damn good job of imitating chub!  Levels had dropped enough to get back on the main river - and conditions were neigh on perfect for some winter's chubbing. And the morning got off to a promising start with the 3lb chevin from my first swim. Alas, swim 2 produced a thashing brownie - which eventually got off and swims 3 & 4 just the rainbows - with the biggest one having me convinced I was connected to a very nice chub indeed - alas not. I'd always intended to just fish the main river and move downstream in the afternoon - but en route back to the car spent 20mins on the carrier at chub corner for the brownie - which didn't get off and the smaller chub!
  14. Chris Plumb

    12 February (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Speen Moors
    1200 - 1515
    Mild and overcast. 8ºC. River full and clear.
    3 Chub: 3lb 11oz, 2lb 14oz, 1¼lb. 1 Dace; small, 3 Gudgeon.
    After getting trouted out on my syndicate stretch in the morning it was nice to run a float through a couple of swims without the expectation that every bite would be from something with an adipose fin. Had planned to explore a bit but ended up just fishing the weirpools.
  15. Chris Plumb

    5 February

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Frome - Wool
    0800 - 1430
    Bright and sunny. Cool 3º-6ºC. River bank high - but not in the fields any more! Still with a slight tinge of colour. 1.27m on the E Stoke river guage (I've only fished the river once before when it's been this high!).
    14 Grayling; 9 over a lb. Best 4: 1lb 12oz, 1lb 13oz, 2lb 0oz, 2lb 2oz. 4 Brownies; a 3lber, another half that and a couple of smalluns. 1 Sea Trout; 1½lb - a bar of silver - still covered in sea lice!
    The Frome coarse season is only 4 months (Nov - Feb) and for most of the last 2 months it has been well over the banks and only been remotely fishable in the last week or so. The river was still very pacey and today's tactics were about finding slightly quieter water. All fish from just 4 swims with 2 of them producing nice ladies after lengthy rests. I also spent nearly ¼hr connected to a decent salmon! I'd started to get the better of it and was wondering how the hell I was going to get it in the net when the hook pulled. Next trot through and it took my maggot again resulting in another 5 minute battle - with the same result ! 
    Nice to see some large ladies returning - not had a 2lber from here since 2019.
     
     

  16. Chris Plumb

    28 January

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    0900 - 1300
    Cool & cloudy. AT 2º-5ºC. River still very high and clear - down a couple of inches on last weekend but not dropped as much as I'd expected after a dry week.
    1 Chub; 3lb 7oz, 1 Bream; 2lb 3oz. 2 Grayling.
    Scratchy morning in my favourite flood swim with bites at a premium. Bream and grayling in the first ¾hr. Chub first cast after resting the swim for nearly an hour, while I had a leisurely lunch on the bank. Had planned to venture over to Speen this morning but didn't fancy battling with the chaos that is Newbury traffic at the moment - one of the main E-W routes is closed because of a gas leak!
  17. Chris Plumb

    20 January (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet Carrier - Marsh Benham
    0800 - 1200
    Cold, bright and sunny. AT -1ºC -> 5ºC. River very full but crystal clear after a cold, dry week.
    4 Chub: all between 2lb 13oz - 3lb 11oz. 6 Brownies 2-3½lb.
    A sparkly day in West Berkshire. All chub from the same spot - with a brace in the first ½hr or so and another two after resting the swim for a couple of hours. All I caught in the intermediate period were nuisance brownies!
    Frosty Chub

  18. Chris Plumb

    20 January (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1300 - 1500
    Cold and bright. AT 5ºC. River in full flood - barely within its banks - but crystal clear.
    2 Chub: 4lb 3oz & 3lb 6oz.
    Quick detour on the way home to drop into a swim where the chub to trout ratio was likely to be much better than my morning venue. 2 bites in the first 20 mins were both 'converted' into nice chub - but despite resting the spot for a while I didn't get any more interest.
  19. Chris Plumb

    13 January

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury
    0830 - 1615
    Bright and sunny and VERY windy all day. AT 7ºC. River high - barely within its banks and with a tinge of colour - in great winter's nick!
    20 Chub: 15 over 1lb with 12 over 3lbs. The biggest 5 went 4lb 4oz, 4lb 10oz, 4lb 15oz, 5lb 2oz & 5lb 8oz. 7 Roach & 4 Dace - all small. 6 Brownies; 2½-4lbs.
    Birthday treat to myself (twas yesterday) resulted in a splendid days winter chubbing. Wind was challenging to put it mildly - nearly got blown in the river once and had discarded my hat within the first 5 mins of fishing after it got blown off my head twice in a minute! Casting and keeping the float on a trotting line was near on impossible at times - especially in the morning when it was particularly lively! However, I persevered with my usual tactics of trotting corn which produced all the big chub and finished off with 45 mins on the (much more sheltered) carriers failing to find any big dace.
    Biggest of the Day

  20. Chris Plumb

    7 January

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1030 - 1430
    Showery and very breezy after heavy morning rain (28mm already this month). AT 10ºC. River up again on Monday's levels and with a lot more colour.
    2 Chub: 4lb 11oz & 2lb 8oz. 8 Perch; 7 over 1lb, with 5 over 2lb - best 2lb 10oz. 4 Roach - a netter of around 10oz and 3 small-uns, and the now obligatory gudgeon!
    Quick return to Monday's swim - though better prepared this time for a stripey campaign! Took lobs, and my keepnet made a rare appearance. I have a long held theory that perch that are returned after capture quickly tell their shoal mates of the jeopardy!. So every one caught today was subjected to temporary incarceration. Seemed to do the trick - five, 2lbers was a splendid return - though, as ever, the chub were first to appear on the scene!
  21. Chris Plumb

    2 January (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1330 - 1500
    Bright and sunny. AT 6ºC. River bank high - with a lot less colour than I expected to see after such a wet weekend.
    2 Chub: 6lb 5oz & 4lb 13oz. 2 Perch: 3lb 6oz & 2lb 6oz. 4 Roach, 1 Dace - all fairly small. 1 Gudgeon.
    WOW! Gotta love a good flood swim! Having fished out the Lambourn I thought I'd at least have a look at the Kennet - expecting to see it coloured up and flooded. And whilst it was bank high there was surprisingly little colour - so couldn't resist dropping into a favourite swim when the river is in flood. Even so didn't quite expect what was to follow - especially after a first ¼hr that was biteless. First up was the 2lb perch - sort of what I was expecting/hoping for as they seem to show here when the river is up. I certainly wasn't expecting another at a whole lb heavier which was pretty much next trot through - and a season's best too boot! I'd just put that back when the very next cast produced the big chub - a very stubborn fight - took an age to get in - in fact at one stage I thought I'd foul hooked a big bream as I couldn't budge it off the bottom! As soon as it was in the net I knew it was a 6lber - in fact I was even harbouring thoughts of a new pb - but the needle was a couple of ounces shy of that mark! The silvers and the gudgeon were next up and I was just about to quit while I was ahead when another fat chub decided to put in an appearance - 2 chub for a combined weight of 11lb 2oz - not bad eh?😉
    I've fished this stretch for 41 years and in the space of 10 mins caught my venue best chub (only my 2nd ever 6lber from here) AND  my biggest ever perch from the venue - wow!


  22. Chris Plumb

    2 January 2023 (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0900 - 1230
    Cool, bright and sunny. AT 6ºC. River at normal winter levels - and as clear as gin (of course) despite heavy rain all weekend.
    12 Grayling: 4 over 1lb - best 1lb 10oz. 5 Brownies - a lber and 4 parrs.
    An insurance session as I reckoned 32mm of rain over the weekend would have stuffed up the Kennet too much (I was wrong see part 2!) so opted for a couple of hours on the Lambourn as a cure for cabin fever! Bit of a scratchy morning - not helped by 5 other anglers on the stretch - most of my fish from a swim I've not caught from before - but which will warrant further attention on future trips - as I bumped a big grayling pretty much first run through.
    Not quite my first fish of 2023 (that was a trout parr!) - but the first one to need the net!

  23. Chris Plumb

    29 December

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet carrier (& main river) - Marsh Benham
    0815 - 1330
    Bright and breezy with a few light (& one heavy) showers. AT 5º-7ºC. River at normal levels - carrier still a little on the low side for winter.
    1 Chub: 2lber. 20 Roach & Dace (slightly more roach - nothing note-worthy). 3 Brownies and a Rainbow - all 2½ - 3½lb - with the Rainbow at the top end of that and possibly pushing 4lb...
    A morning spent playing (and largely failing!!) at avoid the trout. Got off to a promising start with a chub in the first 10 mins - alas,  it would be my only one! Turned into something of a syndicate Christmas social - with over half the membership turning up at some point in the morning!
  24. Chris Plumb

    26 December

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Brimpton
    1030 - 1330
    Bright and sunny. Cooler than last couple of days. AT 4º - 6ºC. River at normal levels and with a tinge of colour.
    1 Chub: 4lb 6oz. 2 Brownies; Biggest a brute of a fish - must have been close to 4lb but unweighed - the other around half that size.
    Impromptu trip based on Jaq announcing she was hitting the sales!! Bright winter sunshine are not the ideal conditions for a spot of chub fishing but I reasoned the recent rise in river levels and turbidity might mitigate this - thankfully I was right. However, and as per usual it seems, I started off with trout - though as both fish chose to hug the bottom as opposed to performing their usual aerobatic display, I was convinced I was bringing in decent chub to the net. Thankfully my 3rd fish of the morning didn't have an adipose fin - and whilst it was a fine chub - as fat as a barrel I was rather hoping to re-acquaint myself with either of the 5lbers I had from here back in the summer - would love to see either at their winter weight!
    Boxing Day Chub

  25. Chris Plumb

    23 December (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet and Avon Canal - Woolhampton
    1330 - 1615
    Bright and VERY breezy. AT 11ºC
    1 Perch; 1lb 11oz
    That was a bit below expectations to put it mildly - especially after starting with a semi decent perch in the first 10 mins (and in bright sunshine)- it would prove to be my only bite!!! Wind was a nightmare and way stronger than this morning - made accurate casting and good presentation all but impossible. I fished on hoping that the witching hour would rescue proceedings - but it came and went without incident - alas!
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