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Chris Plumb

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Blog Entries posted by Chris Plumb

  1. Chris Plumb

    5 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne
     
    0745 - 1400 (With 1½hrs out to wander round Speen Moors looking at the floods before returning for the final 45 mins)
     
    Dull, mild and overcast 9-10ºC. A lovely, benign winter's day - perfect perching weather. WT 47ºF
     
    13 Perch. 12 over 1lb with 4 X2lbers - biggest 2lb 7oz
     
    Every May Paul and I have what we call - "A Wander". We take a day out to look at a few venues and plan our campaign for the opening week - just an excuse to go out for a beer really! Last May I wanted to look beyond June and we tramped a couple of canal banks looking for likely swims to replace the autumn Perch hotspots that are hot no more on the Thatcham stretch due to habitat loss. Based on that recce we had pencilled in a visit to this water - somewhere I'd not fished since 2007. However, our two previous attempts this autmn/winter at fishing here had been aborted due to bad weather.
     
    So it was 3rd time lucky - and worth the wait. The 2 of us covered a fair bit of water fishing ½ doz swims in total - though most of the fish came from just 3 (and all the 2's from 2 spots). Conditions were such that fish fed throughout the day - in fact my biggest was the last fish caught. Paul finished on 7 perch with a brace of 2s and did manage a 3lb+ fish - though this was a surprise - but most welcome winter tench. All fish falling to lobs - though Paul had a few minutes fishing maggot and picked up a couple of roach as a result.
     
    All photo's courtesy of Paul (as per usual)
     
    A couple of my perch...
     

     
    Paul's Tinca

    Water, Water Everywhere...



    At the small weir - but where is it?

     
    This is where we usually park the car - field beyond had sheep in it last winter!

  2. Chris Plumb

    1 July

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Newbury
     
    2045 - 0000
     
    Warm and overcast - river still has good flow though a little turbid.
     
    2 Dace & a spottie.
     
    Planned to be bankside way earlier - but was seriously delayed getting home. Quick 20 mins trotting followed by 3 hours looking at a mainly stationary rod tip. Had a couple of promising rattles but nothing that developed into anything 'hittable.'
  3. Chris Plumb

    8 August

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle Kennet Weirpool - Marsh Benham
    0600 - 1200
    Hot and sultry - 19º -> 27ºC. River a little on the low side but not as bad as it can be in August!
    12 Chub: 6 over lb, best 2 both went 4lb 3oz (different fish) - nice to see some small ones. 3 Bream; 2¾ to just under 4lb. 30 Dace. 20+ Roach. 4 Bleak. 1 Brown Trout - 6lb 1oz (!!) & 2 Rainbows of 2½ & 3½lbs.
    Cracking morning's trotting - though the big brownie was on ledgered meat and had me convinced I was into a barbel for a few minutes! 
    Don't usually take pics of troot - usually try to avoid them - but this was one impressive spottie.

    And Rusty will be pleased to see I've done some 'gardening'...

    Bream pic (makes a change from Chub), this was the biggest - all 3 fought surprisingly hard in the flow!

  4. Chris Plumb

    2 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet
     
    0800 - 0930 - Newbury
     
    1000 - 1230 - Thatcham
     
    Overcast, mild (8ºC) and breezy. River high but clear.
     
    Newbury - 1 Grayling and a couple of gudgeon.
    Thatcham; 2 Chub; 4lb 0oz & 3lb 6oz, 1 Perch 4lb 2oz (!) and a small dace.
     
    Started at a favoured flood slack which was surprisingly devoid of fish. So shifted off downstream to show Paul and Rusty how its done! However, the first hour and a half or so was bite-less and it looked like I'd be joining the blankers club. There then followed a 45 minute spell where I had all 4 fish - topped off by my 3rd ever 4lb perch - yippee! All fish on trotted maggot. Had planned to stay a little longer but with the wind and rain picking up I decided to quit while I was ahead!
     
    Obligatory fish plus pin pics! (A brace of 4s!)


  5. Chris Plumb

    Season's Bests 2020/21

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Plumby’s Annual Round-up.
    And so another season comes to a close – and I’m just thankful that I had a season at all. The Angling Trust somewhat came of age this year and showed itself to be an effective voice for anglers with its successful lobbying of government for angling during the pandemic. Fishing local did curtail my usual winter jaunts south in search of big ladies – but it was a small price to pay.
    Best Carp: 13lb 14oz. 9th September.  Float fished maggot – Willows. I rarely carp fish and usually try and avoid the blighters – this was a ‘by-catch’ on light-ish tackle meant for tench and crucians – and needed a helping hand to land!

    Best Pike: 9lb 6oz. 17th June. Floating plug – River Kennet, Hambridge. Most of my pike in any given season are caught accidentally while perching (Pike love lobs). This one was bothering dace in a favourite Kennet swim and couldn’t resist the lure of a floating plug wobbled past its lair!

    Best Barbel: 7lb 7oz. 14th September. Ledgered pellet – River Wye, Llanthomas. Not having had a barbel from the Kennet in 5 seasons – this was a sneaky trip to Geoff’s (with borrowed tackle) whilst holidaying in Hay. Ironically within a couple of weeks return I was catching small barbel from the Kennet!

    Best Tench: 6lb 5oz. 23rd June. Prawn sections, lift method - Harris Lake, Milford. As usual my summer consisted of a few trips across to Godalming to fish the wonderful Marsh Farm complex. Johnsons was always too busy – but thankfully Harris next door saved the day!

    Best Brown Trout: 6lb 1oz. 8th August. Ledgered bacon grill – Kennet weirpool, Marsh Benham. I rarely weigh trout let alone take their picture but this was one impressive spottie – even if I was a little disappointed it wasn’t a barbel!

    Best Bream: 5lb 10oz. 14th July. Float fished maggot – Alders. My biggest ever bream from this venue (by an ounce!)
    Best Chub: 5lb 9oz. 8th March. Trotted red sweetcorn – River Kennet, Kintbury. In terms of numbers my 2nd best ever season on the chub front with 131 over a pound caught (I had 136 in 14/15). I had to wait until the last week of the season, however, to find the big ones- this was the best of 5, 5lbers caught in a morning from the same swim.

    Best Perch: 3lb 10oz. 20th February. Float fished lobworm – Kennet & Avon Canal, Enborne. Biggest perch for 5 years and first 3lber in that time –also my first 3 from this venue. Probably rate it as my best fish of the season.

    Best Crucian: 3lb 1oz. 14th August. Prawn sections, lift method – Harris Lake, Milford.  Harris,  again coming to the rescue after a poor evening on Johnsons.  Continues my run of 6 consecutive seasons with a 3lb+ crucian.

    Best Grayling: 2lb 2oz. 19th October. Trotted  maggot - Lower Itchen Fishery. Due to Covid this turned out to be my only trip to the Itchen or Frome this season – so in hindsight really pleased it resulted in a 2lber.

    Best Roach: 1lb 0oz. 21st July. Trotted maggot - River Kennet, Padworth. Had quite a few roach over 12oz this season but this was the only one that nudged the needle to the 1lb mark – from a surprise venue as well.
    Best Dace: 15oz. 21st November. Trotted maggot – River Kennet (flowing canal), Thatcham. Another big surprise from an unexpected part of the river – my biggest dace for over a decade.

  6. Chris Plumb

    16 February

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Thatcham
     
    1030 - 1430
     
    Bright and sunny. 8ºC. River VERY high - but surprisingly clear.
     
    2 Chub; 4lb 13oz, 2lb 7oz.
     
    New winter chub banker swim turns up trumps again! Wasn't sure what I'd find - or even if I'd be able to get to the swim - but after paddling through the field - found a surprising slack piece of water. Smaller chub first cast on a lob worm, 4lber 90mins later on trotted maggot. Lovely afternoon to be by the river.
     
    Fat chub in its winter prime...

     
  7. Chris Plumb

    7 November (Part 2)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1045 - 1345
    Cool, milky sunshine. River at normal autumn levels - much lower than expected after a really wet month.
    4 Chub; 4lb 6oz, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 2oz, 1lb 15oz. 7 Dace (4 chunky ones). 1 Grayling, 2 Gudgeon & a Brownie.
    Hooray - banker chub swims gives up more than one fish! Had three in the first 20 mins with the 4th one coming after resting it for over an hour whilst I explored elsewhere.
     
  8. Chris Plumb

    Updated PB List

    By Chris Plumb,

    My PB List.
    Haven’t done one of these for a while (though it hasn't changed much in the last 5 years!) and as I had a query about my PBs I thought I'd put an updated list on here...
     
    Best Carp – 27lb 6oz. 15 August 2008. Blue Pool – Burghfield. Method feeder – hair-rigged hemp bogey.

     
    Blog Entry: http://www.anglersne...63-1415-august/
     
    Best Pike – 18lb 10oz. 10 February 2001. River Lambourn – Newbury. Free-lined Lamprey section.

     
     
    Best Barbel – 12lb 4oz. 27 July 2004. River Kennet, Arrowhead – Thatcham. Ledgered Halibut pellet.

     
    Best Bream – 12lb 2oz. 2 July 2011. Summer Pit – Yateley. Float fished (lift method) maggot.

     
    Blog entry; http://www.anglersne...ry-704-12-july/
     
    Best Brown Trout – 8lb 12oz. 14 March 2008. Middle Kennet Estate – Newbury. Trotted Maggot. (No photo)
    Blog Entry; http://www.anglersne...y-222-14-march/
     
    Best Tench – 7lb 10oz. 18 June 2003. Wylies Lake – Thatcham. Float fished (lift method) black pudding.

     
     
    Best Chub – 6lb 7oz. 19 February 2012. Middle Kennet Estate – Nr Kintbury. Trotted Red Sweetcorn.

     
    Blog Entry; http://www.anglersne...48-19-february/
     
    Best Salmon – 5lb 10oz. 13 October 2008. Lower Itchen Fishery. Trotted Maggot. (No Photo)
     
    Blog Entry; http://www.anglersne...281-13-october/
     
    Best Rainbow Trout – 4lb 10oz. 5 March 2004. Barton Court – Kintbury. Trotted Maggot. (No Photo)
     
    Best Perch – 4lb 5oz. 28 October 2013. Kennet & Avon Canal – Thatcham. Float fished lobworm.

    Blog Entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1140-28-october/
     
     
    Best Crucian – 3lb 13oz. 26 June 2011. Newbury AA Lake – Widmead. Float fished (lift method) bacon grill.

    Blog Entry; http://www.anglersne...ry-699-26-june/
     
    Best Grayling – 2lb 15oz. 6 January 2002. Lower Itchen Fishery. Trotted maggot.

     
     
    Best Roach – 2lb 11oz. 7 February 2003. Middle Kennet Carrier – Nr Hungerford. Trotted maggot.

     
     
     
    Eel - 2lb 1oz: 12/06/15, Ledgered prawn. Mill Farm, Pulborough

    Blog entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1299-12-june/
    Brown Goldfish - 1lb 14oz: 21/06/05, Float fished Bread, Pumphouse Lake, Yateley.
    Sea Trout - 1lb 12oz: 06/01/02, Trotted Maggot, Lower Itchen Fishery.
     
    Rudd - 1lb 11oz 18/06/18. Float fished prawn sections, Johnsons Lake - Milford. [/url]
    Blog Entry; http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1532-1819-june/
    Best Dace – 1lb 2oz. 7 February 2003. Middle Kennet Carrier – Nr Hungerford. Trotted maggot.

     
  9. Chris Plumb

    19 February

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury
     
    0830 - 1730
     
    Cool and Sunny with broken cloud 2ºC->7ºC->2ºC. River very low.
     
    9 Chub; 6lb 7oz (new PB ), 5-2, 3-15, 2-13, 2-10, 1-10 and 3 chublets. 47 Dace, of which less than a dozen were under 8oz!!!! 2 fish of 13oz, 3 fish weighed at 12oz but probably had a load more that were close,10 Roach; 4 of which were over 10oz - best 14oz. 10 Brownies and a Rainbow.
     
    This was supposed to be a club day on this lovely estate water - except no one turned up apart from me, Rusty and Steve !! Rusty and Steve explored down stream leaving me to have the whole upstream beat to myself!!!! My plan had always been to fish a chub swim that I fish quite a bit but which is otherwise relatively unknown - I've had a hunch for a few seasons that it could hold a quite special chub and this morning it turned out I was right. In the past I've only ever had one or two fish at a time from it so this morning I approached it a bit differently - taking my time - resting and feeding between fish. It certainly paid off as every time I ran a float through (with 3 kernals of red sweetcorn as bait) I had a bite straight away. The 2,2's were followed by the 5lber, in turn followed by the 3-15. Each fish put back some way downstream and each time I dribbled in more freebies for 10-15 mins before recasting. The 6 was the last fish of the morning and the constant feeding obviously paid off as it nailed the bait seconds after hitting the water - I hadn't even trotted down to the 'take zone'. The aggressive take was more akin to a trout but there was no mistaking this for a trout in the clear shallow water. Having already had a 5 I knew this was somthing special and was even muttering could be 7 as it hung in the fast water refusing to budge. The standoff was fairly brief and it was soon being coaxed into a waiting net where it promptly coughed up an enourmous gob of mashed up corn - could have been 6-08 if it had kept it down!! Still at 6lb 7oz it's a new PB by an ounce - I was well chuffed and all the more satisfying for being caught on the float. Next trot through produced a ruddy brownie = one 'killed swim'. I returned for an hour in the afternoon for 1 more chub before the brownies moved in again...
     
    If the morning had started splendidly what was to follow was equally awesome. My plan had always been to switch to dace after a morning's chubbing but I hadn't expected to get so many and such quality - and from a swim I hadn't planned to fish. However looking into the water with my poleroids as I stopped for a mid morning drink and chocolate I could see the swim was stuffed with dace - and by the looks of it some really quite big ones. (I don't think I caught anywhere near the biggest in the shoal!). I weighed the first 5 dace I caught, 3 were 12 oz the other 2, 9 & 10oz. Having got my eye in I only weighed anything that looked bigger - and popped a couple of later fish on the scales which both went 13oz but in truth nearly every fish was of the same stamp - I could see bigger dace in the swim - but never got past the 'schooly' 10ozers to catch one!!!
    All in all a fantastic days sport - feels like two days fishing in one!

     
  10. Chris Plumb
    Harris Lake - Marsh Farm , Milford.
    0630 - 2330
    Warm (still 18ºC when I got home at 0100), overcast and DRY - despite the forecast and the downpours the day before. There was some VERY annoying light drizzle for the last hour or so - but overall conditions were very benign - thankfully!
    2 Crucians; 3lb 1oz & 2lb 9oz. 4 Tench - 2@4lb+ - biggest 4lb 9oz. 3 Perch. A doz+ Rudd (micro!!)
    3 Time lucky! This is the 3rd IAC fish-in I've organised in 2020 and the first one to actually take place. The Grayling day on the Itchen in Feb was cancelled due to Storm Dennis. The Marsh Farm fish-in in June was postponed due to Covid so was thankful this deferred date got off the ground. Covid depleted numbers (some  not getting time off work having only recently returned from furlough) but it was as ever a social as much as a fish-in - and raising some money for Sue Ryder in memory of Paul. All the talk leading up to the day was on what the weather would bring - with 3 of the party also fishing the venue the day before and sitting out apocolyptic amounts of rain! Thankfully we had not a single drop of precipitation until well after dark when Brian and I were the only ones left - and some VERY annoying light drizzle set in!
    Fish during daylight hours were sparse - with Howard winning the day with the biggest crucian, caught by the cut-off, at 2lb 7oz. (He also had the 2nd best at 1lb 10oz). As usual on these days all my action came at dusk and once the 'offical' competition had finished  - with a rather splendid (if somewhat obese!) crucian on the stroke of 9 o'clock weighing in an ounce over 3lb - my biggest from this venue for 7 years.

  11. Chris Plumb
    Plumby’s Annual Season Round-up!
    Bit of a strange season – summer was somewhat slow – saved by a three trips to Marsh Farm on the still water front and eventually finding some Barbel at a haunt of old, late summer, after some very poor river trips. Hard to remember now that the autumn was actually pretty dry – in fact on my only 2 trips to the Dorset Frome the river was actually fairly threadbare and in need of some water. Of course we then got biblical proportions of rain and the last 3 months of the season have been somewhat challenging. However the chub have been ever obliging and like last year I had over 100, 1lb+ fish. In fact I had even more than last year with a ton up since October. A new swim rewarded patience and application (just ask Rusty!) – and fished well throughout the flooding once the colour had dropped out and looks like it might be worth paying a visit to in the summer…
     
    Best Carp, 12lb 14oz. 16 June, NAA Stillwater, Thatcham. Float Fished Prawn.
    Caught on light tackle meant for crucians – took an age to land!

     
    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1070-1617-june/
    Best Barbel, 11lb 2oz. 23 September, River Kennet, Nr Thatcham. Ledgered Halibut pellet.
    A really slow summer on the barbel front – loss of fishing rights at Padworth Park didn’t help plus my nailed on banker barbel venue produced not one fish to float or lead for the 1st time since I joined Newbury AA in 1982. Thankfully I eventually found a few fish further downstream – and this biggie (my 3rd best) came at what was going to be the start of a concerted effort to get a double – achieved first cast!

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1128-23-september/
    Best Pike, 10lb 11oz. 24 January, Middle Kennet Estate. Float Fished Lobworm
    Most of my pike these days are a ‘bye-catch’ when after perch – this one was no exception!

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1164-24-january/
    Best Tench, 6lb 2oz. 21 June, Harris Lake – Marsh Farm, Nr Godalming. Float Fished Maggot (lift method).
    1st of 3 great trips to Marsh Farm last summer.

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1079-2021-june/
    Best Chub, 5lb 14oz. 22 February, River Kennet, Nr Thatcham. Trotted maggot.
    New swim which fished well during the floods and pretty much saved my winter. Never hugely productive but threw up a number of good fish – this was the biggest of a dozen chub.

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1171-22-february/
    Best Perch, 4lb 5oz (new PB). 28 October, River Kennet, Thatcham. Float Fished Lobworm.
    Wait years for a 4lb perch and get 2 in a season – this one was a pure fluke!

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1140-28-october/
    Whereas this one, just 3oz lighter, turned up in the ‘new’ chub swim!

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1175-2-march/
    Best Crucian, 3lb 1oz. 21 June, Harris Lake – Marsh Farm, Nr Godalming. Float Fished Maggot (lift method).
    In terms of numbers my best season on the crucian front for 6 years.

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1079-2021-june/
    Best Grayling, 2lb 13oz. 10 November, River Frome, Wool. Trotted Maggot.
    Yet again my annual quest for a 3lber was pretty much wiped out by the weather. Managed 2 trips to Dorset before the rains came… This was caught on the first of those and is my 3rd= best lady.

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1144-10-november/
    Best Roach, 1lb 6oz. 20 June, Harris Lake – Marsh Farm, Nr Godalming. Float Fished Maggot (lift method).
    Marsh Farm has a very pleasant habit of throwing up the odd decent roach so wasn’t unduly surprised by this.

    http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/blog/82/entry-1079-2021-june/
  12. Chris Plumb

    20 May

    By Chris Plumb,

    Willows Lake - Thatcham
    1400 - 2200
    Warm and sunny with a nice breeze to keep the mozzies away!
    1 Tench: 3lb 13oz. 2 Carp: 5lb 11oz & 4lb 6oz.
    A rare (very - I usually have a bit of a break in the spring) 'closed season' outing - a trip to cure the lockdown blues! Just wanted to sit on the bank and watch a float for a few hours not even so bothered about catching! As usual I set my stall out to try and snaffle one of the lake's big but scarce crucians and as the tackle shop had no maggots it was straight out with the float fished prawn sections a rod length (or less) from the bank. Bright conditions did not make for good sport and I didn't get a bite until gone 6.00pm when the bigger carp snaffled the bait. There then followed a really frustrating evening - lots of sail-away 'un-missable' bites which had my striking into thin air - it happened time and time again - think fish must have been attacking the shot. The only time I did connect it was another carp until finally just before 2200 a dithering sort of a bite resulted in the lovely plump tinca - can't remember catching one bigger in Willows at least not for the last 20 years. And just as I slipped her back the International Space Station passed overhead! A lovely evening all round.

  13. Chris Plumb

    22 February

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Thatcham
     
    0645 - 1030
     
    Bright and sunny - a lovely spring morning. River still very high though running clear and a couple of inches down on Sunday.
     
    3 Chub; 5lb 14oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 6oz. 3 Perch; 3lb 1oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 3oz.
     
    Stonking session in the swim I fished on Sunday - though this time there was a bit more flow as the flood water is starting to run off. In truth I hadn't planned to fish here but Paul paid a visit during the week and had a couple of really nice perch (2-09 & a 3) so plans were changed! This swim always looked like it should have perch though until now Paul and I have only caught chub here.
    Even so with a bright sunny morning in prospect I didn't expect sport (if I had any) to last too long, as it turned out most of the fish came after 0900 when the swim was bathed in full sunlight!
    Smallest perch on lobs - everything else on trotted maggot.
     
    Biggest chub of the season.
     
    Pics. of best 2 fish of each species...
     
    3lb 14oz

    2lb bigger!

    Just over 3 - as fat as a football.

    A bit smaller but better proportioned...
     
  14. Chris Plumb

    18 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle Kennet Estate - Kintbury
     
    0830 - 1645
     
    Cool (1º - 4ºC), overcast with sunny spells in the afternoon. River quite 'full' and carrying more colour than is usual for here - quite 'milky' in appearance - possibly the result of springs 'breaking' on the downs.
     
    11 Chub; Biggest 5lb 7oz with only 3 under 3lb. 32 Dace; Biggest two 14oz & 12oz with around another dozen in excess of 8oz - I weighed another 4 at 9, 10, 10 & 11oz - but quite a few of similar size went un-weighed! 2 Grayling, a doz brownies to 3lb.
     
    Birthday outing! And the plan was to go all out for Chub and Dace - so both those boxes got well and truly ticked. Dusted out my 'short' float rod which hasn't seen the light of day since the 80's to fish the small streams and carriers for the dace. And fished some of my favoured swims on the main river for the chub. All chub caught on trotted corn except the smallest of the day - a 1½lb fish which turned up in one of my dace swims 10 minutes after slipping the 14oz fish back - never been so disappointed to see a chub in the bottom of my net! Paul had a similar return in terms of numbers - though I think his best chub was a 3lber and best dace around 11oz.
     
    Safely in the Net!

     
    Big Gob!

     
    5½lb Chub

     
    Typical Dace swim.

     
     
    Nice Dace

     
  15. Chris Plumb

    19 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Kennet - Nr Newbury
     
    0900 - 1600
     
    Cold, overcast with snow laying to a depth of around 3-4inches. Temps hovering around 0ºC all day with frequent sporadic light snow flurries. No wind so wrapped up warm I was quite toasty all day - was actually rather a nice day to be out. River at near normal winter levels and quite clear. WT 42ºC
     
    17 Chub(!); all over a pound with only 4 under 2¼lb, Biggest 4lb 2oz. Most fish in the 2½-2¾lb bracket. 10 Perch; Biggest 4, 2lb 8oz, 2lb 4oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 13oz. 16 Dace. 1 Roach, 2 Gudgeon. 4 Brownies including fish of 5lb 1oz and 4lb 5oz. 3 Rainbows to 2½lb.
     
    A session that defied logic or at least conventional wisdom as to what constitutes 'good angling conditions'. With air temperatures struggling to get above zero and water temperatures continuing to fall - we expected to struggle - how wrong can you be. I suppose we did have an overcast day and the road salt has yet to get into the rivers - but we considered these mere straws to be clutched!
     
    The date had been in Paul and my diaries for some time - we usually try and get a 'special' trip in sometime around my Birthday (which was last weekend). However it was touch and go whether, A we could find a venue that would let us on (or in the case of the Frome was within its banks) and, B we could actually get there. In the end we made the decison at 0700 on the day - and as a concession to the weather opted to arrive and leave in day light. (We usually arrive when it's still too dark to see a float - and leave under the same light conditions!!!!)
     
    Any fears that we had evaporated instantly. Paul probably spent most of the morning rueing his decision to turn down my offer to toss a coin for choice of first swim. We both had in mind where we wanted to start - but Paul said 'you can start there'. (well it is MY birthday!) And what a present the river delivered.
     
    In the first 1½hours of fishing I had 14 chub to 3¼lb plus the two biggest trout. I don't usually weigh the trout but these were 2 impressive fish. At times the fishing took on Mr Castwell proportions - with the float dipping at the same point in the swim every trot - and yet another 2½lb chub was brought to the net (as opposed to a similar sized trout in Skues' fable).
     
    A schooly 2½lber...

     
    By the time Paul joined me for mid-morning coffee, bites were begining to dry up - I was almost thankful!!
     
    We agreed that we'd rest the swim and that Paul would have first dibs to fill his boots in the afternoon - something he did with aplomb - snaffling another 8 fish including one of 5lb 3oz. I joined him right at the end of the day and was allowed to run a float through a few times. Paul had just announced that we hadn't caught a 4 lber today (a less than subtle ruse to draw attention to the fact he'd caught a 5 methinks!) when bang on cue I get one of just that size.
     
    Between the morning and late afternoon chubfests - Both Paul and I had some great predator action. Paul had spent most of the morning catching dace - something I joined in on after my chubby start but after lunch we both decided on seeing if we could get some predators. Paul had his pike gear with him and had seen a fish in the shallows - plus I'd lost a dace to a pike. My target was a perch or two - though that was more in hope than expectation.
     
    Sure enough my perch campaign got off to a slow start - chub in cold conditions is a bit of a staple but perch - I must be mad. These thoughts were going through my head after 15minutes of looking at a stationary float when all of a sudden it bobbed twice and slowly went under. A strike met with the briefest restistance and no lob - crayfish? a perch?. The answer wasn't long in coming as my next bait was snaffled even before the float cocked and a nice perch shot out from the slack into the main current - a nice fish of 2½lbs...
     

     
    I'd added 3 smaller ones to this when I had a call from Paul. He'd caught a big pike and could I come and take its portrait with its captor. It was a VERY nice pike short and very fat as trout fishery pike often are and at 17lbs exactly a new PB for Paul..
     

     
    Paul then caught a couple of jacks and after the hiatus I returned to my Perch swim to continue where I'd left off with a couple more 2lb+ fish and half a dozen smaller ones upto 1lb.
     

     
    4 O'clock and time to pack up as we wanted to be off the country roads while it was still light. Normally I'd be a bit regretfull at leaving a venue such as this while there was still fishable light - Paul too - but today we were well and truely sated!!!!
     
    Paul's 5lber - should be easy to identify again in the future...

     
    Winter Wonderland





     
     
     
     
     
  16. Chris Plumb

    9 July

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Willows Lake - Thatcham
    1800 - 0000
    Warm, overcast with a southerly breeze to put a bit of ripple on the water - neigh on perfect conditions - pity no one told the fish!
    2 Carp 12lb 14oz & 6 lb 7oz. 1 Tench c1lb & a Perch.
    Dismal evening on the float despite same tactics/baits and swim to my last trip here in June. No bites before 2030 - and precious few after that despite the odd fish rolling in my swim! Thankfully I had a Plan B. I'd thrown a couple of slices of bread into my bait bucket and put a carp rod in my quiver with the notion that I might get the carp coming in close after dark to snaffle a surface bait. By 2230 I was confident the resident wildfowl (which had been a PITA up to that point!) had roosted for the night and I started to flick thumb sized pieces of bread into the margins by my feet. It wasn't long before slurps and swirls started to appear and it was simply a question of dapping a bait on the surface and hanging on for dear life. Alas my first attempt met with failure as I'd set the clutch too lightly and within a couple of seconds of my first bite I found myself attached to a lily stem and not a carp! (How do the do that?) Hook safely retrieved and clutch tightened up my next fish was the 6lber which was in the net before it knew what had happened. After all this commotion - things went quiet for a while - though I now had to contend with the rats swimming out to take my freebies! Thankfully there was still time for one more fish - an ugly looking mirror EXACTLY twice the size of my earlier carp both of which had somewhat redeemed an otherwise poor evening.
     

  17. Chris Plumb

    7 February

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Lambourn - Newbury & Shaw
     
    0915 - 1530
     
    Bright and breezy with some brief showers. River quite coloured after yesterday's heavy rain - but quickly fining down.
     
    39 Grayling; Around a third over 12oz - biggest 2, 1lb 6oz & 1lb 9oz. 7 Brownies 4 parr fish and 3 over 1lb - biggest 3lb 14oz!
     
    Default venues when the Kennet is the colour of drinking chocolate. Did have a quick look in on Northcroft Stream - but even if it had been trottable I wouldn't have been able to fish it - twas full of kayakers!
     
    Biggest grayling and big brownie both from Shaw. My biggest Lambourn lady of the season - and my biggest ever brown trout from the river. All on trotted mag.
     
    Lambourn Lady
     

     
  18. Chris Plumb

    12 December (Part 1)

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Speen Moors
    0745 - 1345
    Overcast start (drizzling when I left home) becoming bright and breezy. AT 7º-9ºC. River at normal levels.
    8 Chub: 4lb 7oz, 3lb10oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb 11oz & 4 small ones. 7 Roach - most hand sized, 4 Dace, 1 Gudgeon, 1 Bleak & a 2lb Brownie.
    Pleasant morning playing hunt the chub, started off with the 3lber from a spot that only usually gives you one chance - and so it proved as resting it for an hour produced nothing more. Fished around half a dozen more swims in all with the rest of the decent chub coming from the penultimate one.
     
    Biggest of the morning.

  19. Chris Plumb

    21 June

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    River Kennet - Hambridge
    1000 - 1300
    Rain (again!?) steady and persistent but never particularly heavy - thankfully, as I was standing out in it for 3 hours. Cool (only 11ºC), quite calm. River was in great nick - higher than normal for June and with a little less colour than last Thursday.
    2 Chub; 5lb 2oz and one of around a pound (unweighed). 18 Dace & 9 Roach - nothing to warrant weighing. 1 Grayling c10oz, 2 Gudgeon (hooray!) & 2 Brownies both over 1lb but under 2lb.
    Apart from the rain, conditions looked spot on - and as usual I started by just trickling in maggot for the first 10+ mins - supremely confident that my first trot through would produce a  good fish.  However, first cast produced the bigger trout (around 1½lb) - usually the kiss of death for their swim trashing abilities! Thankfully I managed to bully it away from the 'chub zone' before its first leap - but still thought that my chances had been blown. I needn't have worried - after slipping the brownie back - my float buried on the second run through and a strike just meet solid resistance. This time the perogative was to steer the fish away from the danger of tree roots on the far bank and once I had it in open water the battle was won. I waited until the last week of the season last year to get a 5lb+ chub - chuffed to get one in the opening week this season!
     

  20. Chris Plumb

    24 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle Kennet Estate - Nr Newbury
     
    0800 - 1645
     
    Drizzly. 7ºC. Little wind - though enough to blow my brolly into the river when my back was turned! River 'full' with quite a bit of colour - more than I expected - and more than is usual for here.
     
    19 Chub: All over 1lb - though biggest 'only' 3lb 13oz and 'only' 8 over 2lb! Pike; 10lb 11oz. 3 Dozen Dace with many many fish in the 6-8oz class, 9 roach - all small and only 3 troot (2 brownies and a rainbow).
     
    A damp gloomy day in West Berkshire - though we got nothing like the amount of rain forecast just 24 hours earlier - thankfully the heavy stuff didn't arrive til after dark. I was quickly into the chub while Paul headed off in search of perch - only to have one snaffled by a very large pike - and he was distracted all morning by trying (and failing) to catch it! He did lose another smaller one which somehow threw the hook - a low to mid-double he said - confirmed when I hooked and landed it first cast on trotted lob (it was holed up in a favoured perch hotspot). Paul went on to get a couple of Pike to 8½lb and whilst he caught less than half the number of chub I did - he did manage the only 4lber of the day. All in all a most excellent days angling - followed up with a couple of pints and a curry at my local - Paul's trousers were literally steaming in front of the log fire!
     
    Lob gobbler!

     
    Paul's Pike and 4lb chub...


     
    Soggy Snowdrops!

  21. Chris Plumb

    13 February

    By Chris Plumb,

    Lower Itchen Fishery
     
    0830 - 1630.
     
    Cool and overcast after a soggy start, rain returning just as we packed up, temps didn't get above 4ºC all day. River quite pacey with a slight tinge of colour.
     
    37 Grayling; 14 over 1lb with half of these over 1½lb. Best two; 2lb 5oz & 1lb 13oz. 1 Brownie and 2 Salmon Parr.
     
    IAC fish-in in memory of Paul Goulbourn.
     
    A poignant day on the Itchen. Paul and I were introduced to this fishery back in the late 90's - via an IAC fish-in and we made a point of fishing it every season since - always scheduling a trip in mid to late Feb - so today was full of recollections of trips past and a fitting venue for some of his old IAC mates to gather in his memory.
     
    The talk on the list this week has all been about otters and blow me if the first thing we saw when we arrived at Gaters Mill at first light was an otter. And not just a fleeting glimpse - we watched as it scampered up the bank, crossed over the track and plunge into the river to head upstream under the M27.
     
    After this early excitement the first challenge was to get the cars up the track - we'd been warned that it was in a poor state but everyone made it up safely even if a few cars had to be pushed out for the return journey.
     
    The angling was everything I'd hoped it would be (save for the lack of chub). The river was quite 'full' but thankfully the lack of rain in the previous days had meant it had had a chance to fine down. The weather was exactly as per forecast - early rain giving way to a dry, cool, overcast day. I started in a spot where I expected there to be chub but the extra water meant that the slack that is usually there - wasn't. However it wasn't long before my trotted corn was snaffled by my first fish of the day a 1lb 9oz grayling - a super start.
     
    It quite quickly transpired that the fish appeared to be shoaled up in a few specific spots - and I ended up catching all my grayling from just 3 swims - rest and return being my mantra for the day.
     
    Sometimes at fish-ins you can go all day without actually meeting up with anyone - especially on a large venue such as LIF. Dave had a arranged for everyone to down rods and meet up for lunch - with the offer of freshly cooked sausages, toasted sandwiches and cupcakes! It made for a nice sociable interlude - even if Ed did miss the photocall in his urgency to return to the river!
     
    Thank you's to:
    - everyone who came especially those that travelled some distance to make it
    - Dave Smith for organising the day and acting as treasurer -£120 (+ Gift Aid) was raised by the event which will be given to Duchess of Kent Hospice where Paul spent his final days.
    - Chris (Rusty) for offering to give me a lift and being great company.
     
    Some the IAC Reprobates! (That's Brian on his knees - praying for a 2lber?)

     
    My biggest of the day.

     
  22. Chris Plumb

    7 March

    By Chris Plumb,

    River Lambourn - Newbury
    0730 - 1000
    Overcast and mild. River VERY full - over a foot up on normal winter levels, BUT clear as always.
    22 Grayling - most in the 10-14oz class with a few slightly bigger. 1 Dace - 11oz (another sandpapery male). 2 Brownies.
    Usual fall back after another week of rain has pushed the Kennet into full flood again. Fish of a remarkably similar stamp - dace was a real bonus.
  23. Chris Plumb

    26 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle Kennet - Nr Newbury
     
    0800 - 1700
     
    Overcast, mild (9-10ºC) with some milky sunshine at times after a drizzly first hour. A lovely benign winter's day. River quite pacey and carrying a little colour.
     
    14 Chub: 6 over 3lb - best 4lb 13oz. 3 Pike; All jacks - biggest just under 7lb. 7 Perch; all small, save for one goodun of 2lb 8oz. 2 Dozen Dace & Roach. 3 Brownies all around 2lb+.
     
    Cracking day's sport (as always from here). Plan was to do a bit of piking for a change (hoping to meet the monster of the weirpool from 2 seasons ago), as well as go after the usual glut of chub. Paul spent more time chasing dace than me so didn't end up with so many chub (but had twice as many dace). A very satisfactory chub to trout ratio too!!
     
    Smiling for once!
     

     
  24. Chris Plumb

    22 January

    By Chris Plumb,

    Middle (just ) Kennet Estate.
     
    0900 - 1645
     
    Bright afternoon after a soggy morning. AT up to 11ºC. River quite full but with little colour.
     
    28 Chub; nearly all in the 2½-3½lb bracket. Only 2 under 2lb and only one over 4lb (and that by just 3oz). 2 Dace. 7 Trout (6 Rainbows & a Brown) up to 2¾lb.
     
    Treated myself to a late birthday trip. Keeper directed me to a carrier that he said was 'black' with chub back in the summer (but warned that the extra water might have pushed them out). He (and I) needn't have worried. First 6 trots all produced chub and I had a dozen in no time at all. Rested it in favour of another chub swim on the main river - and that was pretty much the pattern of the day - rest and return! Most fish (around 2/3rds) on trotted red corn - the rest on trotted maggot.
     
    The swim on the main river.

     
     
  25. Chris Plumb

    8 January

    By Chris Plumb,


    Coarse Fishing
    Kennet carrier - Marsh Benham
    0915 - 1345
    Cold, calm and cloudy. Temps hovering around 0ºC all day (-1º when I arrived, +1º when I packed up). River in fine winter condition - gin clear and at normal levels.
    9 Chub; 6X2lb+ - best 3lb 3oz (first fish caught!). A doz Roach - all a 'nice' size but nothing to trouble the scales. 5 Dace; best a clonker of 13oz. Half a doz Brownies - most around the 2lb mark - with one nearly double that.
    Got a few days off either side of this coming weekend as I have a 'big' birthday coming up. Original plans had been to get away somewhere (Jaq won't tell me where!) but those were scuppered by Tier 4 restrictions before Christmas. At least I can get out on the bank I thought - so REALLY pleased at the efforts of the Angling Trust this week in lobbying to allow us to fish during the current lockdown. I've been an individual member since the early days of the AT and its nice to see them exercising some clout!
    A benign if somewhat cold winters chubbing - always an obliging species when the mercury is down - and thankfully they just about outnumbered the trout today. Merv had said he'd had some good dace from here when I bumped into him at Speen recently - and he wasn't wrong - I thought it was another chub as I'd had a couple of that stamp - one of my biggest ever from this bit of water.
     
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