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Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford. 1100 - 0130 Bright, hot and sunny (mainly) 3 Tench: 5lb 14oz, and a brace of 3lbers. 2nd Paul Goulbourn Memorial Cruican Fish-in attended by 16 IAC members. Fishing was hard going for most though a few crucians were caught - the biggest going to Krzystof (sp?) - who won the trophy for biggest cruican with a 2lb 4oz fish. Quite a few resorted to the training pond just to get bites! I always planned to fish on after the event and was hopeful that history would repeat itself as I had a lot of fish after dark at last year's event. 3 tench as it got dark augured well though despite briefly having crucians rolling in my swim I couldn't so much as buy a bite once it was dark. So whilst I had planned to fish till dawn I figured 2 or 3 hours extra kip was the better option!

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.

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm Fishery, nr Godalming 1230 - 0445. Warm (especially overnight), overcast, with heavy showers - though the worst of it missed us. Lots of thunder rumbling away in the distance - thankfully that's where it stayed!. 18 Crucians; 7 over 2lb, 2lb 9ozX2, 2lb 7oz, 2lb 6oz, 2lb 4oz X3, 3 Tench to 3lb 10oz (all over 3lb) Informal IAC 'match' competing for the inaugural Paul Goulborn Memorial Trophy - to be awarded to the captor of the biggest crucian caught on the day. The IAC is something of a sleepy backwater of the internet and Paul was a very early member (circa 95/96) and whilst it may not have a fancy website - it does manage to organise quite a bit of fishing and fish-ins amongst it's small membership. Twas fitting then to hold a fish-in in Paul's memory at one his favourite venues - targetting one of his favourite species. I'd booked a dozen+ pegs with GAS as if it was a match - thus ensuring we could all fish together - and that we could raise a bit more for Duchess of Kent Hospice as match fees are cheaper than Day Tickets! I'd even organised a trophy to be awarded on the day - an old print of a crucian which I had mounted and framed. Because of my desire to start the season on running water I was last to arrive and was very pleased to hear that most people had actually caught crucians already - with a smattering of 2lbers. 2 Separate fish of 2lb 8oz - one to Rusty and one to Rob were tie-ing for the trophy - a situation which didn't change as little more was caught in the afternoon! I'd set a notional cut out point of 6pm to signify the end of the competition and thankfully the afternoon rain had desisted by then for some back slapping and group photos. The winning anglers! I didn't have a bite all afternoon - though I wasn't unduly worried as I was planning to fish on into the dark - boldly announcing as everyone else departed that the crucians come into the margins at dark and I'd have some sport! Well that was certainly the case. My first fish came at around 2145 and by the time bites dried up suddenly at 0300 I'd accounted for 18 Crucians and 3 tench all caught within 4 foot from the bank float fishing! Biggest crucian of the night was 2lb 9oz (which I managed twice) - pity the match had finished some hours earlier! One of the tench - look at those pelvic muscles - no wonder it punched well above its weight - took and age to land! Nice album of pics from the day taken my Glenn (using FILM and an antique camera). https://www.flickr.com/photos/glennsmithphotography/albums/72157669925120545

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...

Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford 0700 - 0400 Bright and breezy, mainly sunny. Lovely clear night with some high cloud and a gorgeous full moon. 9 Tench; best 5lb5oz with 6 of the rest over 4½lb. 2 Crucians; 2lb 0oz & 1lb 11oz. 2 Perch. 4th IAC Paul Goulbourn memorial fish-in. Yet again 20 of Paul's friends came together to honour his memory and try (and mainly fail!) to catch a crucian! Bites were at a premium all day though I think most anglers caught at least 'A' tench - I had my biggest pretty much first cast. However only 6 crucians were caught by the allotted time. Gary started the ball rolling with a splendid fish of 2lb 12oz - easily enough to win in previous years - however he had only seconds to enjoy the moment as news spread along the bank of a 2lb 15 (and a ½!) oz fish which fell to Alex - which naturally was the winning fish. I fished on after everyone had gone and as in previous years the fish came on the feed at 2130. I then had a lively few hours catching mainly tench until it went completely quiet at around 0200. I packed up as soon as it got light and headed home for some sleep. Money raised for Duchess of Kent Hospice was in excess of £300 meaning the IAC has now raised nearly £3K through this (and the winter Grayling) fish-in. MANY THANKS to all who came and gave.

Lower Itchen Fishery 0830 - 1700 Bright and breezy (very at times), River well up and coloured from yesterday's heavy rain - though conditions gradually improved throughout the day. 9 Grayling; best 1lb 8oz. 2 Brownies - 2½lber and a parr. 4th IAC Paul Goulbourn memorial grayling day - so it was nice to catch up with some old friends. Fishing was a challenge for all though as the river fined down I think most caught a few. Gary, who I fished with all day, was the star of the show with 5 ladies over 1lb - and the 2 best fish of the day at 1-10 & 1-15. He also managed to embed a size 14 deep into his finger and had to drop into minor injuries unit on the way home to have it extracted!

3rd Paul Goulbourn Memorial Trophy - Harris Lake - Marsh Farm. 0800 - 0800 Hot, bright and breezy. Breeze never really died down even at night. 19 Tench - biggest 5lb 4oz with nearly all the rest in the 3½-4½lb class. 13 Crucians; 3 over 2lb (just!) - biggest 2lb 3oz. Around half the rest were 'Big 1's' (had 3 @ 1lb 15oz!). 3 Roach, 3 Rudd & 4 Perch. IAC came out in force to do Pauls' memory proud! Record attendance at this meant £400 being raised for Sue Ryder. Despite challenging conditions quite a few fish caught with the lead (prize goes to biggest crucian caught) changing hands a number of times before Ed snaffled the winning fish (2lb 5oz) close to the 5 o'clock cut off. I struggled for bites for most of the day (except when using maggot) and didn't get my first decent fish until my swim was in shade at around 1800. Once it got dark however the action was frenetic - at least two-thirds of my catch coming between 2200 & 0400 and all caught in 15inches of water right under my rod tip a couple of feet or so from the bank on float fished prawn. A great day for a great guy - still fondly remembered.