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Flowing Canal (K&A), Nr Thatcham 0645 - 1000 Foggy start, brightening up. 7º - 10ºC 9 Dace - all good uns, biggest 11oz! If the last 2 hours of daylight produced a red letter day - would the first 2 hours be the same? The answer a categorical NO! A couple of half-hearted bites on lob was all I had to show before getting the trotting rod out for the last 45 mins and immediately getting among a really good stamp of dace - though even these stopped biting when the sun came out!

Flowing Canal (Kennet & Avon) Nr Thatcham 1500 - 1715 Bright, VERY breezy, with a very heavy shower to finish - temps cooler than of late at 10ºC 3 Perch; 4lb 5oz (!!!) New PB , 3lb 8oz and a smallun of around 12oz. 1 Chub 3lb 6oz. Blimey! Autumn perching campaign gets off the mark at last in spectacular fashion. Unexpectedly had the afternoon off so with the St Jude's storm easing away it was off to do some more prospecting on the canal. And yet another swim I've never fished before - though this time I think I'll be back before too long!!!! The wind was a bit of a mare especially as it was downstream - but thankfully with a bit of flow here presentation was still manageable. The small perch was pretty much first cast - a hopeful start followed by the 3lber some ¾hr later. The chub soon followed - though hooked much further downstream than where I'd taken the 2 perch. Then the heavens opened and I put my brolley up and just plonked the float rig in the margins by my feet - with the lob no doubt fluttering gently in the current - not really fishing just waiting for the shower to pass. The rain was in full lash when the float just shot off. My first thought was that it was a jack - as the fight was a series of long 'pike like' runs. However it soon showed its true colours and I was out of cover getting drenched in a flash when I saw the size of it - and that it was only just hooked! Gingerly guided to the net with no further alarms - my second 4lber! Hooray! (I wonder what it will weigh in March ? ) So, a helluva fluke - but who cares, I've walked a lot of miles this autumn sussing out potential new swims - I'll take that bit of luck thank you! Still had time to hook and lose a pike before it was too dark to see my float. Pics unfortunately aren't brill - camera was getting very wet very quickly which didn't help but meant it was all a bit hurried BIG. BIGGER.

River Kennet & Kennet & Avon Canal - Newbury 0730 - 1130 Warm with a little light drizzle at times. 14 Dace, 7 Perch - only one of which needed the net but was still well shy of a pound, 1 Roach (12oz). Bit of an exploratory session with Paul - visiting some water I've not fished in decades and Paul hasn't even seen! I fished mainly lobs - trying to find some big perch while Paul picked up stacks of small roach and other 'bits' on maggot. My decent roach was on a whole lob meant for perch! Finished off with an hour on the river for the dace.

Kennet and Avon Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1000 Overcast and mild (16ºC) becoming breezy. 9 roach, 1 dace and a bleak! Exploratory session, searching for and spectacularly failing to find some new perch swims. Fished 4 likely looking swims (3 I've never fished before) and didn't get a touch on lobs from any of them - not even from crayfish. Gave each spot a good half an hour on worm then had 5-10 mins on maggot to see if there were any bait fish around (there were every time!) Ho hum - good exercise at least!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0700 - 0830 Mild and overcast. 4 Perch: 2 'pounders' though not by a lot. 1 Chub 1lb 10z. 1 Carp 5lb 3oz. Detour en route to Speen to check out a couple of 'banker' stripey swims from last winter. First cast perfection as the lob plopped an inch from a semi-submerged branch was met with the float shooting under before it had time to cock and a powerful fish charged up the cut. I knew it wasn't a perch - and whilst I had hoped it would be a nice tench my suspicions were confirmed when I eventually got it under control - a ruddy carp - my first ever from here in over 30 years of fishing it. Some target fish followed but nothing over 1lb 6oz before a slightly more welcome chub put in an appearance....

K&A Canal - Enborne 2000 - 0000 Hot and sultry - shirtsleeves all evening - still 16ºc when I packed up 3 Perch; a tiddler and a couple of 'nice ones' best circa 1lb. 7 dace and 2 chublets. Had a notion and a plan to try and get a canal tench or two from here - thinking that if Paul can get one in January - July should be doddle! Wrong! Only gratifying thing was the number of fingerling dace and chublets - which IS good to see (there were loads and was quite difficult NOT to catch them!)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0600 - 1030 Mild, overcast with continuous drizzle. AT has averaged over 9ºC for the last 48 hours and the WT is catching up (48ºF) which is 9ºC in new money! 2 Perch; 3lb 15oz (and a bit - if it had swallowed the lob and not spat it out it might have tipped 4!), 2lb 2oz. 1 Pike 2¼lb. 1st part of a 'Reverse Rusty' session (Dawn on the canal - midday on the river). And conditions absolutely screamed perch so it was back to the scene of my triumph last month (see 16 Feb part 2). Could lighntening strike twice - well it ruddy well nearly did! I arrived in almost total darkness - such was my keen-ness and huddled under the brolly waiting for it to be light enough to see a float - there was suddenly some commotion at my feet - fry scattering and a large swirl. So I quickly lowered in a lob and it was snaffled immediately - a 2lber before it was even light enough to cast out to me chosen spot - a good omen. Pic - with obligatory welly. Next bob of the float produced a pike - landed somewhat flukely - it bite through the line in the net. However I then had to wait nearly an hour for my next bite - but it was worth the wait. Just like my 4 from 3 weeks ago I didn't appreciate its weight until I had it on the bank - this one was stuffed with spawn and as fat as a football - and no matter how long I looked at the dial on my scales it just wouldn't get to 4lb. Touching the mark but just the wrong side of it - ! And that was it - All the action in the first hour and a half. I moved swims a couple of times but by mid-morning everything was quiet - so it was off to the river to see if the rising temps might have got the barbel on the feed.... (See 7 March part 2!)

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 1300 - 1730 Mild, overcast with some 'milky' sunshine at times. 10ºC. WT bouncing between 44/45ºF when I arrived rising to 46ºF when I packed up. 1 Perch; 4lb 2oz! (New PB ), 1 Chub; 5lb 10oz. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! It is a quest that started in 2005 with an eavesdropped conversation in Tony's tackle emporium when a guy at the till was describing in some detail the capture of a 4lb 11oz perch from the canal while I hung on his every word. I have never stared at wagglers so intently!! Whilst he didn't go on to descibe the swim the general area was given away - and I resolved to give the stretch some serious attention. At the time I'd been following up rumours of 4lbers from Speen and whilst I'd had a smattering of 3s and pushed my PB to 3lb8oz, I'd come to the conclusion that low 3s appeared to be the top weight I could realsitically hope for from there. So it is somewhat ironic that this season has seen me switch back a little bit to Speen and to the canal at Enborne for my perching. In the 8 years since that piece of intelligence I have had 38 perch over the 3lb mark from the Thatcham stretch (I've just looked back in my diaries counting them!) and my PB had edged up to 3lb 14oz - a mark I've achieved twice. But last winter the canal authorities saw fit to rip out ALL the swims on this stretch. Every overhanging bush, branch and tree has been cut down and grubbed out - every holding area for big stripeys gone. Consequently finding the fish this winter has been a real challenge and whilst I have few decent fish - I was still going into the last month of the season not having caught a 3lb perch for the first time in over a decade. So part 2 of yesterday's adventure was to try and make up for the fact I hadn't had a 3lb perch this season (which now I come to think of it I still haven't! ). My season's best before today being a 2lb 14oz fish from Speen back in Oct (see blog for entry 13 October). The swim I had in mind is one that Paul has 'discovered'. He's fished it a couple of times and had a 3lb 8oz perch just the day before. It's also not a million miles away from where Rusty has been catching 3lbers this winter too - so if you can't beat them..... I arrived in quite bright sunshine and the first puzzle was to find the swim - it wasn't at all apparent I was in the right spot - little evidence on the bank so a quick call to Paul to get my barings. I was also surprised that Chris wasn't in his swim - I would have bet money on him perching today - and sure enough a couple of hours or so after I arrived he showed up! I wasn't expecting much action until late afternoon - so the first couple of hours were quite lesuirely - despite arriving at 1 o'clock it was gone 2 before I put a lob out into the swim. The time was spent having some lunch, trickling some maggot into the swim - and even trotting maggot to see if there were any bait fish around (there wasn't!) Eventually I cast a worm out but really wasn't expecting much - in fact sitting on the mossy bank I was actually starting to nod off (the result of a lunchtime beer no doubt) when suddenly my float disappeared and my rod tip wrapped around as a fish headed for the tree roots. This was clearly no perch - I briefly thought it might be a tench before I saw those lips surface - a big chub - by far and away my best ever from the canal - and my biggest of the season. Most unexpected. An hour after this Rusty arrived and shortly after he was installed in his swim I had my second bite of the afternoon - this alas didn't meet with success - a pike, whose love of lobs I have oft chronicled, shot off across the canal with the line parting as I gave it some resistance. And then it happened. Bob, bob, under, strike. It's happened a hundred times before and thankfully it didn't enter my head that this was any different. It did feel like a good un and I was simply feeling pleased that I would have my 3 for the season. As I netted it I even shouted 'a big 3' in response to the enquiry from the angler fishing downstream on the opposite bank. On the bank though it was clearly bigger than any perch I'd ever seen in the flesh, deep and incredibly fat the needle on my scales initially bounced down to nearly 4½lbs before settling on just over 2oz above the 4lb mark - I'd done it! Even better I had Chris on hand to act as official photographer. There was still an hour of daylight left and with Chris quickly getting a decent stripey too we thought we might be in for something really outstanding - especially as there was fry scattering in the margins next to my swim. Alas our floats remained stationary and the surface activity quickly died down so whilst I could have fished on for another 20 minutes or so I reasoned that perch dinner time had come and gone and it was time for my dinner and a celebratory glass or three of Rioja!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Enborne 0700 - 1100 Overcast with 'milky' sunshine. 2º - 10ºC. WT 41ºF 3 Perch; 1lb 13oz and a couple of smalluns With the current mild spell well and truely kicking in, Perch we're always going to be on the agenda for this weekend. I couldn't make up my mind though on A; where to fish and B; whether to do a dawn or a dusk session. In the end I decided to do both, Fish both venues I had in mind one at dawn and one at dusk (see 16 February (part 2)) for the dusk report. Morning got off to a good start with a fish first cast, only small but it proved something of a false omen as it was nearly an hour before my float next bobbed and the biggest one of the morning was brought to the net. In the mean time I'd taken the water temp - 41ºF - way too low for good sport and my confidence was evaporating as quickly as the cloud cover. 2 hours for my next and last bite after which I packed up and wandered off downstream with the half baked plan that I might go and look at the Northcroft Stream. Unfortunately the tow path was closed for repairs and I couldn't get through. I did however take the WT of the main river - a slightly more promising 44ºF. So off for lunch, more bait and a swim 5 miles downstream.....

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!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 1245 - 1600 Mild (very - 11ºC), overcast, slight drizzle at times and quite breezy (though we found a sheltered spot). WT 46º 1 roach, 1 dace and err 10 bleak! Paul and I had penciled in this date a while back for a Christmas trip and permissions had been granted to fish an estate water on the middle Kennet. Unfortunately the heavy rains over the past 10 days have put paid to that - a real shame as conditions otherwise were pretty good. Still we went with plan B with some confidence after my expedition to the canal a week ago - and given that we found prey fish straight away were sure the perch would put in an appearance - eventually. Alas it was not to be and as 4 o'clock approached our confidence drained away so it was off to the pub to sit in front of a roaring fire and sup some ale. At least I had the consolation of winning the bleak match 10-6*. *Rusty Match Rule 3B applies - "A match may be announced at any time within 24 hours of it having taken place" Pics to follow (of the beer and floods - I don't think Paul was daft enough to photo a bleak!) Nicked from the NAA forum - but Paul's piccies show the same scene..... Beer!

K&A Canal Thatcham 1300 - 1600 Bright and breezy. 9ºC. WT 47ºF Canal very high, over the banks in several places when I arrived - but dropped over a foot during the afternoon. 4 Perch; 2lb 12oz, 2lb 3oz, 1lb 14oz and 1 sub pounder (but not by much). 2 Chub (lets), 15 Roach, 1 dace and a bleak (1st of the season!) Plan was if I can't find the perch - maybe they can find me! Plonked my self in one spot and sparingly fed maggot all afternoon - with a single red on the hook - and planned to switch to lob as it got dark. In the end I didn't really need to. Bites were slow at first but after an hour or so the float dipped with satisfying regularity and every so often a strike met with solid resistance. Very pleasing afternoon's sport!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1100 Cool, calm and murky/foggy - very autumnal!. 5->10ºC 3 Perch; 2lb 1oz and a couple of tiddlers, 1 chublet and 6 roach. Better conditions for prospecting for perch - though 2 hours with lobs produced a couple of missed bites and 2 small perch who weren't much bigger than the lobs used to catch them! Switched to maggot as I could see silvers snaffling my freebies just under the surface - so of course 2nd cast I had the 2lb perch! First decent perch from the canal this autumn - looks like it's escaped from a rather ambitious pike...

K&A Canal - Thatcham 0630 - 0800 Clear and bright (too bright by far!) 2 Perch: 1¼lb and ¾lb. Umm tracking down my autumn perch is going to be a lot harder this year. BWB chose to emasculate this part of the canal last winter - removing bushes and trees that had overhung the water for years/decades - and hence removed the obvious holding areas. Hazard to boats - my arse! Still there's a glimmer of hope - I caught perch 1st cast in the first 2 swims I tried - but alas had only 45 mins of good (ie dim) light before the sun was on the water - not great conditions for prospecting will need to return on an overcast day with Paul so we can cover more water between us....

K&A Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1000 Overcast with rain/drizzle for ¾hr from 0830. AT & WT 48ºF. 2 Perch; 3lb 2oz & 2lb 7oz. Unexpectedly had a free morning due to Sam deciding on a lay in after partying last night rather than go training. Dad's taxi still had to take Matt to work for 0630 which was the time I'd have rather have been making my first cast. So I arrived 30 or so minutes later than I would have liked to get a couple of nasty surprises. The first - cows!! A herd of them (well ½doz) on the public towpath - stubborn buggers too very disinclined to get out of the way - making a right mess as well! The second was more of a shock - my banker perch swim is no more For over a decade the low bushes and scrubby willow on the far bank have proved a refuge for some big perch. Alas some official at the BWB has obviously decided that they posed a hazard to shipping and the whole lot have been completely grubbed out - not just cut back and pruned but completely ripped out! Thankfully over the years I've sussed out some 'back-up' swims here and fished 3 in total - both perch taken from the second one I dropped into - from the only 2 bites I had all morning (apart from the crayfish!) Bigger one below...

K&A Canal - Thatcham 0730 - 0945 Mild, with cloud clearing (rather too quickly for my liking) to milky sunshine. AT 48ºF, WT 47ºF 1 Perch; 2lb 6oz Couldn't resist the lure of the canal with these mild conditions - though, alas, it was much brighter than forecast! Fished 4 swims and only managed 2 bites all morning - both of which came from the 2nd swim I dropped in and resulted in the blank saving stripey. Banker swim failed to produce - again!

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...

K&A Canal - Nr Thatcham 0720 - 1100 Still, overcast and mild - with the sun breaking out for the last ¾hr and the breeze picking up. WT 52ºF. 6 Perch; 3lb 5oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 5oz, 2lb 3oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 12oz. A perfect perch morning got off to a perfect start with the 3lber first cast! The biggest 2lber followed soon after and I thought I was going to be in for another morning's haulin! However there then followed nearly an hour of crayfish activity and my 'lobworm attrition rate' shot up - was worried I was going to run out. Thankfully bites from stripeys returned - but they were never really having it, probably as there was also a pike feeding in the swim. My smallest perch clearly showed signs of having been grabbed by one and I was briefly connected to an Esox before it bite through my hooklength. A couple of piccies - first, and last fish caught just after the sun came out...

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1200 Mild/warm, still and overcast - 13ºC -> 17ºC. Neigh on perfick! 18 Perch: In order of capture: 2lb 14oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz,*, 2lb 6oz, tiddler, ~, 2lb 6oz, 1lb 6oz, 3lb 3oz, 2lb 6oz (again! all different fish I think!), 1lb 7oz, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 2oz, 3lb 0oz, 3lb 14oz (equal PB!), 2lb 13oz, 1lb 3oz, tiddler,tiddler,~. !!! Nearly 40lb of perch ! 1 Tench*: 4lb 3oz. 2 Chub~; 1¼lb and a chublet. WOW - make hay while the sun shines. Or rather catch perch while its a dull overcast day!!! Never been so disappointed to catch a 4lb tench - for a couple of minutes I was convinced I was connected to a huge perch. I knew it wasn't a pike - never even entered my head that it wouldn't be a perch! Most fish caught by 1030 - and the run of 4, 3lbers in 4 casts was just after a couple of barges had come through the swim. Often the death knell for sport but not today! Had planned to do a lot of wandering and did fish one new swim on the way back to the car - did mean I didn't have a keepnet with me - which I have taken to bringing for perch sessions - putting them back 40/50yards upstream didn't seem to affect the swim, mind! First time I've ever had 5, 3lbers in a single session! Pics below are of the 3 biggest & the tinca...

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0615 - 0815 Mild and overcast - sunny for last 20 mins. AT 7ºC. WT an encouraging 48ºF. 2 Perch; 1lb 6oz & a tiddler. 1 Chub 1lb 11oz. Dawn raid for stripeys in seemingly perfect conditions - pity no one told the fish that! Started off promisingly enough with a few bites, activity and the 3 fish all in the first ¾hour. But the rise in water temps seems to have woken up the crayfish and after about 0700 they were relentless. And despite switching between 3 or 4 different swims - the signals were on my lobs within minutes each time, so starting to lose my lobs at a rate of knots I beat a hasty retreat....

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0815 - 1215. Overcast, mild and very breezey. WT 49ºF 4 Perch; 3lb exactly, 1lb 10oz and a couple of tiddlers. Slow morning - 3lber in the 1st 15 minutes. Would have liked to have started ¾hr earlier but had to take Sam into work. Stiff upstream breeze made accurate casting and presentation difficult. (And when I did get it right a ruddy canoeist would come along - had to reel in 37 times for them - yes I counted!) Little & Large!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0745 - 1200 Dull, overcast and calm. AT & WT at 44ºF. 1 Perch 1lb 13oz A real struggle in seemingly ideal conditions - though maybe the WT still a little on the cool side. First 2 hours spent in 2 new swims (an hour in each) without a bite. A switch to one on my 'banker' swims produced the only bite (and fish) of the day.... oh hum can't win them all!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1200 Overcast with drizzle. AT6ºC. Near perfect conditions except for the fact that WT was only at 45ºF. 2 Perch: 3lb 3oz & 3lb 2oz. 1 Chub 1¼lb. Chub very first cast - hit the lob as soon as it was in the water - thereafter bites at a premium - a fish at 0830 and another 2 hours later - but well worth the wait! Paul had a small chub and a 2lb 6oz stripey. The 3-3 Peas in a pod...

K&A Canal, Thatcham 0715 - 1115 Mainly overcast, some sun just after dawn and a couple of light showers. AT 50ºF, WT 47ºF. 10 Perch: 3lb 9oz, 3lb 4oz, 3lb 3oz, 3lb 0oz, 2lb 15oz, 2lb 9oz, 2lb 8oz, 2lb 6oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 8oz. 27lb of fish!!!!! Brilliant morning's perching!! 3lb 3oz fish first cast and thereafter caught steadily upto 1030 when 3 barges came through in quick succession and killed the swim. First ever time I've had 4X3lbers in a session (had 3 a couple of times) - one of the rare times I take a keepnet. Even had time to lose a rather nice carp! Pic was meant to be of all 4, 3lbers - alas the 4th one flipped back into the water when my back was turned to pick up the camera and ruined my 'mirror image' shot!

Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0645 - 0915 4 seasons in 2½hrs! Heavy rain stopped just as I arrived - followed by and hour of calm overcast conditions, then an hour of bright sunshine, with heavy rain/hail to finish off. AT dropped from 7ºC to 4.5ºC. WT 46ºF Water 'up' and carrying some colour. 6 Perch - in order of capture: 2lb 13oz, 2lb 2oz, 1lb 10oz, 3lb 11oz, 3lb 4oz, 3lb 1oz. 6 fish for 16½lbs! The plan for this morning was meant to be - a couple of hours easy trotting on the Lambourn - followed by the purchase of a couple of pints of maggots in readiness for tomorrow's drenching on the Middle Kennet. However on waking and checking the conditions - and seeing that temps had been steadily rising overnight I was out to the garage check my lobs were still alive. Thankfully they were - and it was off to the canal in double quick time!! Caught steadily through out the morning, 2-13 1st cast and the 3-11 in bright sunshine. The dilema is do I go tomorrow or not! Not very good self portrait of the 3-11 below....