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Showing results for tags 'river kennet'.
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River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse) 1330 1500 Mild overcast and breezy. AT 12ºC. River very pacey but surprisingly clear given all the rain yesterday. 1 Bream : 2lb. 3 Perch, 1 Roach (all small). Having fished down the Lambourn twice, a quick bite of lunch was followed by a 90 min session in my new favourite chub slack. Alas, ole rubber lips wasn't in residence - a bream taking my bait at just the spot I expected a chub to be!
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 0915 - 1300 Bright and breezy with a raw Easterly. AT 5º-9º but felt a lot chillier in the wind! River in full flood, in the fields and over the footpaths - but very clear. 5 Chub: 3lb 4oz, 2lb 14oz, 2lb 9oz*, 2lb 4oz* and a chublet of around 8-10oz. 1 Brownie c 2½lb. Surprisingly productive morning given the sub-optimal conditions - all fish on trotted maggot from the one swim which I rested for over an hour and caught 2 more chub* when I returned to it.
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River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse) 0900 - 1230 Mild and mainly overcast. AT 8º-12ºC. River very pacey and VERY coloured up (AGAIN!) after heavy weekend rains. 5 Roach - all fairly small. Bit of a gamble given the state of the river - but my new favourite chub slack has been producing is such conditions this winter. This morning however I fluffed my lines - I was briefly connected to something solid within a few minutes of starting, alas, a maggot folded over the hook point expedited a quick escape for whatever had snaffled my bait (probably a chub!). It would be my only chance. A move to another slack (all be it a lot shallower) produced the modest haul of blank saving roach and a return to my original swim after resting for an hour or so produced nothing more.
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River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse stretch) 0900 - 1100 Mild, breezy and drizzly. AT 11ºC. River very pacey and very coloured up (again!) - after 42mm of rain in the past 48hrs. 1 Chub: 6lb 2oz - SB. 1 Roach - hand-sized. En route to the Lambourn I thought I'd drop in on my 5lber slack for an hour (herein after called my 6lber slack!) With the Kennet the colour of builder's tea I really wasn't at all hopeful but the roach first cast gave me a glimmer of confidence - rewarded by the big chub 20 mins later. They would be my only 2 bites but after such a fantastic fish 1 hour became 2 before I lost my hook on what I think was a shopping trolley - signalling time to go. I had the usual audience when I landed the chub - one of who asked if it was a pike! (makes a change from asking if it's a carp I s'pose!) Season's Best Chub
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1300 - 1400 Mild and overcast. AT 7ºC River very high and clear, but down a few inches on last week. 1 Chub 3lb 10oz. Bit of a recce to see if I could actually access the river. Pleased to say I could (just), so it would have been churlish not to have a few minutes with my grayling gear. One bite, one fish - normal service is resumed!!
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River Kennet -Speen Moors 0900 -1200 Bright and sunny and quite breezy. At 6º-9ºC. River gin clear but still in the fields here and breaching the banks at multiple points - highest I've seen it this winter but it has still dropped considerably looking at the state of the fields surrounding. Found some dead, stranded fish in the field between the two weirs . They were quite decomposed, but looked like trout parr. 1 Roach (small). 1 Brownie - 4lb 14oz (yes I actually weighed a trout - thought it was bigger - a brute of a fish with a pronounced kype.) A trout first cast is never a good start - especially as it was in the swim that produced 4 chub for me on my last trip here. Bright conditions and a clear river made for very sub-optimal conditions and I struggled for bites all morning - the large weirpool producing just the solitary redfin.
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River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse stretch) 0900 - 1200 Cold, calm & cloudy. AT -2º - +1ºC. River very pacey and crystal clear. 2 chub: 4lb 1oz & 3lb 7oz. 1 Brownie: 2lb+. This is rapidly becoming my new favourite winter venue! Started in my '5lber swim' but couldn't get a bite which was repeated in my next 2 swims which produced the silvers on previous trips. So more in hope than expectation I went exploring further swims. The river is fairly featureless so I was looking for nice 'glassy' glides. I hit the jackpot with the very next swim I dropped into - hooking a brace of chub at the very end of a long trot. Unfortunately my next fish had an adipose fin and went airborne a couple of times and whilst I fished a couple more promising looking runs I got no further bites. This was to be part one of a double header - with a trip to Hambridge planned after lunch. Alas the river downstream is still way to high - I couldn't even get to my favourite swim at Hambridge safely!
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River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse) 1330 - 1430 Started raining the second I cast out and got progressively heavier - blowing in my face so becoming deeply unpleasant!! AT 5ºC. River bank high, really pushing through and very coloured up. 1 Chub 5lb 10oz (!) Well, as I was parked around the corner for my Lambourn jaunt I thought I'd at least have a look at the slack that produced my SB chub last week. With more water and a LOT more colour it didn't look at all promising - but that didn't stop me running a float through it! So more than a little surprised to get a bite - and even more so to get another fine chub from here. It would be my only take and with the rain lashing down (as if we need any more!!) I beat a hasty retreat.... First chub of 2024.
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River Kennet - Newbury (Whitehouse) 0900 - 1300 Bright and breezy with heavy showers. AT 8ºC. River very pacey with a tinge of colour. 1 Chub: 5lb 14oz. 9 Roach - all a 'nice' size - the one I deemed worthy of the scales went 14oz - with all the others around half that! 2 Dace - small. A quick return to my pre-Christmas venue. When I walked back to my car last week I spied a slack which simply screamed 'here be chub' and I wasn't wrong! First trot through the float buried at the end of the run and I was into a very stubborn battle. A lumbering fight more befitting of a big bream - but very pleased with a season's best chub. Couldn't winkle out another so went exploring and had decent-ish roach from the two other swims I dropped into.... Nearly a 6.
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River Kennet - Newbury ('Whitehouse' stretch) 1230 - 1430 Mild, overcast and windy. AT 12ºC. River full and clear. 8 Roach - all quite chunky - in the 6-10oz class. 1 Dace: a good-un - worthy of the scales at 13oz. Been yonks since I last fished here - but rumours of good silver fish catches (including big dace) had me investigating on a recent visit to B&Q and vowing to return with rod in hand. Had originally intended to fish down the length of the Lambourn again - but instead decided to switch plans for an exploratory session here to finish off my maggots prior to my bait fridge getting its annual clean and pressed into Christmas duties. As it turned out I didn't move from the first swim I dropped into - the fish coming in a slow and steady fashion - I also bumped something much bigger so a return trip and a longer stay will be a priority in the New Year!
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 0845 - 1400 Mild and overcast - quite breezy. AT 10º-12ºC. River VERY high, up another 3 or 4 inches on last month and with a hint of colour. 4 Chub: 2lb 14oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 3oz, 1lb 10oz. 4 Roach, 3 Dace, 1 Perch (all small). 1 Brownie 4½lb Morning got off to a cracking start with all four chub caught in the first ½hour - then switched to a slack on the weir-pool that has been throwing up nice perch all autumn - but they weren't in residence - though their prey was! Another move to a rarely fished swim produced the big brownie....
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1230 - 1430 Mainly overcast, quite breezy with a couple of lumpy showers. AT 13ºC. River up over a foot on my last visit and the colour of 'builder's tea'! 1 Chub 3lb 5oz. 1 Bream 3lb 2oz. 3 Roach - all small. 1 Gudgeon. Fished my 'banker' flood water swim - but even I was surprised I caught. River was really coloured up after Storm Ciarán had dumped an inch and a half of rain on West Berkshire in the past 24 hours - and didn't look at all promising. However a gudgeon first cast grew some confidence and the chub came along shortly after. Bites were still at a premium though so with no action for nearly an hour after the bream and with darkening skies, I decided to quit while I was ahead!
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River Kennet - Hambridge 0945 - 1415 Cool with a bright start - clouding over (thankfully). AT 4º-10ºC. River VERY high - highest I've seen it this winter - yet with surprisingly little colour considering it rained most of yesterday! 2 Chub: 3lb 10oz, 3lb 3oz. 2 Perch: 3lb 0oz , 2lb 7oz. 1 Roach (small), 1 Grayling (ditto). 1 Brownie - c2lb. Started off in my downstream flood swim - as it is more shady and had both chub from it (plus the red-fin, lady and brownie). Moved upstream after lunch as it was clouding over and my first swim had been trashed by the trout. Only 2 bites in the afternoon but they both produced quality stripeys including a second 3lber from this swim this winter. A fat 3lber!
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River Kennet - Colthrop 0900 - 1300 Sunny spells - quite cold. AT 5ºC. River very high and gin clear! 1 Dace, 1 Roach (both small). 2 Gudgeon. 1 Brownie. Another venue I visit infrequently (last time was three years ago), but whispers of large chub had me investigating first hand. Started out on the flowing canal in a failed attempt at emulating last week's big dace capture. All in all I struggled for bites all morning....
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1245 - 1500 Overcast and drizzly. AT 9ºC. River VERY high up yet another couple of inches on my last visit (11 days ago) - but with hardly any colour. 2 Chub: 3lb 6oz & 3lb 2oz. 1 Perch: 3lb 1oz (SB), 1 Dace:(small), 1 Grayling;(ditto) Usual 'flood swim' bonanza - 2nd winter in a row I've had a 3lb+ perch from here. Started downstream of my usual swim which produced the 'smaller' chub and the 2 'silvers'.
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 0900 - 1330 Cool and sunny, clouding over late morning. AT 2º-10ºC. River very high but with only little colour. 3 Perch: 2lb 2oz and a couple around ¾-1lb. 1 Dace, 1 Roach. 1 Brownie - 2½lb. Bit of a gamble with the river so high - but I reasoned if I could find some 'quiet' water I'd find some fish. Morning got off to the worst of starts - trickling in small amounts of maggot for 10 mins didn't bring the hoped for first cast chub but another ruddy trout which went absolutely ballistic and totally trashed my first swim. As on Wednesday I was glad of some cloud cover bubbling up as bites were at a premium - but less so for the last hour - morning saved by the bigger perch - caught last cast!
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1230 - 1515 Sunny spells after morning rain. AT 8ºC (felt a lot cooler!). River still very high - if anything up and inch or so on last Friday but with nearly all the colour dropped out and LOTS of leaf litter. 3 Chub: 5lb 1oz and a brace of 2lbers. 1 Perch: 2lb 15oz. 1 Roach - handsized. Favourite flood swim produces the goods yet again! Took it nice and slow resting the swim for at least 10 mins after each fish and keeping the bait trickling in - seemed to do the trick as every fish came from exactly the same spot in the swim. Biggest perch of the season (so far!) and 2nd biggest chub of 23/24...
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River Kennet - Brimpton 1145 - 1445 Bright and breezy. AT 8º-10ºC. River still very high - though most colour has now dropped out. 6 Brownies; a fish of around 2½lb - the rest all around 8-10oz, all almost identical in size - kept thinking I was catching the same fish. Normal service has been resumed - alas. My Nemisis turning up 'early doors' in every swim I tried - thwarting all attempts at attracting a chub or 2!
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 1000 - 1400 Bright and sunny (for the most part!), AT 9ºC - 13ºC. River up 3 or 4 inches on my last trip here but with little colour. 7 Chub; 3lb 6oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz, a 'pounder' and 3 chublets. 5 Perch: all between ¾-1¼lb. 1 Roach - small, 1 Gudgeon, 1 Brownie; 3lb+. A lively morning - went for a wander initially, though ended up relying on my favourite spot on the weir pool, with all fish of substance coming from it. It's becoming a bit of a banker swim!
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1100 - 1400 Warm and breezy - becoming increasingly sunny after a wet morning/overnight. AT 17º-20ºC. River down 8 inches on my last visit here but carrying a bit of colour after heavy overnight rains.... 1 Chub: 1½lb. 1 Perch - fairly small. 11 Dace - most small with a couple of chunkier ones. 3 Roach - all small. 2 Brownies: 2½lb and c¾lb. Bit of a scratchy session - had hoped the rain might have pepped the river up - but a couple of splashy trout is never a good start. Resting the swim for an hour while I went exploring did at least eventually produce the modest chub but I had hopes for something better!
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 0945 - 1415 Warm, overcast and breezy. AT 16º-18ºC. River down around 6-8 inches on my last trip here 3 weeks ago. 14 Perch: All 12oz or more - best two went 1lb 10oz & 1lb 12oz but all of the others were a few ounces either side of a lb. 6 Chub: 2lb & 1lb 10oz and 4 chublets. 9 Roach - all small apart from one 'netter' of round 10oz. 1 Dace - small. 12 (!) Gudgeon. 2 Brownies - a lump of around 3½lb and a parr. Super morning's sport and I was glad I'd saved some lobs as I started out on worm in a spot where I usually catch perch - but never in such numbers. And it can't be a coincidence that the sudden increase in gudgeon numbers - is linked to the number of perch around. 12 gonks is more than I've caught in an entire season - in some recent years (2021-22 for example when I only caught 11 all season!)
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River Kennet - Brimpton 1230 - 1500 Warm and mainly sunny. AT19ºC. River with good flow (for mid autumn) and a tinge of colour. 3 Chub: 3lb 6oz, 2lb 15oz and a 'pounder'. Hooray NO trout! Both my 'banker' chub swims gave up a fish and nothing with an adipose fin - which makes a change - first time this season that I haven't caught a spottie from here - long may it continue!
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River Kennet - Speen Moors 1045 - 1430 Bright and breezy with one light shower (and one cloudburst to finish!). AT 15ºC. River 'full' and with some colour - though not as much as below Newbury. 5 Chub: 2lb 7oz, a couple of 'pounders' and a couple of chublets. 3 Perch; 2@1lb 6oz (definitely different fish) and one of around 10-12oz. A dozen Roach - quite a few chunky ones. 2 Dace, 1 Gudgeon. 1 Trout parr. First visit here this season and the thundery showers kept me to the weir-pools. Had planned to recce up Parliament Draft but blackening skies and rumbles of thunder in the distance had me packing up early and route marching back to the car - failing by around 100 yards to get there before the heavens opened and I was lashed with hail and rain....
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1400 - 1630 Bright with thundery showers. AT 15ºC. River up 10 inches on my last trip (I measured it!) and quite coloured up. 1 Bream; 2lb 4oz. 2 Perch 1¼lb and one around half that. 10 Roach - all handsized. 2 Dace. 2 Gudgeon. With 37mm of rain yesterday (1½inches in old money) making it the 9th wettest day in the last 20 years - locally, I wasn't surprised to see the Kennet close to winter flood levels. Perfect excuse to drop into my favourite flood swim for a couple of hours between the showers. No chub in residence but the Perch and Bream both came in the opening 20 minutes and the roach were a nice size too. Unfortunately there was also a pike occupying the slack which kept attacking my float on the retrieve - but thankfully didn't snaffle any of my roach...
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River Kennet - Hambridge 1600 - 2230 Overcast, breezy and quite cool - clearing to reveal great views of the blue super moon! AT 17ºC - 12ºC. River a little on the low side... 1 Chub: 4lb 13oz. 2 Perch 1lb 9oz & a tiddler. 5 Dace & 3 Roach (all small). 4 Gudgeon. 4 Brownies - all small. Evening session ledgering for barbel preceded by half an hour's trotting to inoculate me from a blank! I needn't have worried however, as the chub fell well into the dark on my ledgered pellet and gave a very good impression of a barbel in the fast current and giving that classic 'three foot twitch' when it picked up the bait. And whilst I love chub I was actually disappointed to pick this out with my head torch as I landed it as up to that point I was convinced I was getting my first decent beard from here in ages!
