kennet-and-avon-canal

May 2026 final part- the return to normality!

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So the return from the China excursion sees me catching up with the mundane aspects of life before heading off a week later to the Kennet and Avon at Semington in preparation for the return visit of Clive, aka Sidestream Bob. Main duty was to cut out two comfortable pegs but I managed to fish 10:05 to 14:05 trying a few different things. I was feeding 4mm meat and had not taken any worms or pellet, just maggots and the meat. Tackle was identical to previous visit with a 1g Paster on 0.12mm to 0.10mm and a 16. Two balls of groundbait introduced at 2+2 length and a few cubes of meat loose fed (later started to loose feed maggots) only topping up after any boat went through. Bites were fairly consistent with me ending up with 31 skimmers (best 2-04), 4 perch, 16 roach, 6 gudgeon and two rudd. An hour on the meat produced the best roach of the session at 5oz and a solitary skimmer.

So Monday arrives and Clive texts to say the traffic is bad and he is still 15 minutes away so for me to go ahead and he would join me when he could. I set up in Clive’s swim from the last visit leaving my previous swim for him. I had just finished setting up when Clive arrived, greetings completed I said I would watch for the first hour then start fishing. Clive admitted to being a bit rusty but was soon getting bites over the worm and caster laced groundbait and by the time I started he had got into a more comfortable rhythm. However, the canal was in one of it’s moody days and it was hard work compared to previous visits, nonetheless Clive managed to winkle out a respectable net of 3-14 including a net perch while I could only get 3-04 before two boats killed my action. I ended up with 20 skimmers, 8 roach, 1 rudd, 5 perch, 1 ruffe and 2 gudgeon.

Wednesday sees me go to High Penn for a brief session of 2hours. I had taken the seat-bag and a waggler with just maggots as bait and some left over casters. I settled in to the first swim on the North bank accessing via a fairly steep slope that in wet conditions would be problematic! The fishing was easy although the bank did not suit the seat-bag and despite making a makeshift stone platform it was very uncomfortable. The stamp of fish was generally good and the 21 roach, 31 perch and 2 rudd I estimated at 8-03 given I was doing a weight count in ounces (131oz) along side my fish tally.

Sunday sees me return for a couple of hours in the morning before it got too hot. This time I opted for the first peg on the West bank but took a seat box and pole for a change. Fishing at 10 m with the bulk set at 3 feet from the hook with three droppers below I fished and fed just maggot, no groundbait. The weather was having an effect as the bites were slower in coming but I still managed 18 perch, 7 roach and 5 rudd for approx 4lb.

That ended up being the last session of the month as the high temperatures were not conducive to me going out and fishing! June sees a trip to Meadowlands for a Maggot Drowners match and before then I have booked in to a match at Viaduct for a change of scenery and approach!

April 2026 – Only one

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After the debacle of Boddington I managed a short session on the canal at the Magpies on the last day of March. I ended up taking the pole and the Bowood box as I was intending to fish chopped worm. On arrival the short term moorings were almost empty but the rest of the pound was being used although I did manage to get a spot about 25m past the bench where there was a 20m gap between boats. I set up with a 6-8 hollow elastic (Chinese approx 1.6mm) and opted for a 1g Paster float on a 0.12mm mainline to a 0.10mm hook length holding an 18. Two balls of groundbait with chopped worm were cupped in and I started on double maggot which resulted in 4 small roach. A swap to worm for the rest of the two hour session sees me pick up 15 skimmers, 8 roach, 2 perch and a rudd for a 3-03 total. Several bites missed with them just hanging on to the end of the worm and one good fish pulled out of within 3 seconds, probably a better perch.

I returned a week later this time just with the whip and stool for a very short session (10:05 to 11:40), fishing 50m past the wooded steps with my usual 5.4m whip set up. This time I did not take any worm, instead concentrating on white maggot over an initial two balls of groundbait. The session started with a run of roach then the skimmers moved in, ending up with 11 roach, 11 skimmers and 4 rudd for a 2-02 total.

Moving on 6 days I decided to go to Rowde for a change, if I could park, as the lay-by is often full, with a back up plan of continuing on to the Magpies if needed. As it turned out there was plenty of room and even more surprising was there was nobody fishing on the left of the bridge at the foot of the Caen Locks. This was a new section for me so armed with the whips and stool I decided to give it a go.

Looking towards the flight of locks
My peg!

Plumbing up I found I had a lot more depth than the Magpies – about 4 to 4.5 ft. Fishing the same rig as before I started with two balls of groundbait with chopped worm then I had a quick roach or two on maggot before losing 5 on the bounce. This led me to go up to a 16 as I think the fact I was sitting quite high of the water was having an effect. I began alternating between worm and double white maggot and was getting plenty of bites but missing a lot more than usual. I lost a couple of skimmers at the net as I had only got the short travel handle that lives with the whips and It was only just reaching the water. I hooked into a much larger fish that felt like a proper slab of a bream only for it to pull out when almost at netting distance – the bream and skimmers do seem to have softer mouths. Anyway I fished from 10:10 to 12:05 and ended up with 6 roach, 21 skimmers and 2 perch for a 3-10 total.

Only one post this month as I leave for China on the 29th and return on 6th May, so will do a longer piece then!

February 2026 Part 1 -How many magpies?

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Tuesday 3rd February I set off at 9:53 in the rain for the Three Magpie stretch of the Kennet and Avon Canal and got out of the car at 10:06. I am so lucky to have a number of decent venues within short distances of home! Anyway I gathered my tackle, haversack seat on my back, bait bucket, whip mag, landing net, handle unhooking mat and pike rod and set off up the canal towards the swing bridge but stopped about 40m past where the concrete moorings stop and half way between two moored boats, giving them a good 30-40m space each. Pike rod was set up with my usual float and two single hook wire trace with a sardine and was lobbed out towards 3/4s across. Set up the 5m whip with a 1g Chinese float with a 18 hook and double maggot. I chopped up some worm in a bait box and added a handful of groundbait then mixed it up with just a dash of water. Two squash ball sized helpings were introduced along with a half dozen maggots. Started to get bites immediately with a couple of roach coming to hand before the pike float bobs and disappears, a strike, an initial heavy weight then nothing – it had left go leaving me cursing!

Back out and within five minutes another run, this time it was connected with properly and soon a pike of 9-06 was on the unhooking mat.

The session carried on in a similar vein as by the time I was driving away at 12:18 I had added pike of 3-00, 8-12 and 8-04 with 6 roach, 4 perch and a skimmer for about 2lb.

As you can see from the pictures, I needed to make some repairs to the net!

Friday 6th, day before Gareth and family arrive, sees me back at the Three Magpies but this time a lot further up as the boats had moored in the previous spot. Fished 10:40 to 1pm when heavy rain descended. No runs on the pike rod and fishing the whip in the same way but with a different Chinese float (with a bulbous tip shotted down) accounted for 22 roach, 2 skimmers, 2ruffe, a gudgeon and10 perch, the best being 1-10,1-04 and 1-02.

Sunday afternoon Three Magpies near the swing bridge end as the boats were multiplying! Gareth and I fished but the weather was wet and cold, during our time we had three deer in the field opposite watching up from the relative shelter of a hedgerow! Gareth fished a 4.5 m whip and I stayed on the 5m but it was hard with Gareth ending up with about a pound and a half while I managed about 3lb, boosted by skimmers of 1-04 and 12oz to go with 3 roach, a micro-perch and6 smaller skimmers.

Gareth et al fly off to Finland on the Tuesday and will return the following Tuesday so Friday 13th (good job I’m not superstitious!) I am back at the Magpies fishing 5m from the bench started at 9:40 and packed up at 11:40.Fished the same way and ended up with 18 roach, a ruffe, 9 skimmers including 4 net ones and two micro perch for about4lb plus a pike of exactly 6lb. Should really have been two pike but just as I started to get the initial bobs as a precursor to a run I had to wind in as the Canal and River Trust barge came down just at the wrong time! At which point I packed up.

As you can see the net repairs were not great! Meanwhile in Finland Gareth and Zachary where ice fishing to no avail!

Chew valley coming up soon!