Autumn round-up....so far!

With autumn upon on us, I set out to get some serious barbel fishing in before the cooler nights were thrust upon on us. It's been a really mild autumn so far and aside from a few frosts here and there temperatures have been unseasonally warm. My hope was that this would coincide with a feeding frenzy and some big fish. But fishing is rarely that simple.

Fishing the Avon on a familiar stretch, I set my stall out for a double. A piece of meat was sent mid-river as light faded. Within 20 mins it was taken and a barbel was on. It felt a good fish, it looked a good fish but it fell 2oz short of a double.

With an influx of rain into the Severn during the third week of September I set off for a stretch not too far from Bridgnorth. The Avon had seen no change to its levels so I felt with the Severn offering more favourable conditions it could be the key to some good sport. It started well. Casting a piece of meat in one of my favoured flood swims a fish was hooked and landed on my first cast. A chunky 8lb 7oz barbel showed plenty of signs it had been on the munch. I sensed a barbel bonanza that afternoon roving to all the swims that have produced in the past. However, the fishing became really tough. The level started to drop, quite quickly in fact and it seemed to curb the resident barbels' appetites. One more fish of average size appeared as light faded but I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with the lack of fish that afternoon.

A few of the better fish of the last few weeks

It's about this time of the year that my interest in the lower Severn increases. It's never easy but if you're lucky enough to land a barbel there's a really good chance it will be a good fish. My first session only produced a blank saving chub. The next did yield a barbel but yet again it fell short of the hallowed 10lb, weighing in at 8lb 14oz. My two most recent evening visits have both resulted in blanks. This is one to come back to as the season progresses.

An autumn pike

In between these two blanks was a short evening session back on my local Avon. A bream and a chub sandwiched another nice barbel but again it fell short at 9lb 6oz. There's been several smaller barbel throughout this period as well as the usual chub that inevitably show up. I also had a few hours with the lure rod which threw up a few fish including a nice pike at last light.

As I write this the weather is getting cooler and the last couple of nights have been chilly. With this in mind I am planning a bit of predator fishing this weekend. The barbel can wait for a bit. There will be better conditions to come.

The Colours of Autumn

Autumn is a fantastic time to be out in the countryside. The colours of autumn show themselves in all their glory and of course, with winter around the corner the fish feed in earnest. There are few better occasions to be on the bank and the recent mild weather has provided anglers with a great opportunity to land some cracking fish.

Perfection in minature

With a week off, there was a real chance of a big barbel. I missed the ideal window of opportunity and ended up on the lower Severn about a week ago. Unfortunately, the level had dropped compared with a few days before and it also coincided with the coolest evening we had seen in an otherwise mild spell. Needless to say, my quest failed and the evening passed without so much as a tap on either rod. With my optimism dented I visited the Warks Avon the following day. I took my nephew out during the afternoon with a spinning rod and we managed a few hits resulting in small pike. As the light faded we changed tactics with one rod baited with boilie and the other with meat. It wasn't long before the boilie rod showed a few signs of feeding fish. Therefore, it was no surprise when a 3lb chub hooked itself and was safely landed. Another, slightly larger chub soon followed. At this point, I swapped the meat so that both rods were baited with boilies. It seemed that this bait was gaining more interest on this occasion. A few twitches on the downstream rod signalled a fish was closing in. The rod wrapped round and a barbel was on. The next few minutes saw me experience a memorable battle as a powerful fish tested my tackle to its full. The fish was landed and a solid looking barbel lay in the folds. It was a deep fish but lacked the length needed to send it over ten pounds. The scales settled at 9lb 3oz. It proved to be the final action as the swim switched off and home beckoned.

A cracking 9lb 3oz autumn barbel

A few hours with my son completed the week. We caught a few silvers on maggots, lost a pike on the worm before my half mackerel deadbait was finally picked up. Another good battle commenced as the mild conditions meant an energetic fish gave its all. I didn't weigh the fish but I reckon it was heading towards double figures.

With the cooler nights and the clocks going back it won't be long before the perch come into focus.

Tales from the lower Severn

Having found a consistent supply of barbel this summer, I was keen to try and up the average size. Therefore, a trip to the lower Severn was the order of the day. I planned to fish two days. With conditions less than perfect I figured that darkness would give me my best chance of sport. I have already managed a couple of evening sessions on the lower Severn this summer packing up around 11.30pm and both have resulted in blanks. Would staying a night improve my chances?

I arrived at the river mid-afternoon and chose a swim that provided comfortable access to the water's edge. I was mindful I could be on the bank in the middle of the night and I didn't want any unwelcome surprises. With base camp set up, I finally started to bait up around 6pm. Out went 4 pints of mixed hemp and pellet around a third of the way out. I also catapulted a few pouches of boilies. It's a big river with a lot of hungry mouths to feed and I am certain the barbel are quite nomadic at times so I needed to give them a reason to stop if they passed.

The first barbel of the trip

By 7.30pm, I had two rods in position. To be honest the evening was quiet like my previous sessions. I had a few runs which I suspect were from chub with one fish dragging me to a snag around midnight. Tackling up is so much fun under a headtorch!!! With action slow I tried to get some sleep but found it difficult. An otter then appeared in my swim, it's piercing eyes staring straight at me as they reflected my torch light. At about 2.15am I had a screaming run which woke me from my slumber. Surely a double figure barbel? Not quite. A chub of about 3lb was the culprit but at least I was off the mark. It was just over an hour later when I was woken up by the alarm screaming as line peeled off the reel. My first barbel was on. Welcome as it was it was not a huge fish at around 6lb. And that was that. I didn't see anymore action for almost three hours. Another screaming run saw me connected to another barbel. It put up a good scrap but again it was not the big fish I had come for. It was a better fish though and was probably edging towards the 8lb mark. It was well built and has obviously been feeding well in recent times. I put the kettle on and took in my surroundings. Dawn is a great time to be out in the English countryside and fishing affords us an excuse to experience what many people ignore as they rush around failing to see what surrounds them. The next hour proved to be quite entertaining too as the fish began to move. I hooked and landed a couple of skimmers, and a beautiful looking roach, or was it a roach hybrid? At around a pound it certainly had lots of roach genes.

An early morning barbel

The mouth isn't quite roach enough for me

The downstream rod began nodding. Not enough to strike at but there was some interest. This intensified briefly prompting me to lift the rod. There was a small fish attached. As I reeled in a roach of around 6oz came into view. It had a gash on its flank and a number of scales were missing. It had obviously been attacked by one of the river's many predators. Unfortunately, on returning it to the water it became apparent that this fish was not going to survive. Therefore, I used it to try and catch the culprit. I cast it out on a trace attached to a single size 2 hook. It was picked up almost immediately but the hook failed to connect. This happened again next cast so I decided to use a set of trebles instead. There was no mistake this time as a fish was hooked. Was it a huge zander? It took line and gave a spirited account of itself. The resultant fish however was a pike. It was probably the same one that had attacked the roach originally. It was a lovely looking fish that again was well built with it taking advantage of the many juvenile fish that inhabit the river at this time of the year. It was carefully returned where it sulked for ten minutes before shooting off to leave a cloud of silt.

A welcome distraction

Most of the second day was spent sleeping and sorting out bits of tackle as the daytime fishing was pretty chronic. As evening approached I carried out the same plan as the previous day. I planned to fish till around midnight and then return to the comforts of my own bed. That evening saw a bream and a chub, both around the 4lb mark landed, but as with my other evening sessions on this river recently the barbel failed to show before midnight. As I packed away, a mouse appeared in my swim to take advantage of the grains of hemp that had been dropped. It was more than happy for me to approach it with my torch where I sat for 5 minutes no more than a foot away watching it go about its business. And that was that. An enjoyable 36 hours or so even if my search for the big barbel this summer continues.  

The rough with the smooth

I ventured to the lower Severn on Saturday evening. I was in no rush to cast a line as most bites have been coming late on. I eventually settled into a swim just as the rain began. For the next few hours it tipped it down. Meanwhile my downstream meat rod and upstream boilie rig lay motionless. I also discovered my umbrella had a leak to compound what was turning into quite a miserable affair. As 11 o'clock approached the upstream rod took off completely out of the blue. A powerful fish took off towards mid-river before the line parted. Gutted was an understatement. I gave it another half hour before a break in the rain saw me escape feeling very deflated.

I had agreed to take my son fishing the next morning . I have to be honest, I wasn't exactly feeling enthusiastic but a promise is a promise. We arrived on the Warks Avon mid-morning with a view to a few hours until lunch. We used a 4m whip and maggots to catch a selection of species including gudgeon, dace, perch, bleak, roach and skimmers. I had also cast a boilie baited rig complete with a PVA bag of offerings mid-river. This bait had sat undisturbed for hours when without warning it jumped into life. A barbel was on. It took me by surprise as daytime barbel have become thin on the ground in these low conditions. Although not a huge fish it offered me some redemption following the previous evening's disappointment. My son also had an enjoyable morning so it was smiles all round.

Around 6lb or so

Perch and chub make up for a barbel drought

It's all been a bit quiet for me in recent weeks. A trip to the lower Severn resulted in a blank. I was quite confident on arrival as there was extra water and some colour but with the river still rising there was barely a tremble of the rod tip.

A few days later I tried the middle Severn. Surely a barbel could be tempted? Well no. The middle also disappointed. In the end I found some opportune perch fishing to provide some drop-shot fun after seeing them harrassing the small fish in the margins.

A final trip saw me on the Avon on Bank Holiday Monday. It seemed like it had been fishing well upon arrival but the sunshine had brought out an army of anglers. This meant I ended up fishing a new area. Again the barbel drought continued but the chub were more than obliging with fish to around 4lb finding their way to the net.

With work back on the agenda, it signals the end of the summer for me and with it my visits to the bank will be less frequent. Hopefully I can finish my break on a high note this weekend.

Bream, Bass and Barbel

What with holidays and other things my fishing has taken a bit of a back seat. I have managed a few outings which have brought about a mixed bag of results.

Bream, bream and more bream

My first session was an overnighter on the lower Severn. Of course, the target was a big barbel. Following setting up camp for the evening, I lost a zander almost immediately. I later managed a bream around 6lb but as darkness approached all attention turned to snaring a big barbel. A few taps and bleeps of the alarm did occur in that first hour of darkness but soon ceased. Then silence. Not a thing all through the night. As dawn approached the bream moved in. In about 90 minutes I probably managed a dozen or so with several knocking on the door of 7lb. The sun rose and with it a very hot day began, which killed sport so I called a premature end to proceedings.

Dusk approaches on the estuary

With a week in Devon planned, I met up with an old friend who lives that way. He's been desperately been trying to get me to join me on a bass sessions so I finally gave in. We met at an estuary as the tide was going out. Donned with chest waders, I gingerly proceeded out to about waist deep. Tactics were soft lures to imitate a sand eel. It was only a short evening session but not much happened for the most part. Adam missed a take when finally I connected with my first bass. It was only a small fish but rewarding all the same. As darkness fell, Adam then connected with a better fish. At just over 2lb it was a nice looking bass. I immediately had a take which failed to connect and shortly we packed up shortly after. It's definitely something I will try again now I have a taste for it.

The third and final session saw me on the Warks Avon for an evening. Barbel were most definitely the target. I'm hoping to catch one every calendar month of the season (weather permitting) and I needed an August fish to keep this going. The river is low and clear so I knew fading light was my only real hope. I baited with hemp and a few pellets and boilies. As dark approached, some larger chub gave their presence away. Eventually, the tip went round. A slow start to the fight made me believe it was a chub I had connected with. It soon changed my mind with some good runs. It's final run tried to take me under the near bank but only succeeded in swimming into the net. I didn't weigh the fish but it was a good 8lb, maybe a 9lb at a push. The fish was returned when soon after I heard something approaching downstream. With my head torch still on following the fish an otter surfaced beneath my feet. To say we were both surprised was an understatement. I'm still not sure who jumped the most as it turned tail rapidly creating a large bow wave. I managed to add a 3lb chub right at the end of the session but that was that.

My August barbel

We desperately need a flush though on the rivers to freshen things up but there are fish to be caught if you choose your species and timings carefully.

Slowly ticking over

A couple of recent trips to the Avon and lower Seven haven't exactly had the fish crawling up the rod. The first session on the Avon saw me bait a bit more heavily than usual. It certainly attracted fish with plenty of rod taps. A small skimmer fell off at the net before a proper bream of around 5lb did make the bank. It had a relatively fresh pike wound across its back. Of course, this had me

wondering what size pike is willing to take on a 5lb bream? One for the autumn perhaps. That was all I could muster as the barbel and chub failed to make an appearance.

Yesterday evening saw me steal a few hours on the Severn. I anticipated fishing could be slow on the barbel front. With that in mind, I packed the predator gear in the hope that some of the many resident zander would provide some sport. A barbel rig was cast out with a boilie hookbait downstream with a dead roach mounted on one treble and cast upstream for the zander.

One thing I have noticed on the two visits to the lower this season is the increase in irresponsible boat owners. The huge vessels come steaming down river well over the speed limit with no comprehension of the danger and damage caused by the wake. It was after one of these idiots had

passed that the dead roach was picked up and a zander was on. A decent fish of about 5lb. It had been hooked deeply but with the correct gear I was able to cut the hooks and the fish went back strongly. I was able to add a smaller zander later on and add an eel which took the spam intended for what turned out to be, yet again, the elusive barbel,

Barbel in the mist

The weekend brought some foggy weather to the Midlands. I had decided that I could fit a quick session in and as it happened it turned out to be less than three hours. The upstream rod was baited with boilie and a PVA bag while the downstream rod saw trusty Spam over a few droppers of hemp and pellet. With both rods in place by 4.30 it wasn't long before darkness fell and the fog began to linger. By 6pm it was so thick that the far bank had vanished. I can't remember a night so dark. I have never been confident of fishing in foggy conditions and with both rods remaining motionless bar a chub stealing the meat, prospects were looking pretty grim. I had rebaited the downstream rod with a large lump of Spam to prevent a repeat but by 6.50 I had decided enough was enough and I'd give it another 15 minutes and go home. Moments later the baitrunner on the downstream rod started to click and pay line. This was no searing run, instead the fish appeared to be oblivious as it casually moved away. Since the bait was large, I allowed it to run a little longer than usual before striking into what was obviously a Barbel. It fought with the characteristics of a decent fish, staying low with several powerful runs as it neared the bank. A solid fish came into view. A huge girth made me think it was 11+ but amazingly, the scales only settled on 10lb 11oz. The huge stomach was a little hollow so the fish has plenty of potential but I have to admit to being surprised on this occasion. With an unlikely capture secured, I then braved the murky conditions in an attempt to locate the car and the route home.

Lower Severn Barbel: Short Session Success

Sunday saw the moon and stars align to finally give me an opportunity to get back to the water's edge. I arrived on a stretch of the lower Severn and made my first cast at about 4.30pm. A boilie was presented with a PVA bag of mixed offerings midriver. My other rod was a float fished dead roach aimed at the sizeable population of Zander.

A nice way to start the session

With the clear water conditions showing no signs of abating it was always going to be a struggle especially in the fine late afternoon sunshine, which at least made for a pleasant evening. Unsurprisingly, the zander were not keen to feed in such weather. But as the sun began to drop, my boilie rod suddenly sprang into life. I was into a barbel. Nothing huge but always welcome. The fish was somewhere approaching 7lb and was safely returned. Another PVA bag was attached and my bait was cast back to the midriver spot. I decided to abandon the zander plan in favour of a second barbel rod. Whilst I realised the fading light would improve my zander chances, I has no desire to be unhooking a toothy predator in darkness. However,

8lb exactly

before I could dismantle the rod another barbel had picked up the boilie bait. This fish was a  much more livelier customer that had my clutch screaming on several occasions. After one more final bid for freedom, I managed to slide the net under a barbel that turned out to be perfectly formed 8lb specimen. With darkness still yet to arrive, I was hopeful of a bumper session. As it turned out, the barbel disappeared as quickly as the light and only a chub of about 3lb and a skimmer bream troubled the scorers thereafter. I was packed away and back in my car just after 8.30 feeling pretty pleased with my efforts after what turned out to be a successful short session.

Lower Seven Barbel and some good news

After managing two double figure barbel in my last two Avon sessions, I was keen to see if I could complete the hat-trick. However, although it would be tempting to return to scene of my recent success I do like a challenge. With that in mind, the enigma that is the lower Severn was my chosen venue.

I arrived just after 6pm with the plan to stay out until midnight or when I got too tired, whichever came first. Tactics were an upstream groundbait feeder with pellet together with the downstream meat rod over some droppered pellet and hemp. About 60 minutes in, the upstream rod started nodding with a 4lb bream banked. With the blank averted, it was a case of plodding on. As 9pm approached, the downstream rod showed some signs of life. By 9pm, it had wrapped around and I was into a barbel. It started slowly but woke up as it came closer to the bank. Was it going to be my third double in a row? Well, it was a decent fish as it lay in the net. I had doubts however that it would be double and so it proved. The scales read 9lb 4oz of pristinely conditioned barbel. Whilst it wasn't the double I had hoped, it was hard to be disappointed at such a great looking fish. I added a bream of between 5-6lb at around 10pm but it then went very quiet so I ended the session twenty minutes earlier than planned.

Not quite the double but a great fish anyway

An enjoyable afternoon

Before my Severn trip, my 3 year old son had asked to go fishing. I explained he couldn't come on this occasion due to it being a late night and promised him a trip another day. He replied stating it had to be 'fishing with maggots'. So the following, we visited the B'ham-Worcs canal with 'the maggots' and a 2m whip to fish the inside. A string of perch, with a smattering of gudgeon and a rudd kept us busy throughout the afternoon. It was a pleasure to share a fishing session with my son. We even lost two better fish, one to a snap so perhaps I need to return with some stouter tackle.

Finally, the reason this blog is a little late being published is because of the eventful weekend. Early Sunday morning saw the arrival of my second child, a little girl. So we are all back at home with the family complete. I'm guessing my big fish sessions may be a little thin on the ground whilst the dust settles but please continue to visit and look at the other posts that I've published since my blog started. Thanks.

It's tough out there

Despite the showers, I spent the afternoon and evening on two rivers. First stop was a visit to the Warks Avon. With all the rain you might have expected a bit of colour and extra water. However, it was still gin clear and had risen all of a few inches. With this in mind my attack consisted of rolling meat in a fast glide. This method normally throws up a fish quickly if it's actually going to work so after 20 uneventful minutes I allowed the bait to settle and got the lure rod out the bag. There were no follows on the lure rod but the line did start peeling off my other setup. A strike hit a fish, well an eel! I then cast a pellet into a likely looking area and waited. Eventually, a chub of about 3lb rewarded my patience. I then chatted to a chap who was carrying out repairs following acts of vandalism by anglers at the weekend: broken trees, loads of litter and the remains of a fire. I wish such people would do us a favour and stay at home.

I then relocated to the lower Severn. I was still hoping I could tempt a barbel. I put a bed of bait down and was willing to sit it out until about 11pm. I had a few chucks of the lure and had a small pike hit but I failed to hook it. Then I settled into my peg. The downstream rod was placed over the bed of bait. Apart from a few taps, it remained unmolested for 5 hours. I used a groundbait feeder upstream and this at least gave me some sport with several bream of about 4lb adding to my Avon fish.

A pretty rare sighting but this is exactly what I saw

It wasn't the result I had dreamed of but it's pretty tough at the moment with low and clear rivers in these parts. Perhaps if I stayed longer into dark then a barbel may have appeared but I was knackered so had to call it quits. I did see a badger at close quarters, which makes a change from only seeing them lying at the roadside. I also had a pair of strange looking birds make their way across the sky on the far bank. They turned out to be Great White Egrets and their sighting represented a first for me. I won't be fishing for around a week so hopefully my absence will see a bit of water in our rivers and some better catches to report.

When being there's enough

I have to be honest, it's probably been the slowest start to a river season that I can remember. My opening three sessions have only seen me snare a chub and an eel while the barbel have been elusive, well at least for me they have.

One of the bream to find its way to the bank

It was time for a change of scenery so I arrived on the banks of lower Severn at around 4.30pm. I settled into my chosen swim and set about putting some feed into the swim via a baitdropper. I then proceeded to fish a swimfeeder over the top with another isolated bait further downstream, my usual tactics on the lower. A strong upstream wind was causing sizeable waves but I could still see the odd fish topping. After 90 minutes my first bite arrived, a skimmer bream of about a pound. By now better fish were topping but identifying the culprits was tough due to the waves. I suspected bream so it was no surprise when a better bream found it's way to the bank. At about 4lb it put a decent bend into the rod. A few more quickly followed and I saw a barbel break surface not too far away when suddenly the wind vanished. The waves dispersed and gave way to a mirror like surface. The early evening sky was clear and already the moon was visible casting its reflection on the slow moving current.

A Window of Opportunity - Chub and Barbel

October half-term is a time I always look forward to. Some of my most memorable catches have occurred at this time and it usually coincides with favourable conditions that often see the rivers carrying some additional water and colour. This year was no different as we experienced something of an Indian Summer with daytime temperatures in excess of 15°C at the end of October. With conditions like this it meant only one thing: Barbel. These days sees me attempt to juggle my urge to fish whilst being a family man. Therefore, shorter sessions when the opportunity arises are the order of the day.

Lower Severn: Getting Better

After last Sunday's session, which produced a lovely Barbel that just fell short of the magical 10lb figure, I was again on the lower Severn looking for more of the same. With the extra rain this week and two days of unseasonably mild weather, I arrived on the bank with high hopes. Conditions were textbook. Temperatures had been as high as 17°C throughout the day and the river itself had risen from last week to just over 12°C. With it carrying some extra water and colour I couldn't have asked for better conditions.

Both baits were in place at 6pm with meat on the downstream rod and a boilie on the upstream one. The only modification I made from my previous sessions was to use a small open end feeder on the downstream rod packed with scalded pellets. The idea was that with conditions seemingly perfect, it would give off an attractive scent trail and draw some fish to my waiting bait.

A nice lower Severn double

As dusk approached both rods showed some signs that fish were present and a Barbel porpoised right in front of me. However, nothing happened until about 8pm when out of the blue the downstream rod twitched before the tip wrapped round violently. Unlike the fish from the previous session, this fish set off on a blistering run. I then managed to draw it upriver and get the fish below the rod tip. It then burst into life again with more surging runs, one of which almost ripped the rod from my grasp such was its power. The fish was in superb condition with the scales showing 10lb 5oz.

Another bite about a hour later saw me connected to another good fish but disaster struck as I suffered a break. It was frustrating since it's such a rare occurrence but I guess fishing in the dark means weaknesses are harder to spot. By now it was pouring down and I started to think about my exit from the fishery. With the banks starting to get waterlogged and the track out undoubtedly following suit, I did the right thing in escaping whist I could at about 10pm. I have no doubts that more fish would have come my way as they were feeding but sometimes you have to be sensible. Conditions are fantastic at the moment after months of low clear water so get out if you can and make the most of it.

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Perseverance pays off

The lower Severn can be something of an enigma. A huge expanse of water that doesn't give up its secrets too easily. I have not had a really good go at Barbel this season for a variety of reasons but with autumn upon us I felt compelled to give the 'lower' every opportunity to reward my enthusiasm. I fished three evening sessions over the space of the week and unsurprisingly it wasn't plain sailing.

Session 1

I arrived last Sunday around 3.30pm to a stale looking river. Like rivers all over the country, the Severn was in desperate need of rain. However, fish still need to eat so as far as I was concerned I had a chance. My plan was to deposit some bait into a swim, then fish for Zander for a while before settling down for a couple of hours into dark. The first part of my plan went well. I fished a standard float set up with a dead roach mounted onto a homemade trace sporting a size 2 barbless hook. After around 20 minutes, the float started to move downstream with purpose before disappearing.  A few turns of the reel and a strike connected me with my quarry. It was only a small Zander of a few pounds but it saved a blank and meant I could target Barbel without worrying about going home empty handed. Unfortunately, the second part of my plan, well, didn't go to plan. There was little activity until around 7.45pm when the rod tip showed a series of indications but none were positive enough to warrant action. Then twenty minutes later all activity ceased. By 8.30pm I had decided to call it quits and return later in the week. 

Session 2

I returned on Friday to be presented with a completely different river. Gone had the stale slow moving Severn to be replaced with a beautifully coloured Severn with a nice flow. It looked very promising and the air temperature was unseasonlly mild. I fished two rods - the downstream rod was a simple running ledger set up baited with meat. The upstream rod was an identical rig except it was baited with a boilie and cast over a modest bed of bait. I had one reservation and I am sure it contributed to what happened, or didn't happen over the next few hours. With the influx of water it was bound to knock the river's temperature. Whilst it would still be in the range that Barbel feed, a sudden drop often knocks your chances, and so it did. Despite a great looking river, the rod tips remained montionless from 6pm until 10pm when I called it a day. I wasn't too despondent though since I was sure the Barbel would find my bait and that once temperatures stabilised they would be catchable and hopefully in the area looking for more. Therefore, I vowed to return 48 hours later. There was one highlight however. A tawny owl, seemingly oblivious to my presence, was on the hunt just above my rods. Had I not been looking I would have had no idea it was there such was the silent movement of its wings. It even returned moments later for another survey of the bankside vegetation. It was a real treat.

Session 3

The Severn still looked very fishy when I arrived at 4.30pm on Sunday. It had crossed my mind to stay at home and watch the England game but instead both rods were cast out as the match kicked off on my radio. My tactics were identical to the previous session. A temperature check showed the river was 10.5°C which was encouraging as I am sure the last few days would have given the fish a chance to acclimatise to any recent drops. Almost immediately there were tell tale signs that fish were present in my swim. In fact I felt it was almost inevitable that a bite would result at any moment. Despite some sharp snatches nothing positive occurred and as dusk arrived the swim had gone dead. I have to admit my confidence had started to wane as dark always offers the best chances but all signs of fish had disappeared. Then, just before 7.30pm and completely out of the blue, the downstream rod was away. The fish felt good. There were no rip roaring runs; instead the fish stubbornly held station. Over the next few minutes I was able to inch it up river before I was finally able to draw it over the waiting net. I was convinced my first lower Severn Barbel of the season was a double as it looked a very stocky fish but the scales showed 9lb 13oz, not that the weight is all that important. More important to me was the fact I had managed to hook and land a Barbel after dedicating three sessions to them. It was a fantastic looking fish that I'm sure will be over 10lb if our paths cross again between now and the season's end. I gave it another hour but with no more bites forthcoming, I left the Severn safe in the knowledge that I'd been right in not staying home to watch England.

The reward for perseverance: 9lb 13oz