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.  

Back amongst the barbel

The Avon, like most rivers, is crystal clear and pretty low resulting in few catch reports. That said, it is summer and fish have to feed so timing and location are critical. It was these components that came together in order for me to enjoy some summer barbel sport. Commitments mean I'm not hitting the banks until around 7.30pm and three hours is normally enough. I started by bait dropping some hemp and pellet and fished two rods as usual. I did bait the upstream rod with pellet for a change but stuck to boilies on the downstream rod. Not much happened for the first hour or so. A few inevitable chub pulls drew my attention away from the family of swans and a busy kingfisher making regular trips up and down the river. So it was almost out of the blue when the downstream rod arched round in

The first fish of the session

satisfying fashion. The following few minutes saw an entertaining battle before a barbel of around 7lb was in the net. Whilst big barbel are superb specimens, the fight from an average fish takes some beating. The rod went back out and I fed a few boilies every now and again to keep fish foraging. Half hour later and another savage bite saw a better fish connected. This barbel came to the bank in pretty straightforward fashion but was undoubtedly bigger. The scales proved this with what turned out to be the best barbel of the season so far at 9lb 1oz. It was pretty hollow too so it should make a double once it returns to peak, post-spawning condition. The next half hour saw a 3lb chub banked as well as another barbel of several pounds and a skimmer. By 10 o'clock the swim died.

9lb 1oz

However, big splashes 50 yards or so upstream could be heard. This has happened on a few sessions so I'm guessing the fish have moved through my swim giving me the flurry of action before continuing on their way. The next time this happens I intend to follow them to see if I can pick up a bonus fish or two.

Finally, a couple of things I feel have worked for me. The first is back leading. I have seen first hand the effects of line on feeding fish and how they shy away from the area where the line rises from the lead. To combat this I have been using 3ft hooklinks with a piece of plasticine 3ft above the lead to give me about 6ft of line on the bottom. I also keep my rod low and fish a slackish line to keep everything low to the river bed. I am starting to believe this prevents fish from spooking easily and is resulting in fish being caught before it gets dark. The other is feeding. I am not fishing over large beds of bait. I've been putting half dozen droppers out but actually think I might omit this in favour of PVA bags and a few hand fed boilies. I'm not too worried about tight feeding as I think getting fish to forage and search works in my benefit. We'll see how this pans out over the next few weeks.

Chub, chub and more chub

A typical sized chub.

Following my last post where the barbel put in an appearance I have managed two short evening sessions. The first was a little frustrating. It ended with two chub of around 3lb but was tainted by the loss of two barbel and another chub. The only positive I could take was that the barbel were still around and willing to feed.

A few days later, I was back out again from 8pm until 10.30pm. No sign of barbel this time but a string of chub at regular intervals kept things ticking over. Again, most were around the 3lb mark and I ended the evening with a total of six.

Barbel: Planned to perfection

If you have been following my blog then you'll know that my last offering [here] discussed the possibility of catching barbel on the Warks Avon from venues that had little form. With several venues attracting the majority of anglers I have grown tired of the crowds especially when all this pressure undoubtedly affects the fishing prospects. So with a new venue chosen I set off on the evening of the 16th June full of optimism. In my mind's eye I had imagery of picking up barbel in my carefully chosen pegs. My first cast saw some viscous chub pulls but none materialised into a fish. I stayed mobile but by 11pm a number of chub pulls was all I could muster. Nothing like crashing back to earth with a bump. Another visit a few days later saw slightly better results. I didn't blank courtesy of a 3lb chub but fishing new swims still failed to find the barbel.

Finally beaten 

I must admit it, my confidence did wane for moment. But this wasn't meant to be easy. After all, I was fishing a stretch that no one else targets for barbel. On Thursday evening, I drove near to a popular BAA stretch. With over a dozen cars crammed into the car park, it was a timely reminder of why I had decided to seek pastures new.

By 8pm I was ready to make my first cast on the newly discovered stretch of the Avon. With the swims I'd fished to date failing to produce I had decided to continue searching by fishing a new area on the stretch. I used a bait dropper to deposit a mix of pellets and hemp upstream of my position and decided two rods would be the plan of action. One upstream over the bait with another 20 yards or so downstream. Both were baited with boilie. Within ten minutes the downstream rod wrapped around and contact with a barbel was made. A fish of just under 7lb lay in the folds of the net. A sense of relief flooded through me. Barbel were here and I had finally found them. Next cast brought a 3lb chub to the net. Over the course of the next two hours a further three barbel found their way to the bank. All in the 6-7lb range although I did lose a slightly larger one as it approached the net. All gave great battles in the low, clear water but they were feeding without inhibition. Had I caught them on a good day or was the lack of previous pressure pivotal? I assume I will find out during the course of the next few months.

With four barbel caught in less than three hours I felt it vindicated my plan and opinions. Not only had I caught barbel, I had seemingly found them in reasonable numbers on a stretch that no one else seems to bother with. So next time you arrive at a venue with a packed car park try somewhere new as you might find the river has a few untapped gems.

First barbel, first double.

After my opening day chub catch, I was keen to get a barbel on the bank. Saturday saw me tackle a rapidly receding, albeit moody lower Severn. Several hours of nothing proved it to be a bad call as far as the fishing was concerned.

That was meant to be it until the the middle of the week. However, a family walk along the Warks Avon on Sunday changed all that. On seeing the river I couldn't help but feel it was worth a go. Although only a few inches above normal, it had a good colour and looked very promising. I made my first cast at about 7.15 that evening. By now it had started to rain. I had two rods with me baited with boilie and meat on the upstream and downstream respectively. I had used a dropper to deposit some bait on the upstream spot with a much smaller quantity downstream. I'm convinced Avon barbel spook when presented with beds of bait so I like to put a bed upstream to pull fish in but make sure a bait is presented further away to pick up wary fish. It has worked a lot in the last 18 months or so to convince me there's something in it.

I was feeling very confident and a few early taps helped keep optimism high. But as the time passed by I was unable to get a bite worth striking at. I kept bait going in via the dropper on hourly intervals as well as PVA bags and tried to keep the faith as I was certain the swim was holding fish. I decided

Not the barbel I had hoped for

to swap the boilie for two halibut pellets. No sooner had it hit the deck when the upstream rod starting bouncing and a fish was hooked. However, there were no screaming runs as a bream of 4lb+ appeared from the gloomy depths. In all this time the meat rod had been motionless. Not even a tremor, tap or twitch. As 10pm approached, time was quickly running out. Then out of the blue, a rod wrenching bite on the meat had the rod leaping from the rests. There was no mistake what the culprit was as my first barbel of the season was on. Staying deep, it made several powerful runs. A few glimpses showed a good fish. On seeing it in the net it looked even better. It was a perfect specimen and a long fish too. The scales revealed 10lb 6oz. Not only had I landed my first barbel of the season, it was a double too. With about 20 minutes of the session left, I recast in hope more than expectation but with the persistent rain came a very gloomy evening so I departed very muddy but more than satisfied with my efforts.

A great double to kick the 2016 season off

We're up and running

After weeks of dry weather, the river season started with many of the country's rivers in flood. I had always targeted a few hours on the Warks Avon and luckily it doesn't react as quickly as the Severn does to extra water. So when I arrived at about 7pm on the opening day it was only carrying about 18" more than usual.

The first fish of the 2016 season

I put a few droppers of hemp and pellet on the crease of my chosen area, which was just over a rod length out. Predictably, a big chunk of Spam was cast into the murky water. There were a few chub raps early on but nothing materialised. After a while, I decided to get the second rod out. This was baited with a boilie and positioned upstream with a stringer to provide a few loose offerings. It wasn't long before the rod started nodding away and the first fish of the season was on. It was obviously a chub and a decent one too that was determined to make for the nearside cover. It was soon netted and a fish approaching 4lb was revealed. In the next 15 minutes, another two made their way to the bank. The second was smaller at around 2lb with the next fish similar to my first.

Another chunky chub

With the river continuing to rise throughout the evening, the heavens opened again and another heavy downpour began. I had hoped an opening day barbel might have graced me with its presence but it wasn't to be. Even the chub disappeared so as 10pm came and went I packed up reasonably pleased with my efforts.

Tales of the Unexpected

If you're clicking this hoping to read Roald Dahl's collection of short stories then you'll be sadly disappointed. However, 'Tales of the Unexpected' was an apt way to describe my latest session on the Warwickshire Avon. The river has given me many surprises over the years. Indeed, I have caught over 12 different species from the river so it has always kept me captivated. My latest session took me to my favourite Avon venue. It's one I don't visit as often as I once did since I have other venues closer to home but following such a slow start to the river season I felt familiarity was the way forward.

The first small barbel

My number one swim was occupied so I settled a little further downstream where the river's increased pace was still evident. I decided to start by rolling some meat, a favourite method in
difficult summer conditions. It's a method that can result in a fish when all else fails. After ten minutes, there was a subtle tap on the line and a swift strike was met with a fish. I expected a chub to surface but the first surprise of the day resulted in a juvenile barbel. These are rare, in fact fish under a pound are caught less often than double figure specimens. It was, of course, in perfect condition.

After this, I then reverted to regular straight ledger tactics with PVA pags and pellet hookbaits. The tip soon went round and I was connected to what I believed to be another chub. Again, I was wrong.

Variety in the shape of a tench

This time the golden flanks belonged to a tench of about 3lbs. What was more surprising was the speed of the flow it had been happy to feed in given they prefer sluggish water and ponds. A gudgeon managed to hook itself before another young barbel put in a spirited appearance. This fish probably approached a pound and with it I had caught my two smallest barbel in almost 30 years of fishing in space of 90 minutes.

It was beginning to become a thoroughly enjoyable session so it was inevitable that some bad luck would be sent my way to balance proceedings. The rod tip once again rapped around savagely and I was connected to

The future

something much more substantial. Undoubtedly a barbel, it moved upstream before surging across river towards the far bank. This is when disaster struck and the hooked pinged free. It was a disappointment as experience tells me you rarely get a second chance on the Avon. A chub of about 3lb did follow before another of similar proportions managed to escape my clutches by finding sanctuary in some near bank reeds. As sunset came and went, the chub raps continued but unfortunately another barbel could not be persuaded to return.

Although the fish I caught were not of specimen proportions, they certainly showed off the variety of species the river holds. More importantly, it proved the future of the river is looking rosy and those small barbel of today could be tomorrow's front page news. As always, thank you for reading and please add your comments or visit my Facebook page.

Summer Barbel - A plan comes together

It was the last day of July and I had yet to bank a barbel. It's been a really bitty start to the season for me so far and I was keen to make up for lost time. I decided that the middle Severn was as good a location as any so off I went to a familiar stretch that I used to visit regularly. The hour drive means I now only make a couple of trips a season but there's few places better in the UK to find a barbel or two.

With the recent weather leaving most rivers running low and clear, my first decision was to pick a swim. Would they be in the more oxygenated, streamier stretches or seeking sanctuary in the deeper, darker glides? I opted for the latter and picked a swim that has thrown up fish in the past and offered about 8ft of water. I used a baitdropper to deposit a couple of pints of hemp with some pellets just shy of half way and then feeder fished over the top with a pellet hookbait. Two hours later and I had nothing to report. The time was almost 7pm and I had to make a decision. Do I stick or twist? I went for a walk upstream and found what I believed would offer me an improved chance of a barbel. The water here was moving faster as a result of some rapids about 100m upstream. However, it still offered some depth although there were some risky looking rocks on the nearside. My mind was made up so I returned, gathered my belongings and made my way to the new spot ready to see what the last couple of hours had in store.

The sunlight fades on the middle Severn

Because I was sure barbel would be resident somewhere in the vicinity, I decided to build the swim up with the feeder ensuring I recast every 5 minutes or so. I also set up my second rod, baited with one of my new boilies and cast this upstream with a PVA bag. About half hour later and the upstream rod nodded before dropping back. I reeled in frantically to catch up with the fish which kited downstream rapidly.

First barbel of the season

With the rocks nearby I had to ensure I maintained steady pressure on the fish. After a spirited battle, a barbel of a few pounds was netted to get my barbel tally up and running. Soon after, the same rod saw another fish moving downstream sending the tip bouncing. This fish was larger and made some exhilarating runs in the shallow water near the bankside. This barbel was a typical middle Severn fish of around 6lb. Meanwhile, I had been continuing to recast the feeder setup but the pellet bait had not resulted in anything other than the odd tap. With both fish coming to boilie, I decided to switch baits. It paid off as the rod banged round and another Severn barbel was on it's way to the net. I did hook another fish on the upstream rod but unfortunately the hook pulled. This was the last of the action as light turned to dusk and then to dark.

A better stamp of fish

I had set out intending to catch barbel so to manage three (almost four) was a real result. It was made even more satisfying by making the decision to move. It can be all too easy to stick in the same spot, especially when you have invested a lot of bait, but I am certain that on this occasion the move paid off. It's great when a plan comes together.