Due to the fact I was suffering from jet lag my season started on the 17th of June this year. After the enforced lay off for 3 months I was raring to go. I was due back at work on the 18th so a short evening session was all I had time for. I arrived on the banks of the Warwickshire Avon at 4:30pm to find the stretch surprisingly deserted giving me free range to choose my swim. In all honesty I knew which swim I was heading for, I was just hoping it was free.
I chose to fish 2 rods, 1 down the inside on a semi fixed lead set up, solid PVA bag filled with pellets and crushed boilies and back lead. The 2nd was set up with a free running ground bait/mini pellet feeder fished 2/3 way across the river. Choice of hook bait was Teme Severn boilie on the inside and pellet on the feeder. Plan of attack was to regularly cast the feeder to keep a trail of particles going in and to leave the inside rod till it went (if it did). It wasn’t long before a chub decided to do a good impression of a barbel by trying to drag the pellet rod in. Over the next hour or so a steady stream of chub fell to both rods before it went quiet for a while.
All of a sudden the inside rod burst into life and the bait runner sang, dis engaging the bait runner and I was into what felt like a very good fish but it was fighting in a very unfamiliar way. All was soon clear and new PB common carp of 16lb.01 oz was in the net. Rod was back out and before long it was away again this time things took on a familiar feel and my 1st barbel of the season was on the bank and at 10lbs 2oz my 1st double as well. Things were pretty hectic after this and over the next 2 hours I landed a further 3 barbel weighing 8lbs, 10lbs 4oz and 12lbs 12oz, a 10lb common carp and several more chub to 5lb 8oz.
All in all I finished the session with 13 x chub, 4 barbel and 2 carp. Every fish apart from a few chub came to Teme Severn Spiced Liver and Lamprey Boilies. The bait I used in the PVA bag was Lamprey Mini Mix, salmon elips of varying sizes and some crushed boilies which matched the hook bait.
I chose to fish 2 rods, 1 down the inside on a semi fixed lead set up, solid PVA bag filled with pellets and crushed boilies and back lead. The 2nd was set up with a free running ground bait/mini pellet feeder fished 2/3 way across the river. Choice of hook bait was Teme Severn boilie on the inside and pellet on the feeder. Plan of attack was to regularly cast the feeder to keep a trail of particles going in and to leave the inside rod till it went (if it did). It wasn’t long before a chub decided to do a good impression of a barbel by trying to drag the pellet rod in. Over the next hour or so a steady stream of chub fell to both rods before it went quiet for a while.
All of a sudden the inside rod burst into life and the bait runner sang, dis engaging the bait runner and I was into what felt like a very good fish but it was fighting in a very unfamiliar way. All was soon clear and new PB common carp of 16lb.01 oz was in the net. Rod was back out and before long it was away again this time things took on a familiar feel and my 1st barbel of the season was on the bank and at 10lbs 2oz my 1st double as well. Things were pretty hectic after this and over the next 2 hours I landed a further 3 barbel weighing 8lbs, 10lbs 4oz and 12lbs 12oz, a 10lb common carp and several more chub to 5lb 8oz.
All in all I finished the session with 13 x chub, 4 barbel and 2 carp. Every fish apart from a few chub came to Teme Severn Spiced Liver and Lamprey Boilies. The bait I used in the PVA bag was Lamprey Mini Mix, salmon elips of varying sizes and some crushed boilies which matched the hook bait.
The following week saw me make a trip to the Lower Severn on a private stretch I have been a member on for a year or so. Having had a few reports of it fishing very slowly I wasn’t expecting much. I arrived at 6am and chose a swim with depth of around 6 feet a rod length out, clear bottom on the edge of a crease. I had never fished this particular swim before but know people who have and it does produce. I spent an hour or so bait droppering some hemp and pellets in and then left the swim alone for a good 4 or 5 hours. In the meantime I set my rods up, tied rigs and got myself organised for the night ahead.
Late afternoon came and it was time to cast out, 1st cast and a snottie of about 6lbs was on the bank ‘oh no’ I thought this is the last thing I want. I had visions of me going home covered in slime and stinking, lol. Thankfully this never happened and unfortunately little else did either. I managed a few fish in the early hours of the morning, another bream a small chub and my 1st Severn barbel of the season of about 7lbs. Not a roaring success but not a blank also and considering a lot of people who had fished it blanked I did ok I think.
One week on and I’m back on the Severn again..... For my sins at 6am. It was forecast to be one of the hottest days of the year and they weren’t wrong. I spent some time locating a swim that hadn’t yet been fished, which involved a lot of hard work and bank clearing. Easy when you have the tools but all I had was a pair of ESP braid blades and a small pocket knife! Eventually the peg was clear and I could go about getting a bed of bait down. This took about 4 hours in all and by now the sun was beating down with some force and it was pretty hot. I decided to set up my shelter and retreat under it for a while. I ended up being sat under it for 7 hours! Eventually it cooled enough for me to feel like it was worth fishing. I was fishing 2 rods and both were fished very close in, 1 dropped right off the rod tip 8 inches from the bank. I had chosen to fish boilies again and both rods on the large solid PVA bags. The margins in this swim were about 8 feet deep but a crease hit the bank and went right under my feet so I felt the slightly faster water may hold a few fish. How wrong was I to be? I managed just one bite which resulted in a barbel of about 8lbs being banked. This was at about 10pm and I fished on for a further 12 hours without a single bleep coming from either alarm.
This particular venue was very good to me last season and I had some great catches on there. Unfortunately this season so far hasn’t hit those heights as I have had another overnighter there which resulted in not even a single bite (my Dad did manage to lose a near 20lb common carp at the net though). I never fished the Severn until the autumn last season and I think it will be September before I grace the banks at this particular venue again. I have other rivers to fish which don’t fish well in the colder months so will concentrate on them for the next few months.
Thanks for Reading,
Lewis
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