He is also a very keen angler, having come back to the sport in 1995 following a break of several years. In this regular column he will tell us about his progress as an angler – his thoughts about the sport, what he learns, the fishing trips he makes, the anguish, the humour, in fact everything he experiences as his angling career develops. | |||||||||||||||||||||
OFF THE MARK ON THE LOWER SEVERN At last! After a gestation period of three long months, it was once again time to indulge myself once more with my first love – river fishing. This season I have joined a syndicate on the lower Severn below Worcester, and that’s where I headed for on opening day.
Syndicates Although syndicates are accepted within the carp world without so much as a batting of the proverbial eyelid, in the world of the barbel angler things are very different. The events surrounding Adam’s Mill and Kickle’s Farm have certainly caused a storm or two amongst the barbel fishing fraternity. So, let me point out at this stage that the syndicate I have joined is not a ‘cloak and dagger’ affair. In fact, there is nothing sinister whatsoever about it. In reality, although it’s called a ‘night syndicate’ it’s nothing more than a group of anglers within an existing club who want to fish into or through the night. If the truth is known it’s nothing more than the club being able to raise a few more pounds by having an extra subscription! I just wanted to get that out of the way, as I’ll be referring to the syndicate a lot over the next 9 months. I don’t mind being hung, drawn and quartered for something that I have done and I believe in. But I don’t want to be lynched, albeit verbally, over some misunderstanding! Heading southbound on the M5, I was like a kid on Christmas Eve. Well, to be honest, I had been like it for a couple of weeks! And now I was actually about to open the present for real! I found the stretch easily enough, and after having parked up, I walked across the meadow to the river with a pounding heart. Nothing to do with stress, tension or struggling with my gear in the hot summer’s afternoon. No, the increase in my heartbeat was nothing less than the fact I was about to fish a river again. I think that only a like-minded river angler can appreciate the way I felt at that precise moment in time. The foundation of my campaign
It’s true to say that the Severn can be a slow starter and although I didn’t catch anything on my first visit, it was just good to fish running water again after the three month lay-off. In addition, the lower Severn is extremely temperamental. Fish it over a season and no doubt there will be some good fish that will put in an appearance along the way. But there will also be lots of blanks as well. It’s not for the faint hearted, or for the angler that likes a fish every cast! Keep it cool A few days later and I’m back on the lower Severn again and it was another very hot day. It’s imperative to keep bait fresh when fishing during the summer; as I’ve walked along riverbanks I’ve passed many an angler who has an open tin of luncheon meat at their side. After a couple of hours in the scorching sun the meat goes a deep purple colour and is not at its peak.
And now for the waiting game After baiting up it was time to cast out and begin that familiar aspect of lower Severn barbel fishing – the waiting game. It wasn’t long before the left-hand rod indicated a fish had taken the bait. Striking, I could tell that a chub had taken a fancy to my boilie. It was a small fish of no more than a pound, but at least I wasn’t a blanker on this trip.
Into darkness for the first barbel This session was actually on the longest day of the year and so it was well after 10.00 p.m. before it got dark. I fished on and just as I was wondering whether I would get a fish, due to the river appearing dead and not having any sign of life within it, suddenly and without any warning, the baitrunner on the left hand rod screeched into life. This was no chub! Striking into the fish it felt like a good one. The words I would use to describe the fight of a big barbel of the lower Severn are ‘slow’ and ‘deep’. They don’t race off like an express train (apart from the initial moment that they realise they’ve been hooked) once they’re engaged in the fight they use the depth of water to keep as much distance between them and the angler as possible. Usually the first time you see a lower Severn barbel is when you slip the net under it.
Lower Severn barbel results table Lower Severn Sessions: 2
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Well, it’s all about getting off the mark at the moment. Next Thursday I’ll tell you how the second of my current focus venues is fishing. Join me next Thursday when I tell you how I got my ‘Shropshire tench campaign off the mark’. See you then, and in the meantime, tight lines! The Reverend Stewart R Bloor Pilgrim’s Progress – read it every Thursday! |
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