A GREAT START TO NEW SEVERN COMPETITION!
My hard work in fast, tea-coloured water is rewarded with third place
AFEW months ago I had an idea for a new competition that I felt would be perfect for the River Severn at Bewdley.
The ‘float only’ matches would be for around 50 anglers on six selected Wednesdays from August to November, taking in the Hawkbatch, Dowles and Winterdyne sections.
I had a meeting with Matt Maginnis, Geoff Maguire and Steve Rowen from the Kidderminster and DAA which controls the fishing there and they thought it was a good idea. From that meeting, the first-ever River Severn Float Championship was born. We weren’t sure how it would go down but the response was magnificent, with all 50 places taken in just a few weeks.
After a summer of low and very clear conditions we received a welcome influx of rain water into the river a couple of days before the first round. This lift didn’t actually hit Bewdley until the night before the first match, so no-one really knew what was going to happen. We were greeted on the morning by a river carrying about a foot of extra water with the dreaded ‘tea colour’ which has often curtailed sport in recent years. Quite why it goes like this I’m not sure, but it can affect the fishing at times.
The format of the league allows anglers to drop their worst result at the end, but you never really want to start off on the first match with a ‘dropper’ if you can help it. When I went into the bag I was reasonably happy when I pulled out peg 73 but I knew it wouldn’t be easy with the extra water on. The swim is short walk from the car park and has produced a few decent weights this season but some dry nets as well.
MOTORING THROUGH
When I got the river, I wasn’t surprised to find it motoring through. Now, I like fishing fast water with float gear but this was going to be a real challenge. The colour wasn’t great but I’d checked on the EA river level gauge and the levels upstream at Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth had levelled out, so the river where we were should be dropping after an hour or two.
I set up three rods. Two were Daiwa Tournament RS 13F models with 5lb (0.18mm) Pro Float mainlines and 0.14 Pro Rig hooklengths, the other was an RS 13PF with 6lb (0.20mm) Pro Float mainline and 0.18mm Pro Rig hooklength. Hooks were prototype patterns I’m currently trying out in sizes from 16 to 12.
Rig one was a DH 5AAA No2 Speci Waggler with three No6 shot down the line. Rig two was a DH 5SSG No3 Speci Waggler with three No4 shot down and the third rod was just left with line through the rings but no rig. I wasn’t sure if I’d need it or what rig I’d want if I did. More of that later.
The two swims above me were a little deeper than mine so there was a chance that David Roberts and Mick Wilkes would catch dace as well as the hoped-for chub and barbel. Mine was about 2ft deep close in so I decided to fish down the middle for big fish.
My priority was to catch a decent chub or barbel. That might sound obvious, but it’s so important in situations like this as you’re never quite sure whether the fish can see the bait or not. Once you’ve got the first one out of the way you can be pretty sure that more will follow. Your confidence will be high and you’ll fish better.
My first bite came after 15 minutes on three maggots on the big waggler rig and soon a 2lb chub was in the net. Two casts later I had a small barbel.
CUT-DOWN BOLO
At this point I was confident of a good weight. It wasn’t straightforward, though, and I had to keep changing things to keep fish coming.
By mid-match I thought I was doing okay in terms of a possible top 10 place but I felt I needed a couple of better fish to get me there. This is where the 13PF rod and 6lb (0.20mm) line came in!
I set up a cut-down 4g No3 Bolo float, shotted with an olivette and no dropper, just a size 12 strong prototype hook and four maggots. The wind was upstream, so I was
“A big barbel led me a merry dance and snagged me twice before I could get it free”
able to control this mid-river, but no-one was more surprised than I when it shot under a few yards down the swim on the first cast!
I was now attached to a big barbel, which led me a merry dance and snagged me twice.
I was very relieved to get that one in the net, and a few casts later I caught another slightly smaller one. Now I hoped to put a really big weight together, but sadly, it wasn’t to be and all I could add were a few small chub.
My 21-12-0 was good enough for third in the match, which I would gladly have taken before the start. Second place went to Tony Moreton at peg 14 with 23-12-0 of barbel on stick float and maggot, and top spot went to my good friend Brian Rigby with 33-3-0 from unfancied peg 33.
Brian started the match catching 150 bleak while feeding a close-in line with casters and hemp, and when he switched to this line and a 4g Avon rig he never looked back as shoal of barbel took a liking to his hair-rigged meat hookbait.
In total there were 21 doublefigure weights and many of these were made up with silver fish.