NEWS EXCLUSIVE As new record is landed, we reveal the truth behind the River Severn
Recent catches suggest that barbel sport is improving on the Severn, but why have most anglers struggled this season?
“Predation continues to be a big issue, but it’s not entirely to blame”
SCROLL back 20-odd years and the River Severn held the biggest barbel in Britain.
Soon after Howard Maddocks’ 16lb 3oz record fish in 1997, the mighty Midlands river was tipped by many to dominate the record books for decades to come, but the reality has proved far different.
As rivers like the Trent, Wensum and Great Ouse came to the fore, reports of big barbel from the Severn proved increasingly scarce.
Recent catches, however, seem to point to a revival on the popular waterway. Just last week a new unofficial river record of 17lb 4oz was landed, while another angler took a remarkable 36-fish haul on the float.
But are these catches just a flash in the pan, or is the river finally about to retake its seat at the top table of big barbel fishing?
River record
The impressive 17lb 4oz fish fell to Andrew Hadfield, who’d travelled from his home in Cornwall to fish the lower river. The 44-yearold told us he’d not long cast out a double Sonubaits pellet hookbait when it was taken by the huge specimen.
He added: “It was the best fight I’d ever experienced from a barbel. As I shuffled her
into the net I thought it was going to snap!
“A guy in the next peg assisted with the weighing and confirmed that it was a new Severn record, but I’m not fussed about putting in a claim – I fish for pleasure and I’m happy knowing I’ve caught a new personal best.”
Quality and quantity
It’s not just specimen barbel that have kept rods bent on the Severn lately, as big catches of juvenile fish have also been reported.
Robert Mitchell, from Bridgnorth, has fished the river all his life but recently enjoyed his greatest-ever session, landing over 140lb of barbel on the float.
He said: “Armed with nine pints of hemp, 10 tins of meat and my float gear, I ended up catching 36 barbel between 3lb and 6lb. The action was simply amazing as the fish were stacked up in my swim.”
Anyone witnessing Robert’s incredible haul could be forgiven for thinking that the Severn has fished it’s head off this season, but the truth is that many anglers on the river have struggled for action.
Robert believes that this is largely down to people not adapting their approach to suit the conditions that have prevailed for the majority of the past three months.
He said: “It’s been very hit-and-miss this season, and I’ve found that using a moving bait has been the key to catching.
“I’ve talked to lots of anglers up and down the river this year and most seem to have been struggling, but they’ve been sat behind static feeder rods. If they switched to using a float rod or rolling meat through the swim I reckon they’d have found a lot more fish.”
The weed factor
Others believe that the weather has been mainly to blame for the disappointing returns, with the heavy flooding earlier in the year having a major affect. The Severn was hit harder than most rivers, with water levels at Shrewsbury, Bewdley and Ironbridge reaching record highs.
Dr Paul Garner believes these floods have had a part to play in the patchy sport on the river this season, and not just for barbel.
He told us: “Large areas have been devoid of the usual streamer weed, as it was ripped out by the floods leaving whole swathes barren of vegetation. This weed provides cover for fish and also houses food, so its removal may have forced the barbel, chub, roach and dace to leave their usual feeding grounds to find sanctuary elsewhere.”
Predation and spawning issues
Otter predation remains a worry for all fishing clubs on the Severn, and has
undoubtedly taken its toll, but there’s been signs of improvement on certain stretches.
Max Taylor, media officer for Rowley and District AA (RDAA) said: “Barbel with damaged tails or fins were reported by our members at Coalport in recent years, although this season most catches have been healthy with no signs of damage. We’ve also received stocks of dye-marked barbel from the EA over the last few years and even they’re being caught in top condition. Predation continues to be a big issue, for sure, but I don’t think it’s entirely to blame this season,” he said.
Indeed, Max says that many rivers have suffered similar lulls in sport this summer and believes the weather conditions haven’t helped in this respect.
“The Severn barbel sport has been poor, but it’s been the same on the River Wye,” he added. “Of course, we had the floods at the start of the year, but we’ve also had a really hot spring and summer, which has encouraged the barbel to spawn twice.
“Low rivers with sunny conditions never bode well for barbel fishing and when you couple that with the fact barbel have spawned twice, you can see why catches have dropped off.”