The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I fancy a day Barbel fishing on the Severn but as it is a fair way to travel I have been waiting for the right conditions to go.

If things go to plan I may have all day Monday free to fish, so my question is will the rain of the last few days (and more forecast for over the weekend) affect the Severn at all, and if so will it be in a positive way?

Wagtail wrote:I fancy a day Barbel fishing on the Severn but as it is a fair way to travel I have been waiting for the right conditions to go.

If things go to plan I may have all day Monday free to fish, so my question is will the rain of the last few days (and more forecast for over the weekend) affect the Severn at all, and if so will it be in a positive way?

weather warning :if I was you I might want to give it a miss on Saturday the forecast is tropical thunder storms and flash floods last place I would want to be is by the river ,if you do go be safe as im sure we all agree the last thing we want to hear about is a missing angler.

You need rain in Central Wales to lift the Severn or the Wye with the Severn reacting a day or so quicker than the other. If the river starts to come up after the weekend it will signify a good feeding spell and you are likely in for a good session. Keep an eye on the river gauges and if the trend is upwards get down there quick.

I can’t speak for the Severn but the Tent always fishes well even with an extra 5ft of water going through it. I would always fish the River when rising after a significantly dry period like we have had it seems to liven the fish and put a edge on their appetite.
I would fish big baits into those big slacks close to the bank. Rolling big cubes of meat about on a simple ledger may work.

All my Severn barbel have been caught on boilies

Last time I was down there one of the guys fishing with me used meat & spent all night hauling out eel after eel.

Northern Eel wrote:All my Severn barbel have been caught on boilies

Last time I was down there one of the guys fishing with me used meat & spent all night hauling out eel after eel.

I'm looking at a not too early start and then fishing 'til dark. The banks where I'm going are really steep in places and I wouldn't want to be there on my own after dark (plus I have to work the next day too).

Thanks for the advice Gents.

Staying semi-mobile using meat with added garlic was going to be my first choice. The one time I went there previously I spent hours building a swim that the bailiff advised me to try, using feeder/pellets, all without a bite. Two locals came by with less than an hour to go before darkness and told me I was on the worst swim in the stretch

On their kind advice I moved swims and got my only barbel on a biggish bit of meat just as the light faded

What boilies would you advise as a back-up bait, or should I get some enormous pellets?

I always fish the Larford lakes stretch, it's virtually unfished at the Astley Burf end near the pub, steep overgrown sides, (so I always take a spade & create a fishing area)
Fishmeal boilies are what I used rather than the artificial style coloured ones, I wrap the boilie in tuna paste first & feed with boilies & large pellets, I've never failed to catch barbel but they have always been after dark.

Northern Eel wrote:I always fish the Larford lakes stretch, it's virtually unfished at the Astley Burf end near the pub, steep overgrown sides, (so I always take a spade & create a fishing area)
Fishmeal boilies are what I used rather than the artificial style coloured ones, I wrap the boilie in tuna paste first & feed with boilies & large pellets, I've never failed to catch barbel but they have always been after dark.

Thanks, I think where I'm going is a bit upstream of Larford. I can't stay past dark so will just have to take my chances

Had my first barbel a couple of weeks ago whilst chub fishing on a rapidly rising river Dane, to avoid the debris I was fishing slacks in the edge on big chunks of meat no more than a short rod length out, it was a smallish 5lber but great fun on a light Avon rod which brought it in quickly and without a fuss. I agree with Hovis and think that a heavy downpour whilst fishing washes all kinds of goodies into the flow making said fish go on the munch