Caravan on the Severn-Upper Severn

The Upper Severn

The Upper Severn at Clywedog

A 9-1 Barbel from the Upper River

The Upper Severn is still a wild area, with miles of un-pressured fishing available. Chub and Barbel are found right up to above Welshpool, with Chub going to well over 6lb and Barbel into double figures.

There is some very good Grayling fishing as well as Trout and Salmon. Roach and Dace start to show in numbers around Shrewsbury.

Access can be difficult but clubs like Prince Albert and Birmingham Anglers control plenty of fishing in that region.

A Brace of a 9-8 Barbel and 5-10 Chub

The fishing isn't difficult on the Upper Severn, Barbel and Chub will willingly take large baits after dark and during flooded conditions.

During low clear conditions small baits like Pellet/ Maggot/ Caster/ and Corn work well.

The biggest problem is that there can be large areas of river with very few fish, but then a feature like a fallen tree or deeper area can hold large numbers of Barbel and Chub.

A 5-2 Chub

Stalking fish in the low clear conditions of Summer can be fantastic fun. One of my favorite methods is freelining. Freelining involves using either a weighted hook or no weight at all. Again meet is the ideal bait as its quite dense and is easy to spot as its trundling along the bottom. Freelining is best achieved by wearing waders on from within the water. Cast up stream and allow a bow to form in the line, then “trot” the bait bact towards to keeping in touch with the bait by winding the slack line back onto the reel.

WARNING, WADING CAN BE DANGEROUS!

We have also used the “bait and wait” approach to great effect on the Upper Severn. I suspect this is due to it been a slightly less populated area, so the fish need longer to find the feed.

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