We arrived at Severn Stoke at about 09:30, the weather was good if not a little cold. Perfect conditions we thought as we walked the bank. The river was moving along very slowly and the sun was starting to burn through the cloud. There were three other anglers already set up half way along the stretch who were fishing for pike. They hadn't had any success so far but it was still early. We walked further along the bank watching for signs of fish when a huge grey heron swoop down from the trees opposite and took out what looked like a large chub. We hoped for similar success! A little further on we came across another angler, just as he was netting a beautiful 8lb barbel. He had already caught two bream at just over 9lb each and a small trout which took his maggots. We were very excited after witnessing his catches and we scurried back to the car to get our kit. We plumped for two adjacent swims not far from the car park and set the rods up. The swims are very comfortable and anglers have to sit on huge boulders that have been placed along the stretch to prevent bank erosion. I decided to go for the barbel and used some halibut pellets banded to a size 10 hook. My friend opted for the maggot feeder approach. After a couple of hours, I was finding it hard to concentrate on the quiver tip as the sun was so low in the sky. I didn't want to nod off only to have my rod pulled in by a barbel.
The sun moved around slowly and I adjusted my rod so that the tip was easier to see. I changed over to red maggots for the last few hours and although we didn't get any barbel, we caught some lovely chub, trout and the biggest dace I have ever seen. Role on June 16th, I am itching to get back out!
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