Big Barbel fishing on the river Severn. How can I catch that double ?! tips needed.

[smiffy]

Try the severn when the river is almost to the top of the bank.
Fish close in with a big smelly bait such as donkey choker size halibut pellets, pva bag of smaller pellets and strong carp style tackle.
Be very sure about your personal safety though, the river is very dangerous in this condition.

[barbelblanker]

Don't look at me.......

[BoldBear]

Some excellent advice has been given already by others, I especially liked the advice given by DroppenFish and smiffy which I fully agree with.

For the bigger Barbel I would tend to forget the usual feeder approach that most use on these rivers and would go for PVA stockings packed with small 3 to 5mm pellets (Halibut, Crab or Lamprey flavoured) with larger Halibut Pelllets hair-rigged on the hook with soft Halibut paste wrapped round the hookbait; this will send a nice flavour trail downstream as it slowly disolves in the current, hopefully attracting fish upstream towards your hookbait.
And like Droppenfish said location is the key, look out for any change in depth no matter how small and fish nearer the edge over gravel or fine shingle rather than mud and silt and away from noisey gravelly and stoney banks that may cause noisey footfalls from passers by, and fish until the sun sets (or later).
If you see boiling water hitting the surface it is usually caused by an underwater obstruction and there are often Barbel in behind or near it.
Good luck and tight lines
BB

[swifthalf]

i fish the severn all the time as im local all the comments have been good so far but as all have stressed location is the key the best spots that allways produce for me are highly arley and hamptonload. but i find meat to be good on a hair with small unevanly cut bait in a pva bag and a large lump on the hair fish dusk till dawn had a 15 last week from the pub water at arley 7 pegs down from the bridge swift shallows look for big rocks and fish the rear of them or look for the slack water and fish on the edge of it let me know how you get on ps lay down a bed of hemp an hour before you start

[flukebox]

If your sick of catching tiddlers

Stick on a BIG bait

Big enough so the little ones can't get it in their mouths


HAlf a tin of luncheon meat should do the trick

[hairrigger]

Hi Mattp-7 hairrigger reply's I fish every weekend around Kempsey have had 12 Barbs from 5.5 to 9.5 + big bream on hairigged 13mm boilies soaked in flavers, even in the latest mild flood waters i manage to get few out but agree with other members its best if u can pre bait if poss i use small pellet & hemp as not fill them up give it a try down your end at tuxbury it a simerler depth to up here good luck Hairrigger.

[BoldBear]

oops

[NICK R]

location is the major player
i know sections of rivers where in one stretch the fish run into fish of 13 lb plus , but go up or down stream 500 yds and you are lucky to catch or even see fish over 10 lb

[spikey64]

Let me know how you get on. The last time i went barbel bashing at tewkesbury was about 10 years ago. I didn't catch any doubles but my whole catch easily exceeded 40 lb.

[chazyboi]

droppen is bang on i fish to features gravle barrs over hanging trees undercut banks buy some polaroids .Trimpley down to bewdley hold some big barbel we use rolling mills frozen crab boilies over pellets bait up a few swims and roam best way on big river i find if you havent had a bite in an hour or two they aint there ,,,rigs are virtually carp rigs i hair rig tinned bacon after frying it lightly and dipping it in flavour another i use is to soak pellets in a little warm water till soft add an egg and nead to a dough ,,other alternative is join a barbel society them guys know thier business,,,,if you want a double barb id choose the river wye any day