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 Owencd |
Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? |
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Posts: 183 (16/07/07 17:24) |
Been thinking about this for a while and wondered what some of you more experienced anglers opinions are...
While most other rivers up and down the country are having their records broken season after season why is this not the case on the mighty severn? |
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barbelist |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 650 (16/07/07 17:48) |
Owen,
Many many people fish the Severn for the Barbel, but the record breaking potential of the Lower Severn is not so well populated.... ....you can literally walk for miles of the river around Tewkesbury and only see a handful of Barbellers on your travels. The well known holding spots attract more anglers, but probably less of the really big Barbel - judging by reported catches and local knowledge. The mighty Severn is a temperamental beast as well, this year has seen her almost un-fishable for weeks on end, and an angry Severn is no place for the faint of heart. Indeed my campaign on Old Sabrina has yet to start in earnest  FWIW, I think the record will fall soon  Paul |
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krisprice 100 |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 892 (16/07/07 18:17) |
1. Temperatures during the winter months are much lower than most other rivers meaning less winter feeding opportunity's.
2. The notorious Severn parasite is known to stunt growth. 3. Too many fish - certainly in the middle reaches. There must be unknown fish certainly on the tidal reaches as there's hardly anyone fishing down there. Most of the known larger fish seem to have bottomed out. But the fact that Howards fish has never been caught again suggests there's always a possibility of an uncaught monster. There remains very few 14lb+ fish reported every year though which doesn't bode well for anything smashing the current record. IMO this year must be worth a bet for a record fish but i wouldn't bet on a huge improvement on the current mark, a few ounces at most. I do hope i'm proved wrong. |
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bob the barbel man |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 1153 (16/07/07 18:26) |
Owen,
a lot of other river records are broken by one or two fish over a period of years untill there demise,(traveller for instance) then it could be a few years for the next one to come along. The Severn throws up some big fish year after year,but certain anglers don't shout from the tree tops because as you might know the circus comes to town. I know of anglers that have caught fish just a tad over the 15lb mark,on not on the lower either,but don't publicise it,maybe if it went 16lb 7oz you might hear a slight yell. My biggest from the Severn is 14lb 9oz,and that was caught in the height of summer,so who know's how big it would have went between then and the winter months. I personally think it will produce a fish that will beat that in the not to distant future by a good pound or two. Like the poster before me stated,you can walk miles either on the lower,or middle reaches and not see a Barbel angler,so between those unfished arears who know's whats lurking below. Then again,it might not be a Barbel angler that makes the capture as like some other untargeted species. A young lad fishing his local pond a couple or three years ago caught and broke the Perch record,so its not necessarily the experienced angler who might be the lucky fella. So lets just hope that when it does happen,it does'nt spoil every one's fishing,wheather it be upper,middle,lower,by naming the location,and being fished for every day of its remainding days. Bob. |
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mwelsh3 |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 1231 (16/07/07 18:31) Administrator |
Well said Bob, and not just through our discussions on this topic, I too would not be surprised if the new record fell to somewhere other than the lower.
ATB Mike |
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Owencd |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 183 (16/07/07 18:51) |
Thanks Paul,
And take on board your comments about the lower, myself being a prime example. Regular on some of the "easier" upper and middle stretches, quiet content catching several fish in the 4lb - 8lb bracket a session. Then move down to some of the "moodier" lower severn stretches, experience a blank or two and im heading back up to "the banker" stretches again and im sure this is true of alot of anglers who fish the severn regular and visitors also. But allow me to play devils advocate if i may  - On other rivers the general feeling is that high protein baits are the main cause of the increased growth rates, and you say yourself the lower does not see the same amount of anglers, and therefore bait, as the middle and upper. So would the barbel not "in theory" grow bigger in the areas where more people fish? There have been 13lb - 14lb fish coming from heavily fished, heavily baited areas for several years so why have they not gone on to become 16lb+ record breakers or even 20lb+ record breakers like they do in other rivers? Are there too many barbel in the severn for it to ever hold the record again? That said i do believe the river record will fall this season. 
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Owencd |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 183 (16/07/07 19:10) |
Thanks Kris and Bob also,
Was not aware of the Severn parasite, well only the ones you find spoiling baa waters during the summer months!  And i am not necassarily saying the fact the record has stood for so long is a bad thing but was just wondering why?? And couldnt agree more with your thoughts about the circus bob, I would hate us to get into a situation with 3 or 4 named fish being targeted day and night by the same anglers, in the same pegs, in a clicky sydicate as is the case on other rivers with the record going several times a month to the same person. When i catch it i wont tell anyone where it came from!!! 
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bob the barbel man |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 1153 (16/07/07 19:13) |
Owen,
after you've told me i won't tell any one either. Bob 
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Owencd |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 183 (16/07/07 19:21) |
I'll even let you choose the name if you want bob!!
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krisprice 100 |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 892 (16/07/07 19:25) |
Regarding HNV baits etc. Pete Reading did a good article concerning the increases of weight generally in this months CAT. Some of the record breaking fish are being caught from stretches that hardly see an angler plus Howard's fish came from a similar area therefore has grown to that size on natural food.
I agree with what Pete says in the article in that cleaner rivers means the ecology as a whole has improved vastly since the 60/70s. The Severn has been very clean in comparison to many others. The warmer winters allowing longer sustained feeding coupled with the above have led to the dramatic increases in weights. Not much has changed on the Severn but due to these better winters maybe we'll see some fish gaining extra weight. |
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bob the barbel man |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 1153 (16/07/07 19:25) |
name to what,
the fish,the location,or the angler, lucky comes to mind for all three, all the best , Bob, |
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Neil Sarkar |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 256 (16/07/07 19:49) |
Going back to this time last year myself and the Pons did a lot of z'ing off my boat,we used to launch at Upton and travel either up or downstream for many miles and I'll tell you something there are literally miles of river where nobody fishes, no pitches and not even any bank access,
The other thing that strikes you when you are on a boat on the Severn is how immense it really is......its absolutely massive. Travelling upstream of Upton its not uncommon to have a depth reading of 23ft on the finder! Given that we as anglers aren't even scratching the surface its hardly surprising that the biggest Severn fish is still to appear. Its not just barbel either look at that zander the other week!  Yes, we all know there are barbel in the Ouse that are huge and a few other rivers with fish approaching the record but I for one firmly believe that a surprise awaits in the Severn. Rumour has it that the record has gone several times from less popular stretches of the Severn but the anglers have kept quiet to avoid the hordes of `named fish glory hunters' who would descend on any stretch that produced such a fish. |
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gudgeonowl |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 495 (16/07/07 20:32) |
Good post Neil. That,s what keeps us going back, again and again, the mystery and the not knowing.
Time spent in recconnaissance is seldom wasted.....
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Neil Sarkar |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 256 (16/07/07 21:28) |
yes absolutely it is the mystery.
I spent a massive amount of time fishing during my teens fishing the river for big pike, catching quite a few 20s (which were very few and far between) but a 30lber seemed impossible and the fish you could only dream about although we all accepted that given such a big river there just had to be the odd fish. Then John Sidley, who I had the priviledge to fish with on many occassions , caught one just before his death. I have 100% confidence that a record breaker is in the Severn, Britains longest river....and we as anglers have the danger of just being a little bit over confident with our abilities...when we say that it would have been caught by now. |
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paulmatty |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 1265 (16/07/07 22:06) |
Because no one has claimed it !?
 Maybe !? Cheers Paul M........... |
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krisprice 100 |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 892 (17/07/07 08:01) |
Something else that interests me is that there are fish that exist that are virtually uncatchable. Take for example the 20lb fish Walker & co couldn't catch on the Royalty back in the 60's plus the King at Redmire etc etc. It would suggest these fish have firstly grown to that size on natural food alone with out the need for anglers baits but maybe that's the point, our baits won't catch them.
As for people not claiming the record, that would very much surprise me as it's probably the most coveted at the moment. Lots of dodges to keep the circus at bay. I know many of the specialists fishing the river certainly would claim it. |
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dr barbus |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 1305 (17/07/07 08:16) |
Kris
That is an idea. When I used to fish a few Cheshire Meres, there were always a Carp or two that were never caught. The theory then was their mode of feeding was such that they never took in anything larger than a bloodworm, and breathed accordingly. If I apply this to the next time I am below Worcester should I hair rig a few water snails - or even just one?? The lower teams with the things and should provide for quite a substantial diet and sufficient for any fish to grow to quite a substantial size. |
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SandT69 |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 9 (17/07/07 08:52) |
Hi,
Love posts like this-lots of good ideas and thinking involved. Echo a lot of the sentiments mentioned above. Like a few others, I fish the "upper lower" ( my terminology-don't want to get into any debates on where the lower starts etc!) between Worcester and around Upton, and hardly ever bump into other anglers, but I know a lot of people do the same. My focus on the Lower is in its infancy-3 years, and I have made loads of mistakes, mainly not focusing on one stretch. As mentioned above in on of the other posts my confidence at times has taken a kicking, and I have then moved on to more prolific areas, and not invested the time to get to know an entire stretch. I do not assume " if they were there I would catch them" but feel there are very big fish throughout, resident in an area ( not a peg), problem with the Severn, you may be in the right area, but fifty yards away on the wrong bank. Was lucky enough to see one of the big fish that came out last season-more than enough motivation to keep slogging away. One of the good things about fishing the lower is because of the mystery involved-it tends to attract that type of angler-people who like to work it out for themselves-there are very few quick fixes. Cheers DT |
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Andy K |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 138 (17/07/07 14:31) |
Who is to say that the record hasn't been broken but not reported.Myself along with many of the local fishermen on our river have agreed that we would not advertise if we broke the record and many anglers hold the same sentiment.On many of the bigger rivers I wouldn't be so eager to believe that the official records are marked in stone.
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krisprice 100 |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 892 (17/07/07 16:06) |
Interesting thought doc but a blade of grass on a football pitch springs to mind, i think you'd have to play a severe numbers game with all species but maybe one day it could catch the uncatchable.
The river is full of natural food, the amount of snails that impale themselves on your hook never ceases to amaze me, the whole point really is that the lower to me still has better credentials for throwing up a monster as there's less barbel than the middle reaches, but then you could argue there's more bream, carp, zander to feed. Sorry, still don't buy the reason why you'd not publicise a new record on the largest river in the country. Case in point is the current record. It's not widely known where Howard's fish actually came from so a generalisation can be made without specifics which has held for the last decade. |
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dr barbus |
Re: Why has the Severn Barbel record stood for so long??? | ||
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Posts: 1305 (17/07/07 16:19) |
Kris
I know what you mean about the blade of grass but here's the rub. You can get all sorts of crustacean meals - some very close in profile to snails and similar fresh water molluscs. That provides the bulk attractant (a la stick) the hooked/haired snail(s) are the solid food in the midst. |
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