Small baits the key to rare Severn giant! - Roger Carswell

“I’ve seen many anglers persisting with big baits to catch chub and barbel on the River Severn
this season, but ditching them in favour of far smaller offerings has definitely helped me catch more fish.

“I made the change around a fortnight ago and enjoyed a fabulous day’s sport that produced 14 barbel and seven chub.

“Knowing that other anglers had been struggling on bigger baits I left mine at home for that session and opted for 6mm banded pellets mounted on to size 12 hooks, which I fished alongside an open-ended feeder loaded with dampened pellets coated with groundbait.

6mm banded pellets with small hooks were key to getting regular bites

“The barbel ranged between 2lb and 6lb while the chub were 12oz to 5lb – not monsters but it was a superb result considering the Severn was well down on its usual levels.

“After that successful trip I hit the bank again a few days later to have a go in a much shallower swim and see if my smaller hookbaits made a difference there.

“The river could only have been 2ft deep, but there was plenty of cover along the opposite bank, so I was mildly confident of catching.

“A strong gusting wind made casting into the far-bank gulleys a bit tricky but I still managed to hit the mark. 

“After about three hours I only had three small chub and a barbel to show for my efforts, so I decided to move downstream. My first cast in the new peg turned up another small chub but about 20 minutes later another bite saw me connected to something much bigger, although I knew this wasn’t a barbel. 

“I had to walk downstream with my rod and net to play the fish in the fast, shallow water which was when I saw it was a huge chub!

“Chub of that size are incredibly rare for the Severn so I took my time playing her. They’re usually pretty hollow at this time of year but this clonker registered 7lb 4oz on the scales!

“It was an absolute beast that would have been more at home chewing on whole signal crayfish rather than my tiny 6mm Krill pellet, but the smaller bait clearly worked! 

“I guess at the end of the day you can get away with crude tackle when night fishing but I’ve found daylight hours demand a more subtle approach where hookbaits are concerned.” 

Roger Carswell’s rare 7lb 4oz River Severn chub