WIth just two days of the river season to go and having had a blank day the day previously, Lymm AC member, Steve Roffey (aka barbus63 on the Lymm forum) decided to head for the Lymm controlled Atcham stretch of the Severn, in the hope of landing a barbel or two and, if things went well, maybe a double. Steve spent a misty, biteless morning in a swim on the right hand section of the stretch and decided on a move further downstream, eventually settling in a swim in the left field.
With both rods cast out, Steve decided on having a spot of lunch and, as he was halfway through his first sandwich, the rod that was fishing pellet wrapped round and after spirited fight, a barbel of 6lb 6oz was on the bank.
6lb 6oz Severn barbel during lunch!
Receiving no further action over the next couple of hours, Steve moved swims again and again, the move paid off. The pellet rod was away again fairly quickly and whilst playing the fish, his other rod, fishing maggots, hooped over with the baitrunner churning! Steve played the first fish as hard as he dared in the hope that the other fish would ‘hold and sulk’. The tactic worked and once the first fish was sorted out, Steve picked up the second rod to find the fish still on. Initially, this fish came upstream fairly steadily, but then it decided against it and continued to go on powerful downstream runs with Steve gaining about 20 yards of line, only to see it stripped again.
This ‘see-saw’ battle went on for about 15 minutes with Steve thinking he had hooked a barbel of some considerable proportions, especially as he hadn’t seen the fish once, just seeing the large tail patterns come up to the surface. A further 5 minutes passed and eventually the still unseen fish, succumbed to the power of rod and line and glided into Steves net. The scales read out a weight of 9lb 8oz, not the double that Steve had sought and not a barbel either, but a spawned out salmon that Steve described as giving, “the hardest fight I’ve ever had from any fish in this country, just unbelievable!”
Well done, Steve, a cracking way to end the river season and thanks for sharing your day with us.
If you would like details of how to join us at Lymm AC, then visit our website at www.lymmanglersclub.com We look forward to hearing from you.
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