bones71
Member
I want to fish the Severn somewhere around Ironbridge/Bridgnorth soon,does anyone have any advice on venues?I'm not after monsters,just to get a feel for it.
Here you are Titus. This is where the barbel are/were. I am not exactly sure of everything I did when I went about catching them, but more details can be found in my book "Barbel" (1976) or my guest chapter in Peter Wheat's book "The Fighting Barbel" (1967) The markers show the weir pool and where I caught barbel and chub.
Hemmingford Grey
Incidentally, those who bought a Chevin rod which was made up to Alan Brown's death might be interested to know that I designed it for the "chub swim" shown in the picture. It wasn't an easy swim to fish in those days but the rewards were worthwhile when you got it right. The Chevin made it easier.
Fantastic, which bit of the middle Severn is that?
Assuming you are Ian Howcroft my copy of your book 'Barbel' was published in 1975, so it was literally half a lifetime ago and I was 19 at the time, I'm not sure how long you have been out of the country but things have moved on a bit since then.
I personally think Understanding Barbel was the ultimate general barbel reference but even that is starting to look a little dated today, though many of the observations it contains are still relevant.
I would suggest it is you not I who is not reading posts correctly unless of course you are being deliberately obtuse.
As a relative newcomer on here I don't have the benefit of years of correspondence checking who people are or claim to be, I could claim to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, so with no way of checking, what is written in a profile is meaningless.
I'm not sure where you get the idea that I suggested you tell The blogger how to catch his first barbel when it is clear to a blind man on a galloping horse that the 'Noob' I was referring to was on this thread.
You also seemed to miss my deliberate reference to a lapse in your own memory when I happened to mention that my copy of the book you wrote was actually published in 75 not 76 as you said. I'm sure if I had written a book I would remember what year it was published.
I'm not sticking up for this guy either, if what he did was a deliberate attempt to claim credit for something you did well that is a bit below the belt but par for the course.
Many people through history have claimed the credit for other peoples work, Alexander Graham Bell being one of the most notorious who springs to mind. This guy might have made a simple mistake; he could have been deliberately lying or he could over the passage of time and the re-telling of a tale with all the embellishments actually believe his version of events, as is the case with many bloggers who all try to big up their experiences.
However, as I mentioned in my first post all you really did was catch a fish, it's not as though you found a cure for cancer.
Oh and yes, of course I was being facetious about your link. I thought it very strange that you chose to put it on here which is about the Severn, and a very particular stretch of the Severn, rather than put it on your own thread which was concerning the Gt Ouse.
Finally and to get this thread back on track I have been To Shrewsbury and Ironbridge today and can report that the river is back within its banks though probably still a couple of meters up and very fishable. I would suggest a meat attack with a couple of ounces of lead cast upstream a couple of rod lengths out and rolled through the swim, if you are not confident using meat then pellet or boilies should put you among the fish.
The banks however are atrocious and thick with very slippery mud, if you are tempted to have a go take great care and a couple of binbags for your muddy gear on the drive home.