I've put together a retrospect on the season based on some of the information I collected for the monthly T&S reports. Hopefully people will find it useful. Thanks to all the people who help with reports and any errors etc, are all mine....

February was very slow this year. Although reports filtered through of fish caught, this met some scepticism with photographic evidence and/or witnesses hard to come by.

Angling effort was low, with the prime early spring beats being lightly fished. The cold winter didn’t help, and though water levels were good for much of February, the river temperature rarely got above 3c which is perhaps not enough to get many fish to penetrate far beyond the estuary. Diglis Weir at Worcester, the prime early season beat, is some 30 river miles from Gloucester and the start of the tidal river proper.

March saw a small improvement in the salmon fishing with a dozen or so good spring fish from the teens up to 28lbs coming from the lower reaches of the system, some still bearing sea lice. All these fish came to the Devon minnow with black and yellow proving a popular choice.

This upturn in sport was triggered by a change in conditions. There were big spring tides and a spectacular Severn Bore which was high enough to back up the river and raise the water levels in the Worcester area. We also got a significant rise in water temperatures, which saw the river warm up from around 3c to 9c in just a few days in mid March. These changes were enough to draw fish in from the estuary and to encourage them to take the navigation weirs on the lower river that act as a temperature barrier in early spring. The result was that we got the first fresh fish of the season showing in the middle river around the 20th of the month.

One interesting feature of the early season was the high number of kelts, particularly in the middle river holding pools. This isn’t normally a feature of early fishing on the Severn and probably the result of the very cold winter without any major winter floods to aid them on their downstream journey. Hopefully it may also be a sign that the spawning was somewhat better than could be expected from the relatively low rod catch in the 2009 season.

March saw generally good fishing conditions for most of the month, yet on many days there was nobody out on the most productive beats on the river. This factor is particularly important on the Severn as many fisheries – particularly the weir pools – are places to intercept travelling fish as they pause briefly. If there aren’t rods on the water a pod of fish can easily slip through unnoticed.

The low rod effort has been the subject of some discussion amongst those anglers that have wet a line. The simplest explanation is that the lack of effort reflects a lack of fish, but some anglers (particularly the more successful ones) don’t accept this. There are other factors to consider. Most important is the ban on taking fish before June 16th.. This has impacted particularly hard on the Severn which is predominantly a spring river and which has many experienced rods who simply won’t go fishing now until they are allowed to take a fish. The age profile of the angling population also means that many anglers only fish when they have picked up news of a fish or two on the grapevine, while in their younger days they might have fished more on the off chance. The ban on bait fishing in spring also deters many anglers, especially on the Teme, which could have been designed with the skilled close quarter wormer in mind.



Harry Dawson with a fine April fish

By April it was clear that the early spring fishing was very much a tale of two rivers: the upper and the lower Severn.

On the lower river, though catches have been low in comparison with recent years, some persistent and able anglers did manage to contact an elusive springer. While on the upper river things were even harder.

The most successful angler in the early season was Harry Dawson with three fish at 12, 15 and 17lb, the first two coming to smallish 2 inch black and orange Devon Minnows, and the largest to the flying ‘c’. The biggest early fish weighed in at 28lb caught by Paul ‘the cormorant’ again on a Devon. Other anglers who met success on the lower river included Mark Saunders with a fish of 16lb on a black and orange Devon and John Love with a 20lb plus fish on the spinner. The lower river also provided the first fly caught salmon of the season in late April: a fish of 8lb or so which took a Glenfarclas shrimp fished on a sink tip by Ian Bott (aka Bungle). This is the second year running that Ian has had the honour of catching the first fly caught fish of the season and it is something he is no doubt determined to make an annual event!

Meanwhile on the upper river only a handful of fish had been caught by the end of April. They were spread very thinly over a wide area from Ironbridge up to the middle Vyrnwy and above Welshpool on the main stem. A classsic big early April Vyrnwy springer that bottomed the captor's scales out at 25lb was the pick of this bunch.

The catch stayed on the low side in May, not helped by low flows and especially the hot weather in the second half of the month, which saw water temperatures reach 21c at midnight on the middle river. I’m aware of 30 fish caught over the month, though there could well have been a few more falling to the rods of anglers who are either not plugged in to the bank side telegraph, or who choose to keep a low profile.

Clive Fletcher had two fish of 10lb and 6lb from Diglis on May 17th. This was Clive’s first ever salmon fishing trip. An experienced Trent based coarse angler, Clive had been bought a day ticket as a 40th birthday present by his cousin Toby who is himself a regular Severn salmon fisher. What a fantastic present! Both fish fell for the flying ‘C’. Another angler to catch his first Severn salmon this season was Paul Akerman who managed a bright fish of 6lb or so in late April also on the flying ‘C’.

John Love had one very special red letter day in May with four fish up to twenty pound from the lower river, plus a number of other fish throughout the month, many of them dripping with sea lice. Harry Dawson again added to his total with four fish, the best at 15lbs again from the lower river. Craig Guy (aka Stump) reported two for the month at 8lb from the Severn on a spinner and 7lb from the Teme on a size 12 cascade.

May also saw the first big fish come off the middle Severn, with Ian Bott landing a sparkling fish around twenty pounds from Birmingham Anglers Association water below Bridgnorth. Yet again the successful bait was the flying ‘c’. I also managed a 16lber from the middle river which took a Red Francis copper tube fished on a sinking line.



Ian Bott's May cracker

Further upriver only a few fish came to the bank from below Shrewsbury up to Welsh headwaters.

The old saying that 10 percent of anglers catch 90 percent of the fish holds as true for the Severn as anywhere else, if not more so. Hard earned knowledge, tactical nous and the ability to be in the right place at the right time, have paid huge dividends for a few dedicated anglers. And within that ten percent some people are more successful than others. By my calculations just two rods caught not far off 40% of the river total up till the end of May. I won’t name them, for fear of embarrassing them, but the fact that some anglers can continue to catch consistently while many are succumbing to the general atmosphere of ‘doom and gloom’ shows the importance of persistence and confidence in successful salmon fishing.

Very low water throughout June created difficult conditions for salmon fishing on the Severn. But despite this a number of anglers met success by managing to make contact with the pods of fish that were running through.

It was pleasing tio see a few more fish from the river above Shrewsbury, as anglers had a hard time on this section this season. Steve Morris had his first ever Severn salmon on June 11th from the upper river and followed it up just twenty minutes later with his second. The fish weighed in at 9 and 12lbs and fell for a Black and silver Flying C. Meanwhile on Vyrnwy, John Brazier landed a 9lber on his first trip after a 22 year break from salmon fishing on the Severn system. The fish took a homemade copper and black flying c and was returned.

One angler had a particularly satisfying start to the bait fishing on the upper river, landing four fish in a couple of hours on the morning of the 16th. The fish, all between 5 and 8lb, fell for free-lined worm and were typical early grilse and very bright considering how high upriver they were caught. They were part of one of these hard running pods of fish that have been penetrating into the system and seemed to be responding to the slight lift of water of just a few inches that coincided with the start of the bait fishing. There were a few more fish from Melverley up to Welshpool. Catches on the upper river soon started to dry up as the month wore on and water temperatures climbed to over 21c.

Below Shrewsbury there were fish from the Atcham and Ironbridge areas with the best weighing in at 18lb.

Further down the middle river below Bridgnorth sport has been very slow despite the presence of a reasonable number of fish in the holding pools. Water temperatures of over 22.5c at midnight and a thick algal bloom that reduced visibility to 6 inches and left the river with a strong and unattractive odour can’t have helped.

On the lower river there was a trickle of fish in the second half of the month particularly around the spring tides, including both summer salmon and grilse. But again it was a case of small pods of fish moving through often at some speed.

July saw the continuation of the same pattern of salmon catches seen for the season so far. The great bulk of the fish were caught from the lower river, with those spots where anglers are able to intercept fish fresh off the tide doing best, while further upstream, especially in the Shrewsbury area and above, few fish were caught.

This pattern is typical of what happens on the Severn in a dry year. In 2006 the last dry season 75% of the fish were caught from below the weirs on the lower river and just 2% from above the Welsh border.

Mark Fletcher caught his first ever salmon on Friday the 30th of July. The fish was a bright grilse in the 7lb class which fell for black and silver flying C and was caught from a stretch of the lower river below Stourport. It’s always an achievement to catch your first salmon, but to do it from a river like the Severn, which has a reputation as a hard and frustrating fishery, is something very special indeed.

Elsewhere on the river John Love continued with his run of fish banking a few more including some big summer salmon averaging 13/14lb. Other anglers that were successful in July included: Toby Fletcher 4 and 4 1/2lb and Craig Guy 5lb from the lower river, while further upstream in the Shrewsbury area Alan Duinsmore had a fish of 9lb, Tony Evans 5lb and Darren King 6lb. The vast majority of fish caught during the month have fallen to bait, with worm the favourite followed by shrimp or prawn.

We had one significant rise towards the end of July putting 5ft on the river at Bewdley on July 23rd, but this quickly dropped back. It did however get some fish moving. The week that followed saw a significant upturn in sport on the river with one fishery accounting for 11 fish over three days as the water dropped off.

The picture further upstream is less encouraging. The high water towards the end of the month ensured a few fish penetrated deep into the system, with contact made as far upstream as the middle reaches of the Vyrnwy while a fish of 9lb was reported from the upper Severn in the Newtown area. However, the rise did not appear to lead to a build up of fish in any of the usual hotspots above Shrewsbury.



A Severn grilse

Sport was steady rather than spectacular in August and September with a reasonable number of fish coming to the bank. When all the catch returns are in the river should beat the monthly 5 year averages of 43 and 51 fish respectively. Not a bad result considering that conditions have been far from perfect with just one small rise in water levels in August and then a succession of rises in the second half of September which made fishing difficult on many stretches and seemed to empty the lower river of fish..

The bulk of the fish were of grilse size with the odd summer salmon amongst them. The most effective tactic was bait, but fly rods did winkle out one or two fish as well.

A special mention has to go to Steve Williams from Birmingham (aka Airsprite) who caught his first ever Severn salmon on August 24th. The fish was a bright grilse of 6lb and fell for a worm fished in a lower river weir pool. The Severn is a hard task master for any salmon angler and your first fish from the river is always an achievement. So Steve is rightly proud.

Other successful anglers included John Love who added nine more fish to his total for the season including a couple of fish in the 9 to 10lb range – all taken on worm or shrimp. Toby Fletcher who managed another couple of grilse on worm and prawn, plus a couple of coloured fish in the 12lb bracket during the first serious rise in September. Craig Guy had two nice summer salmon of 10lb and 9lb on the flying C and shrimp respectively. Ian Bott got on the scorecard again with two grilse in one evening on worm in August and another during the rise in mid September.

Ross Fullerton also had two fish in a short evening spinning session including a lovely bright summer salmon of 8lb plus. Ross had only hours earlier told a fishing friend that he’d written off this season on the Severn, but then got one of those ‘must go fishing now!’ moments and reaped the reward for following his instincts. Anglers who know Ross were pleased to see him off the mark as we know how devastated he was earlier in the year after losing a mammoth tussle with a truly huge Teme salmon in the 30lb plus category.

Cooling water temperatures as August progresses normally makes for better fly fishing conditions and this year was no exception. John Bailey got off the mark with two lovely bright grilse including one caught from a thin stream on a tiny cascade and a full floating line in near drought levels, his other fish fell for a large conehead fished on a sinking line in heavier flows. He also had a fish of 13lb on the flying C in heavier water in September. Craig Guy reported a nice bright grilse on a size 9 Park shrimp and sink tip. I managed a few fish up to 13lb mainly on the fly at night in low water conditions.



A fish to the fly at night

All the fish mentioned so far for August and September came from either the navigation weirs or the bottom section of the natural river below Bridgnorth. Unfortunately the situation further up river was less encouraging. Darren King banked another grilse on worm from the Shrewsbury area, while a fish of 17lb came off Melverley also to worm, and a couple of fish were caught from the lower Vyrnwy. But catches on the upper river did not take off despite the rise in levels we had in late July and towards the end of August and again in the second half of September.

The fact that most of the rain didn’t seem to fall in the catchment of the main stem didn't help fishing above Melverley, resulting in a situation in which a low catch has led to a collapse in rod effort on the upper river with what was once prime salmon holding and fishing areas showing no sign of having been fished. It was not until the second half of September and the first proper rise on the upper Severn since the spring that I started to again receive reports of fish from the Newtown area and above. Successful anglers included Rob Davies with fish of 6lb and 12lb on the 26th of September. As the season drew to a close in early October I was getting reports of good numbers of fish moving into the spawning tributaries.