Head high up in Gloucestershire’s upper reaches of the Severn Estuary and you’ll find this species rich and popular high-water mark and match venue
Littleton-upon-Severn is a village in South Gloucestershire and a great little fishing location situated on the banks of the Severn Estuary. Once you have reached the seaward side of Littleton you will have some great views across flat green fields and two notable landmarks.
You will see the old Severn crossing on the left-hand side of the venue and Oldbury power station, which is situated across to the far right. This is a high water venue and you will be fishing from some lush clay banks onto mud.
These mudflats hold a good amount of shrimp and mudworm, attracting a whole host of different fish species throughout the year. It can be really comfortable fishing at times, particularly on a middle of the range spring size tide, but the banks can also get a bit muddy after a spell of wet weather.
Fishing times
Your fishing times at Littleton-upon-Severn will be approximately two hours either side of high water, that is if you are fishing on a large neap or spring tide. We wouldn’t bother fishing this venue on a small neap tide, unless you are prepared to get a little bit muddy, because the water will barely rise up far enough to fish from the grass banks.
If you do climb down off the grass banks you will find yourself on some soft, sloppy mud. Be warned, the mud at this venue can be really deep in places, so we do not recommend walking out on the mud beneath the grass banks, unless you are already experienced with fishing this venue.
Species of fish
There really is a huge host of different fish species that can be caught at Littleton-upon-Severn. In the winter months this area can be absolutely solid with codling and you can enjoy catching them along with odd flounders.
Keep your eyes on the weather though, as this venue doesn’t like any sustained very cold periods. Sometimes during a hard winter the mud can freeze, killing off most life in the mud and the venue will often go dead. Mind you, after a mild winter codling can be caught all the way up to May in good numbers.
In the summer months your options for target species can increase substantially. After a really dry spell of weather you can even catch thornback rays and conger eels on this venue. You can also catch Dover sole, flounder, bass and Silver eels in the warmer months of the year.
Bait and tackle
Tackling up could not be simpler and you wouldn’t go far wrong with just fishing simple flapping rigs. All matters of beach casting rods could work well, including a more continental style of set-up.
However, because of the strong tidal pull on this venue you will want a rod that has a casting rating up to at least 6oz of lead. Reel choice to suit the set-up of your rod. Mainline and snood diameter isn’t all that crucial because the seawater here is always very coloured, so the fish aren’t that line shy.
Hook size can vary depending on the size of your bait, but remember you can always catch a big fish on a small hook and sometimes it’s nice to have a set-up which can catch whatever fish happens to find your bait.
Lugworms and ragworms are always your top two baits on this venue throughout the year. Some anglers also like to add a bit of fish when targeting the conger eels and thornback rays.
Regular match venue
All the way throughout the year, Littleton-upon-Severn is a very popular match venue, which is ideal for pegged and zoned competitions. There are three fields at Littleton, one that is to the left of the gully and two on the right-hand side.
The second field on the right-hand side of the gully is a very popular area to draw in the matches, so when pleasure fishing it could be worth taking a look up in that direction, that is if you don’t mind a bit of a walk.
By the way, if you are interested in taking part in a fishing competition held at Littleton-upon-Severn then it’s worth getting in contact with Reel Fun fishing in Portishead, as they hold most of the events on this venue. n
