The tench campaign (part 1) - A cold start

The tench campaign started on Sunday morning, a short session on a water that is still relatively new to me having only visited it twice previously. Arriving just before first light I felt the chill in the air and noticed the clear sky whilst unlocking the gate. The night anglers car windscreens had frosted over and a quick check on line confirmed over night temperatures had dropped to 0°C. Immediately I thought it would be a struggle, however whilst having a quick walk around the lake a few fish started topping, mainly bits but also a few decent carp started crashing.

I decided on a peg in a bay on the northern bank of the lake as this seemed to have the most activity. The water is fairly coloured so is relatively weed free so decided to use my lighter tench rods, one with a small method feeder and the second rod with a small in line maggot feeder. Both rods were already setup so it wasn't too much after 06:00 when I had them both in the water. I also setup a third rod to fish the lift method in the margin, this water has a two rod rule so I had to bring in a feeder rod to fish the margin.

This seasons tench setup for weed free waters - 12ft 1.25lb Series 7 avons, Shimano 5010 baitrunners, 6lb Hyper-sensor. A small method feeder (l) and an in line maggot feeder (r)

I was using a korum 'grub' feeder for the first time, I was slightly hesitant when buying these feeders as there are a few scathing on line reviews. Many users complain about the feeders opening up when hitting the water, but I'm pleased to say I suffered no such problems. On the method feeder I was using a micro pellet method mix I had some success with last year. The mix consists of dampened 2mm coarse pellets, a handful of robin red ground bait and a few ground robin red boilies. Hook bait with this mix is a 10mm robin red boilie.

I caught a number of tench last year on robin red and now have a lot of confidence in it as a tench bait, also on the waters where I tried the mix the bream didn't seem as keen to take it. I still caught a few bream on this mix but at the time I was using another mix of pellets and molasses and caught far more bream on this mix.

Top - robin red based mix and molasses based mix.
Bottom - small method feeder

During the session I didn't get any interest on the method rod, as expected I had some interest in maggot rig but probably nothing more than small silvers. I fed maggot and worm in the margin throughout the session, hoping to see some sign of tench but again there wasn't much happening. A blank to start the tench campaign it was a short session when I didn't really expect to catch. A good chance to shake out of the tench gear though, still a few bits to short out, spooling new line and a few bits to get from the tackle shop etc.....

A positive note -  during a quick chat to an old chap he revealed that he caught an eel there the day before, a decent size (2lb10oz) I suspected that eels would be in the water as access is reasonably easy but this was the first time I have heard of one being caught.

My next tench session will be on a water closer to home, full of weed, very low stock but a definite challenge.

Limited time

With limited time last weekend it was either a very short morning pike session or an evening after the barbel. The pike won.

I was on the bank early, too early to watch a float, so I chucked a ledgered sardine mid-river. No interest in the dead bait, so as soon as it was light enough I began drip feeding maggots a rod length out. Small chub and dace and some reasonable perch were easily caught on the stick float, a better perch of about 2lb was hooked and lost as the hook pulled. 

After half an hour the float rod was packed away and a few small silvers were retained for bait. During my last session the pike on this stretch were very active but it seemed very quiet this time. Three pegs without any interest from the pike, then a take on the first trot downstream in the 4th peg, nothing massive but more than welcome during this short session.

A couple of casts in some upstream pegs but nothing further happened. Size didn't matter on this session, I was just pleased to catch, an enjoyable morning.

Cheese paste

A bit of bait prep this week. I made some cheese paste a couple of winters ago, a simple mix of shortcrust pastry, blue cheese and some mature cheddar. It has worked well on the odd occasion I have used it but to try and make it more effective I've added some Boursin garlic and herb soft cheese and some Sonubaits hemp and cheesy garlic liquid enhancer, needless to say it stinks!

I'll be on the bank at some point this weekend, I've heard reports of large shoals of small grayling and I will be targeting these areas for the pike.

An overdue update

It's been a while since my last update, partly because I've been working away in North East Lincolnshire and mainly that I've had restricted internet access. I have had a few sessions, targeting the bream, carp and tench on three very different waters. A day ticket carp water, a small farm pond and a large mature clay pit.

During half a dozen sessions I've had since I've been working away, I've managed a few decent fish and had a bit of a red letter day on my most recent session, (the first on the clay pit) when I beat my bream p.b three times.

Some of my catches so far -

A couple of doubles, one from a day ticket water, the other a farm pond.

15lb 11oz the biggest so far from the farm pond

Bream, a hybrid and tench from the clay pit

(Weights from top to bottom - 7.01, 6.04, 8.07, 7.08, hybrid unweighted, 4.08, 4.06, tench 5.07, 4.13, 4.13, 6.07, plus another bream of 5.01 that was caught after these were released).

A new best 8lb 7oz

The largest of the few eels I've caught,

I'm hoping for a few more sessions before the end of my short term contract, hopefully I can increase 

my tench best and possibly catch a first zander. 

Bait test #1

Yesterday I had a few hours on a difficult water aiming for the carp and the tench. I had a rod for each species on the pod and I was fishing worms in the margins on the lift method. On the carp rod I was using marine halibut boilies and I was testing my homemade baits on the tench rod.

I had the water to myself until mid morning when another member turned up, after an extended chat he revealed that he had fished the water for about 3 years and hadn't landed a carp yet! However he had been successful with the tench, catching them to over 7lb.

I had a couple of liners on the tench rod but nothing positive, as I was repositioning the carp rod I noticed the float in the margin 'dancing', but by the time I made it to the rod it had stopped. Shortly after there was some movement on the float, a classic lift bite. The float rose, wobbled then laid flat on the surface, I struck in to a fish......

A bloody jack! Not what I was hoping for but it saved the dreaded blank (something that will probably happen a lot on this water).

The number of carp in the water is low (probably only half a dozen), but they are of a decent size. I'm not too concerned about the carp but it would be nice to land one, the tench however are another thing and I will be targeting them again next week.

Homemade bait

Over the coming weeks I will be targeting the tench on one of my club waters. The water isn't easy to get results from but is a nice place to spend a few hours with a slight chance of increasing my p.b. As of next month I should be working away, luckily there is a water within 10 minutes of my digs that holds tench to over 7lb and bream into double figures. Again this water isn't easy but hopefully with a bit of time and effort I can get some decent results from it.

Over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about baits and methods, I've narrowed down a few methods to try but I was struggling to find some small(ish) boilies locally. Anyway I've had a go at making my own 12mm hemp and sweetcorn boilies.

First attempt at bait making, if they work I'll post the recipe 

After searching the Asian/health shops for a few ingredients, purchasing a small bait roller, messing up the kitchen I'm pretty pleased with the bait. I'll be out giving the boilies their first outing tomorrow, I'm half expecting to blank, but you never know...