Strange days tench fishing

[lozza]

Went for my second tench session of the year yesterday and turned up some nice surprises. Got to the lake for first light the fish were bubbling up nicely had two good tench on in the first half an hour including another big male at just over six and lost a couple others. My mate who had not had a bite was getting pretty naffed off by now, being the second session we had done and he had nothing to show for it, when out of the blue his float sailed away and before he even lifted the rod the clutch was screaming sweet music, after a heated 10 minute battle an incredibly fat and very strangely proportioned 22 1/2LB mirror carp ended up in the bottom of my net. Landed on 4lb line size 16 hook and a medium match rod.

 

Good result and the begin of a very strange tench session. The sun by now was just peaking over the trees and the rabble of carp anglers were starting to arrive stomping round the lake like a herd of rhinos with wheel barrows full of kit, hammering bank sticks and bivy pegs in to the ground thus killing my margin tench float fishing.

 

So change of tactics was required out goes a waggaler rod and small straight lead. Within a couple of minutes the float sailed away, a firm strike was meet with something pulling back at the other end after a very good fight I got this peculiar feeling that I had a confused eel on the the hook that thought it was a tench, as I got the fish closer to the net my suspicions were confirmed as the fish started swimming backs wards out in to the lake. Eventual I got the fish in the net which was a massive struggle in it self. The eel was about 80cm long and as thick as my wrist very silvery in colour with a massive great big mouth and a huge pair of eyes biggest eel I have had, got the scales out it went 3 lb 4 oz I had to double check, but same weight the second time round, I thought it would have weighed a lot more then it did looking at it, never bothered to weigh an eel before, a few photos it went back nicely.

 

Buy this time it was about eleven o’clock and the sun was now high in the sky and the float disappeared again met with a very similar fight as before with the same result another eel about the same size, this continued to happen through out the day with both me and my mate banking eels to just over 4lb and losing a few that felt even bigger, one of them bit right thorough the braid. They were striping line from the bit runners on some of the takes, and then kiteing across the lake like carp and tench, great fights real arm pullers.

 

Catching eels like that in brilliant sunshine is a first for me, anybody experienced this before? How big are big eels they must look enormous no wonder people miss judge there weight I thought they would weigh a lot more than they did

[Dales]

The eel was about 80cm long and as thick as my wrist very silvery in colour with a massive great big mouth and a huge pair of eyes biggest eel I have had, got the scales out it went 3 lb 4 oz I had to double check, but same weight the second time round, I thought it would have weighed a lot more then it did looking at it, never bothered to weigh an eel before, a few photos it went back nicely.

 

Catching eels like that in brilliant sunshine is a first for me, anybody experienced this before? How big are big eels they must look enormous no wonder people miss judge there weight I thought they would weigh a lot more than they did

 

In my book anything over 3lb is a goodun and over 4lb is certainly a very good fish. I have to admit I have been a little stunned when I have weighed eels and always expect them to be heavier then they actually are. Oddly my best eel came during the day and they certainly are fun to catch during day light hours. The pain of catching them when you are not pacificly targeting them is that the big ones often bite you off. I use quicksilver braid for my hooklengths when targeting eels a tip from other Anglers Net members.