What is everyone up to at the moment?

[Dales]

I have not been fishing since the rivers closed, most years the river Piking just flows in to the spring still water Tench fishing but this year there has been a big gap of no fishing at all. I have been busy at work and with the bad weather I doubt I have missed out on much. However, I am starting to go a little stir crazy and need to get out and do something as I have a free weekend and I just don't fancy a quick dabble. I need something a little more meaty.

 

So I will reluctantly be starting my Tench campaign, more because I just want to get out of the office then because I have any great belief that I will be successful. My Tench fishing is run to a strict timetable, I know exactly which dates I will be fishing and what venues for the next few months. It certainly does not feel like Tench Time at the moment but a few dates have already gone by without weting a line and you catch nought just playing around on forums.

 

It does feel odd going Tench fishing when common sense says leave it a while longer but I just want to get stuck in to a project. So has anyone else started thei spring plans/campaigns yet or are you still in winter fishing mode. Anyone up to anything interesting at the moment?

[Andy_1984]

Been on a pre-baiting campaign for a few months but only really ramped up my efforts the past month. The end result is hopefully a new PB carp or tench.

 

Signs of the baiting are already looking good with the roach and rudd moving in. Just haven't decided when I want to properly have a go at them.

[Phone]

Dales,

 

Aren't tench the green slimy carp that winter in the mud? Why not just commercial for a dabble? You know, confidence is more than 50% of success.

 

Phone

[Anderoo]

I'm in the middle of my annual break, so not doing any fishing at the moment. The water I spent a lot of time at for perch has no closed season, and now is the best time of year for a really big one, but I called a halt to that on the last day of the season. I like to stop on the last day and have a break from it all.

 

Until the spring tench fishing starts (likely to be well into May this year) I'll do a little bit of fly fishing for trout, but it's going to have to warm up a bit first!

 

I like to have a rest at this time of year. At the weekend I'm going to sort out all the tackle and sort the tackle shed out, and to be honest I'd rather do that than fish at the moment. The other thing I'm doing is making plans for when the fishing starts

[Dales]

Phone, you are right up to a point. Tench are members of the cyprinid family and yes they are slimy but in a sexy way not slimy in a icky eel way. Tench are like a poor mans Carp :-)

 

"Why not just commercial for a dabble" Just can't be bothered with it at the moment. Once it gets warmer I will do some commercail fishing for Cat fish. Fishing can be a fine balancing act, it needs to be hard enough to be challenging but not so rock hard that it is disheartening. Fishing commercials can just be to easy at times unless you are after something specific.

[Andy_1984]

lol @ poor mans carp, I hold them in higher regards than carp. Magnificent looking things so they are. Sod commercials for them though, you can see some have that same flabby undercarriage that carp get.

[Rusty]

Ive been out once since the close season started to a new section of the K&A canal which has produced very large perch recently.

Ive been travelling light with a lure rod and a small selection of jig-heads, not something I do often but its very entertaining. Last weekend I caught two jacks and several perch only up to a pound or so nothing big but Im hopeful.

 

One of the pike takes I clearly saw, I was retrieving a mepps along the margins and it just shot out of the reeds and grabbed it, made me jump.

 

Its a long section with not many obvious holding spots so a few more trips are planned. Tactics are to stay mobile and search as much water as possible.

 

Tenching will only start when I can wear shorts.

[John Weddup]

 

It does feel odd going Tench fishing when common sense says leave it a while longer but I just want to get stuck in to a project. So has anyone else started thei spring plans/campaigns yet or are you still in winter fishing mode. Anyone up to anything interesting at the moment?

 

Gave up pike fishing just before Easter.

 

Decided to give tench a go as the daylight hours are there and I was convinced would wake the fish up.

 

I had 2 small tench, just over 4lbs and 5 bream up to 7lbs. The bream came at night the 2 tench daytime.

 

One bream and one tench came when the temperature was minus 5c.

 

Lat weekend again tried and again woke up to minus 5c on sunday.

 

I had caught 3 roach/ bream hybrids and one bream. One hybrid was almost pure roach looking at 3.4 another at 3.6 and a beauty at 4.12.

 

So yes I am out there as usual and catching some worthwhile fish.

 

This was my afternoon fish when it was warm at about 4c with a cold easterly

 

 

I didn't dare touch the camera with the minus 5 one.

 

 

 

John

[Dave H]

Just get out and fish but instead of spreading myself over a variety of fish this year on the stills it will be just two. June 16th i am definately looking forward too.

[Dales]

Nice one John, that's very encouraging news to hear of Tench being caught.

 

I get the feeling if there was a new ice age and half the country was covered in a glacier, you would find some bit of melt water somewhere and still be out fishing :-)