Tench fishing in April

[Rob Ward]

Hi Martin

 

It depends on what the bottom is like - over gravel, you won't see the 10lb sink braid. It's thin anyway, but with it's mottled black/sand colour it just disappears. Try a short hooklength with an inline lead, and on the hair one sinking and one bouyant bait (maybe a piece of real corn and one artificial, or a real maggot/caster and a fake one) so it just sinks. With the softness and flexibility of the braid and the neutral bouyancy of the bait, it works really well.

 

I'd echo that, I usually use Kryston Silkworm for Tench with semi fixed rigs - it doesn't sink but with the short hooklinks I use it doesn't matter.

Edited April 30, 2008 by Rob Ward

[Anderoo]

It is very effective for tench. By short, I mean 4-5" tops. I like to bait pretty lightly and fairly loosely so there's a scattering of fine groundbait and a very few bits and pieces like tiny pellets and corn, and a bit more of hemp, over a wide-ish area, then the little PVA pile, or swimfeeder of maggots, becomes a nice focus.

 

You might be able to tell, but I'm desperate to go tench fishing again I'm going to a local gravel pit at the weekend, and hopefully it won't be too busy with carpers (some hope, on a bank holiday weekend!) and I'll manage to pick off one of the big old tench in there...

[Rob Ward]

Me too, desperate to get out Tenching that is!

 

I'm taking the missus to a posh hotel for her birthday over the weekend, it's near Windermere and I was thinking of taking a lure rod but the master plan is I get to go to Wingham for a day or two in July for my birthday so the lure rod is staying in the Cupboard!

[Anderoo]

Me too, desperate to get out Tenching that is!

 

I'm taking the missus to a posh hotel for her birthday over the weekend, it's near Windermere and I was thinking of taking a lure rod but the master plan is I get to go to Wingham for a day or two in July for my birthday so the lure rod is staying in the Cupboard!

 

Save it for Wingham! It's about time there was another lake record...

[Rob Ward]

Save it for Wingham! It's about time there was another lake record...

 

I think the current one is just fine

[Anderoo]

I think the current one is just fine

 

Fair enough

[Martin Salisbury]

I have some silkworm and will have a look at the sinkbraid. Its a gravel type bottom but unbelievably clear.

 

I am already using the fake maggots etc but know I need to play around with the hooklength with the key I think being shortening the hooklength - the proof of the pudding will be in the eating!

 

With such a short hooklink I suspected I had to move away from the flourocarbon/powerline/double strength but still not mega confident using some braid.

 

I might add a PVA bag of maggots n a touch of hemp as a focus as well.

[Martin Salisbury]

That sinkbraid is just the business and at the weekend I had a lovely 4lb 10oz tench that looked so much bigger.

 

I followed that a couple of days later with two more of about 3.5lb and 2.5lb.

 

I had plenty of fish feeding in the swim. Think I need to play around with bait selection and hooklength a bit more.

 

Thanks

 

martin

Edited May 7, 2008 by Martin Salisbury