Approaching tench on a new venue.
Part Two…
My last article
mentioned that my initial thoughts on bait application and tactics
for tench would change and from the first couple of sessions you will
see that this has been the case, however before progressing lets me
tell you what we found about the lake when we visited it with a
feature finding rod.
Swim location and feature finding.
Due to the cold
easterly wind that constantly blew throughout the start of April we
decided to head to the venue late one afternoon as we felt spotting
fish at dusk would be more likely. There were a few carp anglers set
up and as expected they were on the far bank, an area that we had
already decided to avoid as the less busy bank would hopefully allow
us to bait and fish swims on a regular basis without being disturbed.
Their was one carp angler on our preferred bank and as soon as he
knew we were interested in tench was extremely forth coming with
information revealing that his best from the venue was 11lb 4oz. He
also told us that the water held few small fish (complete rubbish as
it turned out to be. We called him Billy, Billy bullshit!) which was
encouraging as this meant my preferred method, the Helicopter rig and
maggot looked favourite. One of the best ways to find out about a new
venue is to talk to other anglers, some might not want to give too
much away but others, like this angler can reinforce what you need to
know, in this case that tench the size we dreamed of lived in the
water. One thing that was noticeable straight away was that the water
level was very high, in fact many swims were under water and
un-fishable, yet a few did allow for a shelter to be positioned, even
if it did mean having to take wellies to fish comfortably.
These
swims were all checked for features, yet the egg box bottom we were
expecting wasn’t what we found. Instead the swims all showed a deep
margin averaging six feet before shallowing up at around twenty yards
to as little as three foot before slowly dropping away to seven feet
at around fifty yards. The bottom was choddy with plenty of dead
leaves and weed as well as some shooting weed, but certainly not
un-fishable and at its shallowest point the bottom was clean gravel.
We both agreed that the margins needed to be explored and one of our
three rods needed placing here, whilst the other two would be fished
at the back of the gradual sloping bar where gravel gave way to silt,
an obvious collecting point of food and a likely patrol route for
fish. The gravel would be left alone for the time being as with the
water still cold this area would hold little in the way of natural
food, well at least until the water warmed up. As I was working in a
team with my fishing friend Chris it’s a good idea for both anglers
to feature find a swim before comparing notes as this once again
reinforces what’s exactly in front of you. Having located a couple
of swims that we were happy with we clipped up the marker rods before
spodding out a couple of kilos of mixed hemp, dead maggot and
boilies, just an appetiser to encourage a few fish into the swims
before our first planned session in a few days.
Working in Pairs.
Approaching a totally new water is
best done in twos as both swims can be baited, even if we not both
fishing. In fact, apart from the first session, our plan in the first
few weeks was not to fish together, preferring to fish alone, a
couple of days apart, as this would keep the feed going in both
swims, as well as the added advantage of each of us keeping an eye on
the water, trying different approaches out, generally sussing the
place out twice as quick. Instead of taking two marker and spod rods
with us each time, we simply walked each one out in the car park
before placed two elastic stop knots on the line which would show the
distance each of us would be fishing in the different swims. Another
advantage of fishing on different days was if one swim happened to be
taken then the other could be fished.
The first few sessions.
Arriving mid afternoon on a Friday we,
as expected found most carp anglers on the far bank and with both our
chosen swims vacant we simply cast out the marker rod before spodding
out a mixture of hemp, maggot and boilies. The spod was chosen over
the Spomb simply because it gives a wider spread of bait. With three
different set ups on the rods this session was more of an
experimental practice than a fish catching session and we both agreed
if a fished graced our nets it would be classified as a bonus. The
first rod I cast out was my confidence rig, the Helicopter rig with
two real maggots popped up with a sliver of foam. Sinking the line
and setting the bobbin I turned round only to hear the alarm sound
and found a two ounce rudd attached, joy. The next cast saw a repeat
performance as did a cast in the margins, time for a rethink. After
depositing plenty of dead maggots in the swim I decided to replace
the Helicopter Rig with another inline feeder and plastic maggot
hookbait. The next problem I found was when placing a boilie stringer
to the hook and dropping it in the margins. I always watch what a rig
does before casting it out and the PVA tape took ages to dissolve,
twenty minutes in fact, which did little for my confidence.
Eventually all rods were cast out, yet after repeated casts
throughout the night nothing happened. Chris had also drawn a blank,
yet on a positive note we were eliminating certain things that
wouldn’t work and making the odd mistake, which lets face it is the
best way to learn.
Chris returned a
few days later and had replaced the Helicopter rod with a corn stack
and was now moulding groundbait around the lead and fishing
method-style, yet his second session also drew a blank but at least
he had baited my swim as he left the following morning.
Another plan was
to fish quick overnight sessions during the week, in between work
until a few tench started to show, only then taking time of work and
putting in longer sessions that would cover what is often considered
better for tench, daylight hours, and then these sessions would
probably cover two days and one night.
My second night
coincided with a night of constant rain. It was what I classify as
the turning point from the very cold start to April to the warming
air crossing the country as at 1am the wind swung from a north east
to a south west. I had changed the feed I was introducing, less hemp
and dead maggots and more boilie, some of which had been crushed. I
had also added a few micro-pellets which I hoped would break down
quickly and add to the draw factor of the mix. These tiny pellets had
also been included along with a few whole and broken boilies to
small, quick dissolving PVA bags which were attached to the hook. All
three rods were now fishing small 10mm boilies fished in slightly
different ways and on slightly different rigs. The encouraging factor
on this night was that a couple of carp had been seen crashing
further out as well as a few liners coming later in the night, yet I
had to wait till first light for the critically balanced boilie
tipped with buoyant corn to spring into life. The bite wasn’t what
I expected with the bobbin falling to the ground and as soon as I
picked the rod up I knew a bream was attached. At 10lb 9oz it was a
fantastic fish, yet how I would have loved for its flank to be green
and its eyes red. My third session, again an overnighter resulted in
disaster as around midnight the critically boilie sprung into life
and whatever was on the other end certainly wasn’t a bream as it
was far too powerful, yet half way in the hook pulled and I was left
crouching in darkness with my head in my hands. A tench did fall
later that night, only a small one, but all I can remember is the
loss of what could have been a fish of a lifetime. 
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