Tench, Manor lake

A peaceful corner of Manor lake which was like an aquarium. Plenty of voluntary visitors to the margins including a brace of Pike, several Tench, Carp and a shoal of Roach. A few forced visitors also via the rod and line, seven Tench to 8lb 8oz, a 5lb Bream and a 1lb Perch. An unexpected visitor gave me a real shock. I was just sitting there peacefully taking in the surroundings when suddenly my right foot began to move. Mr mole was burrowing his way across the peg right under my chair.

Tench, Hardwick, Linear

A tough day spent battling more with weed than fish. A succession of hook pulls and lost fish in the weed made for a frustrating morning. However a change in fortunes in the afternoon saw a Carp and a Tench in the landing net. The Tench was the first fish and after a spirited fight pulled the scales down to 6lb 15oz.

The battle with the Carp was without incident which was surprising considering the amount of weed in the swim but this pretty Mirror weighing 10lb 10oz obviously does not like the stuff.

Tench, Hardwick, Linear

It is supposed to be spring with nice warm days and gentle breezes. Instead we get strong northerly gusts and a cold, shivering angler, despite a coat and two jumpers. No excuses needed for the fishing though as another bumper haul is enjoyed from the Linear complex. Seven Tench in total, most were in the 6's and 7's but one female did nudge the 8lb mark.

What was most pleasing was the 'nuisance' fish, as some anglers call them, but I do not see them that way. Bonus fish more like. A new pb Bream which was the first fish taken of the day and weighed 10lb 10oz.

Around 12.00pm my alarm signaled a slow but steady take. I struck into a fish and thought it was a bream, not much of a fight but in fact it was swimming towards me. Then everything went solid. Bream do not dive into weed beds so I thought it must be a Tench. Steady pressure for about 20 seconds and the fish came free. There was a lot of weed draped over the line but the fish was coming closer. Then it's back showed out of the water and I could see it was a Mirror Carp. This was the point it decided to find another weed bed and bury itself again. I pulled and pulled but no good, it was solid. I gave it some slack and put the bait runner back on and replaced the rod in the rests. One quick brew later and I gave it another tug. The fish was still on and I pulled a bit harder and prayed the size 12 hook and 8lb line would hold. Finally, with the steady pressure the fish started to come my way. After a 20 minute fight she went into the net and was mine. An epic battle from a stunning 16lb 4oz Mirror.

Tench, Horseshoe Lake

Trying to find a swim to fish on a bank holiday weekend was a lot harder than I thought. The intention was to try for Tench at Linear but there was literally no space on St. Johns, Hardwick, Manor and Oxlease. A fact finding mission to Linch Hill yielded a lot of information but the fishing was left for a quieter time so Horseshoe lake was were a line was finally cast some 4 1/2 hours after leaving the house.
The shortened session was still a success as a first (and second) ever Horseshoe Tench was landed.My first was probably one of the smallest in the lake and although it was a pretty fish it never got weighed.

The final fish of the session weighed 7lb 2oz and both fish fell for chopped worm-feeder tactics.