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.