Still Tenching

Chez Tench

The new season begins but rather than rush down to the river I decided to avoid the crowds and pointed the van in the opposite direction towards the crystal clear gravel pits of Oxfordshire. My Tench campaign has been nothing short of a disaster this year so old Tinca was the target for my worm hook baits. The conditions seemed just about perfect, warm and overcast with just a slight ripple on the water. I arrived late due to a thick head from a mate's wedding the day before but was pleased to see I had virtually the whole lake to myself.
As I walked the bank a Tench porpoised about thirty yards out and made swim selection a doddle. It looked like it was going to be easy pickings but fishing is rarely just that. I had my first run after a couple of hours, just before lunch, an absolute screamer and just as I was taking control the hook inexplicably pulled-gutted. The line was covered in slime so it must have been a Tench and the speed of the fish had me thinking it was a small male.
I was beginning to think that it might be the only bite of the day when the alarms registered a stuttering take. I struck into another fish, much more of a plodder and when it finally surfaced my suspicions were confirmed, a good size female. I let out a sigh of relief as I bundled her into the net and on the scales she registered 8lb 13oz. At last a decent Tench on the board.

Oxford Tench really are stunning creatures.
I managed one more run but annoyingly the hook pulled again so I gave up early, it was father's day and I wanted to see the kids some.

Gravel Pit Tenching

It's that time of year when my obsession with catching a double figure Tench begins again. For the last few years my efforts have centred around the Linear complex, mostly on Hardwick Smiths lake, not because it gave me the best chance but because it is the least heavily fished so fairly peaceful. However this year I have decided to target a different water, well a change is as good as a rest.
My feeling is it's a little too early in the year for the really big Tench, the few weeks before spawning giving the best chance(of a double) which this year will probably be late June due to the long cold Winter. Today I used my usual worm based approach.
It took a couple of hours before I had the first indications and the bite developed into a 4lb 7oz male in the net. A pleasing start to a campaign on a new venue but I would have preferred a big fat female, lady Tench are always bigger than their scrappy boyfriends.

It didn't take long before I was in again, another good scrap and another petulant male on the bank, this time 4lb 3oz, they were getting smaller.

The next run saw me strike into something altogether different. The fight was more sluggish, it felt heavier and I began to think I had hooked either a cracking Tench or a small Carp. Imagine my surprise when it suddenly tail walked across the swim. It turned out to be an angry Pike and a pretty good one at that. "There's no way I am going to land this" I thought to myself, either the 8lb line would break or be bitten through at any moment. I took my time, let it take line when it wanted to run and ever so gradually I coaxed it closer and closer. It tangled my other rods leading me a merry song and dance but eventually I bundled it into the net. Luckily the hook was well lodged in the scissors away from those razor sharp gnashers. Good skill and good fortune in equal abundance.

13lb exactly

Within minutes of putting her back I was in again, this time the target species but yet another male, this time 4lb 12oz.

Another hour later I caught, yes you guessed it,  another male but this one was the biggest so far at 5lb 9oz.

I must have been casting into a Gentleman's only club for Tench, boys 4 girls nil. That was the last of the action for the day.
Mid afternoon there was a tremendous storm, thankfully I had my day shelter with me and I sat nice and dry sniggering at the anglers opposite getting a right soaking.

The last laugh was on me though as a huge gust of wind lifted my brolly up and away down the bank and I ended up dripping wet as well. Serves me right I suppose!

Gravel Pit Piking

Beyond the fence is the field where on an August bank holiday weekend there will be hundreds of anglers milling about the fishing stalls trying to pick up a bargain or two. At the moment it is under about seven feet of dirty floodwater. 

This morning I headed off to Linear to attempt to catch a gravel pit Pike, something I have never done before (by design). Three years ago I landed a Pike out of St Johns lake on a boilie! This time I took dead baits.

The forecast rain was not due until late morning so at least I could set up in the dry. Oxfordshire has not managed to avoid the rain therefore the banks were sodden and the pegs were actually in danger of disappearing under water.

I put three rods out, two in the margins to either side and the other straight out beyond the weed line. To say it was quiet was an understatement, not even a bleep, and then mid morning the rain started. 

And it did not let up. The rods continued in silence so to alleviate the boredom I played around with the camera.

I took photos of the rain on top of the brolly...

the rain from under the brolly....

and anything that flew by.

Around lunch time the bailiff came to inform me they were closing the whole complex at 3pm as a precaution for the flooding, I think it was unnecessary but I had had enough so didn't mind.