Another Difficult Tench Fishing Session

It’s been another tough two day session on Tewitfields a ten acre limestone lake near Carnforth near Morecambe Lancashire, it cost’s just £5-00 a day per rod or better still you can get a season ticket for £300-00 which I reckon is a good purchase. With a syndicate ticket I get to fish all year and as I often fish three or four day sessions its value for money to have a season permit.

For my latest effort to try and crack my big tench target on this water I ordered 4 pints of fresh casters from Gerry’s of Morecambe, its been some time since I visited Gerry’s, I was most impressed with the well stocked shop. Having collected my casters, the odd item of tackle, I was back in the car for the short journey to the tench lake.

Tewitfields is without doubt one of the toughest tench fishing waters I have fished, not helped by the unseasonable weather. I’ve had fish rooting around in my swim just inches from my bait, still they refuse it. If I use worms they are immediately seized by small perch, using gentles its tiny roach rudd and perch. Bread is soon shredded to bits. Yes, I can catch a few tench but not the big ones that I seek. Fish in the eight and nine pound class, I reckon I have seen a couple of fish that might push the scales to ten pounds. On this trip I would bait heavily with method mix containing hemp, tiny pellets, casters and corn. Using a bait dropper to get most of my casters in one swim, hoping the small fish wouldn’t take them?

Having spent some time walking around the lake, I fed a few handfuls of method mix in three spots; I then went off for a late breakfast and mug of tea. An hour later still no signs of fish in the baited areas. I chose to fish the road side bank towards which the south west wind had been blowing for a couple of days. Choosing this area knowing fish often follow the wind. I picked two swims; one situated fifty feet from the bank where fish had been rolling, this is often a prelude to feeding. Plumbing this area I found ten feet of water between two weed beds which I baited with twelve cricket size balls of bait containing mini pellets, casters, hemp and corn, I then added a pint of casters using a bait dropper, I reckon throwing balls of bait in by hand at this distance, is better than spodding.

My other swim was under the rod tip with eight feet of water, in among the hundreds of small rudd perch and roach I would occasionally see the odd tench move through. They averaged 4lbs not the fish I was interested in, but at least fish did visit the area. Hopefully one of the big ones would pay a visit later; with a bait dropper I put in half a pint of casters, a can of sweet corn and three pints of mini pellets and a pint of hemp. I wanted a bed of bait down there to keep a big fish occupied. Both swims were left along for sometime, I didn’t want to take the chance of spooking any fish before they become confident in feeding on the bait.

I fished two 12 foot Grauvell rods, Shimano 3500 reels and ten pound Gamma line; some readers might reckon this is over the top on tackle strength. I don’t. Tench can be tough fighters and I would have to pull the fish through a weed bed. I might also hook one of the big common carp. My end rig was the Pallatrax In-Line Stonze with a four inch fluorocarbon hook link with a size 10 hook and a short hair; I wanted the two bits of hair rigged imitation corn tight to the hook shank.

As we know chub often pick up the bait in their lips, I have seen tench do the same. With too long a hair this usually means a missed bite. I made sure the balanced corn would be popped up about an inch above the light covering of silkweed by pinching a small bit of tungsten putty on the hook link. My second rod had a Pallatrax In-Line Stonze system again with a four inch
fluorocarbon hook link with a slightly longer hair on the size eight hook. Bait would be a popped up boily

My other outfit was a 13 foot rod, centre pin reel with six pound Gamma line; I rate this line excellent for all types of coarse fishing it has excellent abrasion quality and knot strength. I chose a three swan shot waggler, two swan shot locking the float, with two AA pinched on the line halfway between float and hook with a BB shot some six inches from a size 12 Pallatrax hook which are extremely strong. To the bend of the hook I tied on a half inch of half pound breaking strain line. When the time comes to fish I would super glue two or three imitation casters on the hair.

By using these imitation casters I would know I have bait on the hook at all times. Having plumbed the depth I set the float so about eight inches of line was on the bottom. Having baited my swims I left them alone for a couple of hours, I didn’t want to early and spook the fish before they got their heads down.
Having made up all my tackle, I sorted out rod rests, bite alarms, bobbins, landing net weigh scales and weigh bag. When I am on a two three day session I have a large plastic box with cooking and brew gear, spare gas bottle, water, tea bags, and tins of soup, tuna pasta, fish and chicken. In my big Chillers cold box I have sandwiches, milk, diabetic fruit cake and biscuits and breakfast cereals. I don’t use a bivvy; making do with my waterproof gear should it rain, though if the rain is persistent I will erect my umbrella.

With everything sorted I sat back with a mug of tea some fruit cake and my Daily Telegraph. Occasionally I spotted a rolling fish over the ‘Fifty Foot’ swim, occasionally a tench rooted around in my swim close to the bank. I left them alone to settle on the feed. Suddenly a streak of forked lighting appeared to my right. I immediately grabbed my paper, mug of tea and disappeared towards Les Bratby’s cabin. If you’re caught out in the open during a storm the best place to be is in your car. Don’t do what I have seen some idiots do carry on fishing. No fish is worth a life.

The storm lasted an hour, and then it was blue sky with some small white fluffy clouds. Back in my swim I could see several tench feeding, though none were the size I wanted to catch, I topped up the swim with a can of corn. I put six droppers of casters in my ‘Fifty Foot’ Swim I then had a walk around the lake checking out some of the close in swims where I had put in some bait. About halfway along the opposite bank I spotted two big tench rooting around in the bottom tight up to the bank under the grass, normally this would be a firm bank but with all the rain this summer it was under water giving the fish an extra feeding area.

I immediately went and got my float tackle, then adjusted the float so the bait would just be on the bottom, I lowered the two hair rigged imitation caster quietly in the water. Still the two big tench which I reckoned would weigh seven pounds plus continued to feed. For an hour or so the fish moved in and out of the area, often only inches from the bait. For a few seconds I took my eyes of the float to look up the bank where I heard a big swirl. Disaster, something picked up the bait then moved off fast towards the centre of the lake. As I heard the reel screech, I grabbed the rod in a panic the line jammed where it was taken off the reel too fast. Suddenly the rod hooped over, and then it was gone. I had that sickening feeling as the limp line fluttered from the rod tip. I was gutted. Those few seconds where I had taken my eyes off the float had caused me to lose a big fish.
After dropping a ball of method mix containing casters and corn in the swim, I walked back along the bank towards my base for a mug of tea.

As I did so it looked as if it was raining, the lake surface was dimpled where hundreds of small rudd, roach and perch were probably feeding on Chironomids. Having made a mug of tea I cut a slice of cake then settled down in my chair. Looking across the water to my ‘Fifty Foot’ swim a good tench rolled, my hopes were getting sky high. Perhaps tonight I would get one of the big ones.

After a break I went back to the lost fish swim. A good tench and two common carp was feeding, picking up my rod and bag I moved well back from the waters edge then tied on a new hook and hair to which I glued on two imitation casters. Creeping back to the waters edge I could see the tench, but the carp had gone. I lowered the baited hook down tight to the bank twelve inches in front of the fish; I watched the fish as it inched closer to my baited hook soon it was perhaps an inch from my hook. Occasionally the float dipped slightly, probably caused by the fish touching the line. I was ready to spring into action. Half an hour later the fish was on an even keel and slowly swimming off towards the centre of the lake. I spent another hour or more waiting to see if it would return, it didn’t. Collecting my gear I went back to base.

Six o’clock I decided it was time for dinner of potatoes, venison, peas and gravy followed by a slice of cake and mug of tea. I was then ready for the evening session. Time to position my leger rods, one with a popped up boily, the other with imitation corn. With some method mix moulded around the Stonze weights, after casting out I placed both rods in the rests then clipped on the bite indicators switching on the buzzers. I then float fished the close in swim with various baits, corn, small pellets, caster, bread flake and worms, no tench but a succession of small roach rudd and perch. I fished until dark with nothing better than small fish.

Throwing in some crusts for the ducklings I was amazed to hear fish swirling at the bread. I quickly took all the shot and float from my line then baited with a piece of crust which I dropped on the water, soon there was a swirl. The line pulled through my fingers. The strike connected with a nice fish; soon a rudd was in the landing net. Realising it was a good one I got the scales out, the fish weighed one and a half pounds. Between darkness and midnight I had twenty, perhaps thirty good rudd with two at 2-2-0 and 2-3-0 these rudd looked as if they had just been minted. Fin and scale perfect.

At midnight the fish stopped taking crust off the top then disappeared, it was time for a bowl of soup to keep me going through the night and I still expected to get a decent tench on one of my leger rods. Up till now I hadn’t had a single bleep; I sat watching motionless bite indicators until about two in the morning. With no sign of action I decided to get my head down for a couple of hours.

I was woken up by heavy rain around 4 o’clock before putting on the kettle I recast both rods, clipped on the bite indicators then made a brew. I was thankful for my waterproofs, within fifteen minutes the right hand indicator moved slowly to the butt ring. Soon a tench about five pounds was netted. Rebaiting I cast to the same spot, and then fed in three cricket size balls of ground bait. In the half light of dawn a big fish rolled over the baited area. The buzzer bleeped twice, the bite indicator shivered, five minutes later the indicator hit the butt ring. Fish number two was powering away, several minutes later a good fish was netted. On the scales it went 6-4-0.

Still it rained, it was monsoon conditions, I put up my umbrella, and by seven o’clock I had caught nine tench the average about five pounds. At nine o’clock the rain ceased and soon I had blue sky bright sunshine with a strong south westerly wind. Time for breakfast During the day I roved around the lake looking for big tench without success, I went back to my baited swims and sat it out until about seven in the evening then called it a day.