Estate Lake tench

[Gary Bills]

I like tench, and for several years I pursued estate lake tench, without ever feeling that I was getting to grips with the challenge. I have only caught 5lb plus fish from one water, and that was a lovely 18 acre estate lake in the Midlands - too large for my taste; although the size added to the mystery. The tench here didn't really play by the rules. As you can see from this old shot of my PB tench - 6lb 4oz, probably carrying spawn, - one of the best areas, at least at the start of the season, was open water: albeit shallow open water with some soft bottom weed.

100_1725.JPG

I expect it was a spawning and post spawning area. Many fellow club members used early method-type set ups; but although I managed a few fish like that, I also missed loads of bites and had plenty of dropped takes. The six pounder, my records tell me, fell to a 0.25oz flat lead, six pound line, a size eight hook and a worm/sweetcorn cocktail over a small bed of "exploding" Sensas groundbait . I remember using a quivertip rod to enhance bite indication, and I can see my old Mitchell 300s on my rod. Happy days!
These days, of course, 5lb and 6lb tench hardly make the angling news, but I suspect that there might be as few as 15 tench waters, even now in the UK, where one can reasonably expect 5lb fish. What do fellow forum members think? As I say, up until now, I've only found one, and this particular lake (Dudmaston) has enjoyed more than a few features in the angling "comics," whenever editors want a feature on estate lake tench...! Des Taylor did the last one, as I recall...

[Tony1964]

One of the Tench Fishers waters I fish is Bradleys Pool (Pool????) at 108 acres or is it 104? Anyway a huge venue but often produces double figure tench. The first 10lb'er I caught was amazing and I ran around telling everyone only to find that it was considered nothing special by the other anglers. It is still the biggest I have ever caught and very special to me!

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Double Figure Tench...now that really is a dream fish!!! :thumb:

[Tony1964]

I agree SK, the chap in the next swim to me just shrugged when I told him and said that he had one last week. Talk about bursting my bubble!!

[StalkingLuke]

Tench were for many years my favourite fish where I grew up was a park lake which was an old estate lake and was full of them, float fishing sweetcorn between the reed beds at dawn and the smell of decomposing leaves and water mint and the fizzing sound made by the bubbles breaking the surface where they fed on my groundbait, aah the good old days!

Does anybody remember the classic episode of Go Fishing with John Wilson when he fished an old estate lake? he starts off on the feeder and in usual style was soon catching, the feeder barely hitting the water before he was into another one. He ended the program float fishing off a boat jetty with a centrepin.

Here is a clip- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRM5D2gYzeU

[Gary Bills]

I expect the size of the water is a major factor for big tench: and I expect that Bradley's is not an estate lake? Probably, the bigger the water, the bigger the tench - but 18 acres is still too big for me! To be honest, I know about the gravel pit boom down South, but it seems that there is still a dearth of big tench waters in the West Midlands region (?). Dudmaston did used to to have some impressive tincas: with some folks catching them to 8lbs or so, and with sightings of larger ones - but, according to my info, if anything the average size of the fish is going back from the mid-Nineties. Why there was a big tench boom in the Nineties throughout the UK is something of a mystery, isn't it?
As a nice tinca tale, let me tell you about a chance encounter with the legendary Joe Day on a Midland reservoir, when I was a snotty-nosed teenager: just 13. It had been reported in the local press that the then holder of the barbel record was fishing the local reservoir (about 10 acres) for big tench, and had already caught them to 7lb. Well, one day I was walking round and I encountered a chap fishing with a slightly set MK IV Avon: this was Joe Day, although I did not know it until he told me who he was. He was ledgering bread flake over weed, using a slow-sinking, cork-bodied "fledger" of his own design. He gave me one of these fledgers, and I both used it and treasured it, until I lost it on a snag. He was a most friendly and helpful person to a youngster, even when - to my shame - I asked him whether his "old" rod was capable of handling really big tench. He told me it was the rod he'd used to catch the record barbel at the Royalty, and I got to hold it.... I swear I could feel a tingle of electricity down the cane!

[J.T]

I'm still in search of a good Tench water, actually I'm still in search of a good water to be honest!

My best Tench is in my Avatar picture, didn’t weigh it though, I don't often weigh the fish I catch.

Anyone give me an estimate on it. :chuckle:

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Lovely tale Farliesbirthday, and I know exactly how you felt when you held that rod, I felt the same when I held the rod Clarrissa was caught on.

As for big Tench waters, I do believe that Sywell Resevoir hold really big Tench. Fish to 12lbs have been caught although the average is 7lb, and it's only £8 per day or £12 for a 24 hour trip.........

http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/c ... ngscp.aspx

[J.T]

Cheers for the tip off SK.

[Tony1964]

I'm still in search of a good Tench water, actually I'm still in search of a good water to be honest!

My best Tench is in my Avatar picture, didn’t weigh it though, I don't often weigh the fish I catch.

Anyone give me an estimate on it. :chuckle:

Difficult to say from a small photo but I would say about 3lbs.