I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

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Catfish.017
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I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

Post by Catfish.017 »

It's no secret I've been struggling to catch Tench lately. In all honesty I've been enjoying the local canal getting some nice Perch and more Roach than last Summer. So I had put Tench fishing on the back burner; but with the season slipping by I thought I should mend my ways. But where to fish for them? All my known venues had consistently failed to produce. Then I remembered the Daw End Canal.
Some five or six years ago, before we had moved up, we were on a Summer visit to our daughter and I had gone to walk the dog along the Brownhills canal but had taken a wrong turning, got disorientated and stumbled on the Daw End. As we walked I thought this looks good, weed beds,lilys, reeds and what looked like a good depth of gin clear water ( Few boats) . I met a chap on the tow path, an angler (not fishing) who rather put me off a bit saying that fish were few and far between despite its appearance.
After moving up I thought about it quite often but actually couldn't remember how to get there but then stumbled on it again late last year returning from a day out. So yesterday I decided to give it a go regardless, reasoning that it couldn't be any worse than elsewhere.
I arrived at first light to find that the towpath was closed in the direction I had walked that day. Oh well up the opposite way then. In fairness it looked just as good as I remembered it with all the fishy features in abundance. I walked around a quarter of a mile past two bridges then sat on a likely looking spot (it all looked good really!) lilys dotted around, far bank reeds and trees, lovely. After three quarters of an hour I'd only had a couple of little Perch and I could see further up the canal widened slightly and had lilys inside and far bank with perhaps a ten foot channel down the middle. I settled in there and soon had some small Perch again but then I hooked what I was certain was a nice Tench that got me in the lilys and snapped the line. Damn!. A few casts later I was compensated with a cracking Perch of about a pound and three quarters, a stunner, vibrantly coloured in the clear water. The small Perch became troublesome so I switched to bread and hooked and lost another Tench. Double Damn!
I didn't get another opportunity yesterday but I went back again today at first light after stepping up my line strength a bit. The spot I fished yesterday had filled in with drifting, grungy algae so I sat a couple of yards to the right. First drop in with a bunch of maggots under a nice yellow topped Harcork float that showed up well in the dark reflections. Suddenly it wasn't there and a Tench was on. The fibreglass topped 11 ft Floatcaster took on a nice curve and this time all went well. Not a monster about a pound and a half but the relief was palpable! The little Perch moved in again so a switch to bread again and another Tench hooked and lost (hook pull) . A bit of a wait but then I got a two pounder. Happy now but there was more to come though a three pound Bream intervened first. Two more Tench came at intervals, each a little larger than the previous. Two more slipped the hook too!
The sun was well up now and I thought that was probably it. Yesterday some half decent Roach were quite visible in midwater, I caught a couple at six ounces. Today they appeared again so I thought I'd try for them again. I fed some sloppy mash, dropped the float a bit and cast out mid channel. I could see the bread bait being pushed around as it sank but nothing happened after it fully sank. But a couple of minutes later the float buried and a Tench was on. Two and a half pounds. As I landed it a cycling couple stopped to talk, the chap was an angler. I cast out again, the Roach were still there. As we talked we all saw a Pike of around five pounds as it sidled out of the far bank lilys and headed straight for my float then turned to the left and slow why melted away. Soon after the float dived again and another Tench was lugging away at the rod top. Nearly three pounds this one and the last of a catch I'd hoped for but only tentatively.
Last edited by Catfish.017 on Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Pallenpool
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Re: I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

Post by Pallenpool »

I reckon that chap you met knew something and thought best to put you off. Fortunately he didn’t and you found a piece of heaven - tench heaven.
:Hat:
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.

Heraclitus


www.thepiscatorialraconteurs.co.uk

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Wanderer
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Re: I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

Post by Wanderer »

In my experience, local knowledge can be invaluable but it can also unreliable.
Always best to try for yourself and don't be put off easily.
"Not all those who Wander are Lost !"

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MWithell
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Re: I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

Post by MWithell »

Well done. That sounds wonderful. Clear water, too. There seems so little of that around.
Malcolm

Catching lob-worms is one of the greater Outdoor Sports. It is the most hilarious game in the world (John C Moore)

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Catfish.017
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Location: Fradley Junction quite often!

Re: I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

Post by Catfish.017 »

MWithell wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 10:41 pm Well done. That sounds wonderful. Clear water, too. There seems so little of that around.
Yes the Brownhills canal (Wyrely and Essington) is tap water clear too. It can be a blessing and a curse though. Beautiful fish and easier to find but also easier to scare too. Stealth is required for success.

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MWithell
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Re: I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

Post by MWithell »

That used to be all part of angling
Malcolm

Catching lob-worms is one of the greater Outdoor Sports. It is the most hilarious game in the world (John C Moore)

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Grumpy
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Re: I've died and gone to heaven, Tench heaven!

Post by Grumpy »

After your struggles with Tench this year I am so glad you have now found some in what sounds like a fine location.It just goes to show that doing your own groundwork can pay dividends against so called "local knowledge".

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