Tinca, Tinca & more Tinca...Then OH MY GOD!

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

I sucumbed to my addiction today and headed off to Marsh Farm again. Arrived at just after 8am to find the place buzzing (Spring had sprung and it seemed everyone wanted to fish today). Set up in peg 28 on Harris Lake and started fishing at about 9am. Five hours and 2 or 3 bites later, I was fishless!. What's more, just about everyone around was also fishless!

So I admitted defeat and moved into Richardson Lake and immediately found some tench on the pole using caster and/or small cubes of meat. Most were between 1lb and 2lb with a couple approaching 3lb. Good fun but after an hour or so I suddenly decided to move back into Harris. A quick relocation to peg 7 and I was fishing again by 5pm.

Within 10 minutes I was into a decent fish which turned out to be a tench of around 4lb. Several more followed, all on double caster, on the pole, at about 5 mtrs out. They were averaging about 3.5lb apiece and very good sport on such a short pole and line. But no crucians! I was even getting a bit frustrated as I was sure crucians were around but the tench arrived in such numbers that I was being a bit "cavalier" when playing them on the #6/8 elastic!.

At about 7:30pm it all changed! Not a crucian, it was another tench but not just "another tench". This one was very much heavier in the water and was just slowly "wandering around" the swim. I don't think it even realised it was hooked! It rolled a couple of times and I was feeling very nervous because I had never seen a tench of such proportions! I even began to think it may be into double figures!

It was a very obliging fish as it eventually just wallowed into the net and yes it was heavy. My pb tench is 8lb 02oz and that was caught a lifetime ago. As I slipped the weigh sling around this one, I still thought it was 10lb+. But it wasn't. My new pb is now 9lb 05oz!!!

Here it is:



I'm going back tomorrow! I'm going tench fishing, perhaps I'll catch a crucian?

[Michael1992]

Thats an absouloutley belting fish, especially on the pole.
I love my pole fishing, my biggest fish being 11lb carp. (pictures later).
But tench fight harder than carp.
Well done mate

[perch_king]

awsome tench well done

[Fishing Forum Admin]

what a fantastic tench well done

[Wandering_Angler]

Well done on catching a Fantastic fish, This could be a fish of a life time! I love Tench, perhaps MOST!!!! By the way, where is Marsh Farm?

[Portland Pirate]

Well done.

You really have been catching some fantastic fish this year.

[fishypaul]

very well done neil , a 9lb + tench is mahoosive !!

[Norfolkboy]

What a beast!

[ctwhitelaw]

very well done mate , lovely fish

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

Originally Posted by Wandering_Angler

By the way, where is Marsh Farm?

It's in Surrey, near Godalming and is better known for it's record nudging crucian carp. But the tench are really going well at the moment!



I returned there today and found some more tench. It fished better today as I landed tench steadily throughout the late morning and afternoon. I ended up with 14, all on the pole down the inside again. Most were 3.5lb to 5lb but the biggest two were 6lb 13oz and 7lb 09oz. One of those was hooked during a short sharp thunder storm, there I was waving about 6mtrs of carbon around! Yesterday and today are probably my best tench catches ever!