6 perch tonight on curry maggots

[Twiddler]

I wouldn't recommend the float totally submerged as that would mean a longer gab between tell-tail shot and the hook, it would take longer to indicate the bite and you might strike too late.

Oh and don't ask me....I'm a beginner myself lol

but to wet your appetite, here a pic of my PB Tench, caught only a few weeks ago (whilst carp fishing) 5lb on the head.

Excuse the state of that bizarre looking creature holding the fish.....inconsiderate as the tench was, it kicked me out of bed daft o'clock in the morning


That was caught on a single grain of artificial corn popped up on a running ledger rig

[the_ bandit]

wow i wish of catching such a beast !!!!! whats the "pb" mean b4 the word tench ??

and do u cast out and if the float is totally submerged u know to lengthen it and if is floating on top shorten ?? or am i not getting this at all ?? lol

[Banana Steve]

PB = Personal Best. Claudia we will have to start calling you the Tenchmister. . Good luck for tonight Bandit, hope you catch

[the_ bandit]

just in the process of making some groundbait !

cheers banana steve , hopefully there will be a picture of me and a monster like the 1 above , a wish , i will keep u guys posted

[the_ bandit]

well im back............ annoyed ......

spent the afternoon making groundbait for tench , swans ate it . it was like a homing beacon for swans .

swan duckling swam over the line and got caught so spent a good 30 mins untangling my gear and the duckling

then got settled and started to relax when a swarm of scottish midges persued me for another 30 minutes

then i got a perch on the smallest perch iv ever caught and it was on maggot with sweetcorn......

and...... then the whole swan family paid me and my lines a visit so i packed up and headed off , just couldnt get rid of them .

so it was a bad nights fishing ...




if u can see through the swarm of midges u will see my float lol





a p***ed of me

[Michael1992]

That first Picture Looks a beautiful swim :P

Bad Luck on Tonight, im sure if you keep perservering you will get what you want . . . Are you even sure theres tench in there?

For the tactics, I would follow on Claudias instructions, she seems to have a good head on her shoulders, she will point you in the right direction.
Another tactic is to bait up an area, Maily with particles such as hemp, maize corn, Micro-pellets, you know, something to attract and hold the fish in the area . . .
Then top up with a small cage feeder every cast, filled with maggots, casters, particles etc. the stuff you have baited up with.
A small Hooklength leading to a size 12/14 hook with hair rigged artificial corn or a korda klip of 10-12 maggots should do the trick, Although this could attract alot of attention from small rudd, Roach etc.

I know this all sounds a bit advanced and complicated but im telling you the basics here, A more experienced Specimen Tench or Even Carp Angler could give you a better explanation of rigs . . .

Good Luck, Hope this helped.

Tight Lines
Michael!

[the_ bandit]

thanks michael i,ll try to obsorb the knowledge , its the best thing about this forum , lots of people share information , thanks !!

[Vagabond]

Originally Posted by the_ bandit

well im back............ annoyed ......

spent the afternoon making groundbait for tench , swans ate it . it was like a homing beacon for swans .

I suggest you invest in a plummet and use it to find a deeper swim. It sounds as if you were baiting a swim shallow enough for swans to reach the bottom with their necks (thats about three feet). Look for at least five feet depth,
and once you have measured the depth, you can set up a lift rig easily.(Study Twiddle's diagram at post 9) - use a longish thin float shotted so about half-an-inch shows - the bottom shot about four inches from the hook.

Use either a "Method Mix" or "Sensas"; groundbait mixed with molasses (or water if you can't get hold of molasses - a horse feed and tack shop is your best bet of finding some) Make it stiff enough to sink quickly before it breaks up.
Make sure you are fishing where your groundbait is!
Best to cast in and use your float as a target rather than chuck the groundbait in first, then find you can't remember exactly where it went.

For tench, don't worry about hair rigs to start with - keep it simple, with either two pieces of sweetcorn, or a big lobworm, or about eight maaggots crammed on a size ten hook. Nine times out of ten, those will catch any tench on the feed. If there are roach and rudd in the area, then at least the bigger baits I suggest will mean that if you do get a roach, it will be big enough to be pleased about!

The items in bold will be at your local tackle shop.

[the_ bandit]

Vegabond thanks for the info , but the depth of the swim is only about 2 feet , there are only 2 pegs in the whole lake because of the lilys all round , there are only 2 clearings , sadly quite shallow swims , [ iv actually waded out to the middle to get a expensive lure i that got snagged on the first cast ]

iv been catapulting the groundbait and afew maggots around the float , it mite be the maggots they wee eating but..... 1 did pick up a ball of my groundbait , it was mainly pet food and some sweetcorn in balls that i made earlier after reading a page in "course fishing"step by step guide bytony mies/bruce vaughn, think it was bad luck today to be honest , the swans usually are in the un fishable area of the pond ......

[Vagabond]

Only two foot ! Ah, now you tell us. Well, I would do one of two things - make a determined effort to find a deeper swim and if that failed, find a deeper lake!

How easy would it be to clear your own gap in the lilies? You can buy a sort of mini-scythe which you can screw into a landing net handle.

If you can wade out to retrieve a lure, then you could wade along the edge of the lilies to find a deeper swim. Stop before your hat floats LOL