River tench and carp

is there anyone out there who can give me some tips or baits etc to use i have found a cracking stretch of the ouse courtesy of local farmer i work for who owns it i saw some huge carp rolling and i was told there are a few tench in there aswell. i'm taking a break from the barbel this weekend and going down there and was just wondering if i could get some help of you guys so i could catch one or two ( never caught a tench before )
cheers Daniel

Hello Daniel,

I find carp pellets a great ground bait to use for tench. They seem to bring them into your swim and hold them there. I fish mainley on a lake so i am not sure how well this will work on a river. Give it a go, you never know!!
Ps. chopped worm seems to work wonders also.

Hi Daniel. I am seriously into River Carping at present.It does really pay to pre bait a few days before fishing.Try to bait up the near bank using a feature such as a crease or bend or overhanging tree etc.This makes fishing easier after dark and eliminates hassle with drifting weed or birdlife. Nothing fancy wheat maize sweetcorn hemp Tigers or Trout Pellets not forgetting the vital Vitalin will do either in combination or on their own.If using small particles add in a few of whatever you are using on the hook.This could be Maize Tigers Luncheon meat halibut pellets or boilies.I have found nights best which is good as I then go Tench fishing on a nearby pit during the day. They fight like the devil so gear up accordingly , 25lb Silkworm or 15lb nylon hooklengths .Strong hooks are a must.You have cracked the hardest part which is location.It would be interesting to know how you get on.

Daniel,

Try lobworms,iv'e had several tench on the ouse below Bedford up to 6lb on them, and big lobs too!
you may obviously get trouble from the perch but it's deffinately worth a try.

i have nevaer caught a carp above 5 lbs - not really into the specimen side of it all!! what about taking them off the surface with crust or air injected lobs??
my plan is to bait it up with pellets, hemp, casters and corn, or either of them, and fish corn or worm or pellets over the top ( floatfish )
i'm not bothered about the perch - it is full of them, and big ones to 4lbs too so i dont mind, it will just be nice to take a break from the barbel and do a bit of specimen float fishing!

[DAVE COOPER]

Daniel, I think you need to make your mind up about what you are fishing for and focus on them, trying to exclude other species rather than go for anything. If you have seen the carp and know there are tench present also, well go all out for them. You can do the perch another time.

Bait up with pellet, hemp and corn and fish corn or pellet over the top. Forget the lobs and casters as hookbaits as you will probably get plagued by perch (which would be nice another time). Gear up appropriately to land a decent sized carp if you hook one and sit it out for your target. Floatfishing is a nice way to catch them, but make sure your bait is fished static on the bottom.

yep ok cheers dave, i'll hopefully get out tomorrow evening and get some pellets and get down to the supermarket and top up on corn, it isnt a very hard water theres only me and dad allowed to fish it so with a bit of luck it shouldnt be such a long wait. at the moment i'm planning to have 1 leger rod just off the margins with a larger bait like a pellet or several pieces of corn, then i'll floatfish the margin with corn probably, both over hemp, pellet and corn.
cheers Daniel