Raking

Big Rik · Aug 4, 2004

I'm going tenching Friday morning after work and I intend to rake the swim when I arrive at first light and then put down a sprinkling of pellet over the top.

Ideally, I would like to rake the swim Wednesday, then bait it and then rake it again on Friday before fishing, but I know somebody would jump in and take advantage of my hard work.

Have you raked before and if so have you raked prior to your fishing or just on the day and what has given you most success?

GrahamM · Aug 4, 2004

Rake on the day you're going to fish. Tench are not frightened off by it for very long. Obviously they are scared off during the actual raking process but return sometimes within minutes of the activity stopping. I've had tench to doubles within 5 minutes of heavy and noisy raking.

What I do is decide how much feed I'm going to throw in prior to fishing, and then throw half that amount in (groundbait and particles, maggots, casters, corn, pellets, etc) before I rake. When you've finished raking throw the other half in.

The rake buries a lot of the first half of the feed, which I always reckoned made the tench more active digging for the food, and made them stay in the swim for longer, and the second half was the initial attractor.

Then I just fed little and often with loose feed throughout the session according to how well the fish were feeding.

Big Rik · Aug 4, 2004

but it's a gravel pit, so will the feed still get buried?

GrahamM · Aug 4, 2004

I must admit that most of my tenching has been on the meres and estate lakes which are quite silty.

But even if the gravel pit has only a skim of silt the method should still work. Might be better though to make the first baiting (before raking) 25% or so of the feed, rather than 50%.

Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt · Aug 4, 2004

I agree with Graham (he shit the bed or something, 6.42am?). Raking and Tench just go together dont they. I often do it when i can and its amazing how quick they return to the swim. The fact that they may not be in the swim at the time possibly encourages them to move in on the 'disturbance' too being inquisitive creatures they are. Yeah, rake on the day, dont let someone else take advantage of your hard work.

Errrrrr, where is it your fishing and what swim?????

ps
redworms redworms redworms redworms

GrahamM · Aug 4, 2004

What you doing up Wol, it's not time for school yet. Oh, just remembered, you're on holiday.

Redworms and lobs great for tench at times but I caught most of my tench on maggot, caster and corn. Most of my biggest tench came to caster, two or three on a 14's, float fished.

Of course, boilies are going to be at the top somewhere if you're fishing a popular carp water.

Peter Jacobs · Aug 4, 2004

I have had good results using exactly the method that Graham describes. Tench will readily feed within minutes of raking a swim and I have taken good fish after about 20 minutes of raking.

If at all possible I do try to rake a day or so before, but as you say Rik, you can guarantee someone will be in like Flynn if you do, unless you have restriced access.

b.t.w. some clubs have a no raking rule, (why for crying our aloud?) so make sure that you don't contravene any stupid local madness.

Good luck for Friday, I wish I could have been going as well but this week is my week back at work in Holland.

Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt · Aug 4, 2004

lol.....yes, on holiday.

With regard to the worm, be it reds, lobs, dens, etc. I found they tend to have the edge when i've raked in the past. Rather than corn, bread, boilies, i think the stirring up of the lake bed, disturbing what natural food there is and then offering something natural over the top perhaps gives you the edge. A good trickle of maggot/caster via the catapult once they arrive should keep them in the swim until they had enough or hopefully you've caught em all.

reds reds reds reds

Rik, give me a shout if you wanna know what a float is!

;o)

ED (The ORIGINAL and REAL one) · Aug 4, 2004

Red corn is very good ....For some reason they seem to love red baits (redworms, red corn, casters)

jason fisher · Aug 4, 2004

i've had days on my tench lake when i haven't raked and days when i have, i've always faired better on the days that i have given it a really good raking right at the start. i actually caught one 9lber about 20 minutes afer i had finished raking.
on the other hand their is also a lake that i know of where the rake will empty a swim for a week.

jason fisher · Aug 4, 2004

red maggot too, but i've had all my best tench on small redworm and corn cocktail baits.

yoggy · Aug 4, 2004

Take some prawns with yer rik,,,tench love em,,good luck.

john conway · Aug 4, 2004

When I?ve fished for Tench on the Lancaster Canal I?ve raked the swim as I arrive in the dark (early morning) and thrown in my maggot, caster or mash bread on top of the raking and by the time I?ve set up my rods there?s fish in the swim.

Wolfman Woody · Aug 4, 2004

Horse shit and dried blood. But you'd be advised to wear Marigolds when you're preparing it.

And stand down wind of anyone else.

MaNick · Aug 5, 2004

I can do some sacks of horse shit if anyone local wants some!... got tonnes of the stuff!

Dried blood.... where would we get that round these parts Jeff?.. off the pub walls in slough?... ;-)

Big Rik · Aug 5, 2004

I must admit that my main reason for the raking is to make the fishing easier.
Clear areas on this lake are few and far between and are normally inhabited by anglers.
Even though raking is allowed, I've yet to see anybody do it extensively, although I have seen minimal amounts left on the edge.

I'm hoping that it may be an edge.
I intend to clear an inverted triangle as far as I can fling my double headed rake (realistically about 25 to 30 yards) and then give the the area from the bottom of the drop off to the back edge of the clearing about 3 kilos of Swim Stim pellets and halibuts and approx a 1/3 of a can of special corn.
Fishing two rods over the clearing with corn on one and worm on the other.
I think I'll fish open end feeders lightly filled with a mix of various sized pellets mixed with Dynamite 'Meaty' Marine Pellet Groundbait (the stuff in the can)
Various pellets, pastes and fake baits will be taken as back-ups as well as some Marine pellet boilies.
I'll top the swim up with bait as and when I get any action and also by recasting the feeders.

I'll let you know how I get on.

GrahamM · Aug 5, 2004

Here's an article about raking filamentous algae for tench. Not quite the same thing that Rik will be doing, but with some info that could be useful:

Raking for Tench

Peter Jacobs · Aug 5, 2004

Rik,

As you probably know I am not a proponent of most of the "modern" pellet, paste or fake baits. So, I wonder what has prompted you to take this approach?

Given that the raking will not only clear the area but also release a mass of natural foods then personally I would be tempted to use redworm, caster, red corn and red maggot.

I have been really thinking about using these modern baits for a couple of seasons now but simply cannot seem to get my head around it, so any advice that you could offer would be really helpful.

Big Rik · Aug 5, 2004

Pete

read my post again.

"Fishing two rods over the clearing with corn on one and worm on the other."

"Various pellets, pastes and fake baits will be taken as back-ups "

Big Rik · Aug 5, 2004

sorry that sounded a bit abrupt, the pc at work was playing up and I needed to get out the door and on my way home.

Raking

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