Tench fishing

I would like to target tench. I have some decent equipment now, (two carp/predator rods, and two free spools reels)
I am quite new to fishing so need as much info as posdible! How do I attract tench? What groundbait do they favour and could I make up my own at home? What is a good flavour additive for them? I've been told they like sweet flavours like strawberry. What hook bait have you had most success with while fishing for tench?

Up til now, I have only used a few handfuls of groundbait, how much do people recommend using?
Finally, I've been using off the shelf hooks with hair rigs, the length of which is quite short, would you recommend I made up my own with longer hook lengths? Many thanks in advance for your support.

First of all, you don't need carp/predator gear for tench.

Shallow, weedy estate lakes, and the small overgrown farm pond type of water, are probably where the most interesting tench fishing is to be had, although the average size fish rarely compare with that from gravel pits and reservoirs. I rarely fish commercial waters so I have no comment regading that aspect of fishing.

Briefly, the first thing to do is locate the fishwhich is usually pretty easy It can be time consuming but by putting time into looking for rolling and bubbling fish you will be saving a lot of frustration later on (get to know your water/s). Look out for features - they love anywhere that they can hide and feel safe. The underwater detail is likely to have an influence regarding what measures will make the tench more catchable. In shallow water (for instance) the light is likely to penetrate to the bottom and if there’s a lot of light then the tench will easily be able to see you and your terminal tackle. The lake-bed composition and contours are important because they dictate the best choice regarding tactics Also as tench are very shy fish it is important not to let them know you’re there if fishing close in.

Tench prefer natural baits, that look natural. They can be caught on boilies and pellets, just like carp because in many lakes this is become a natural food source for the fish as anglers continue to use them. However if I’m targeting tench then I would rarely use boilies or pellets (I'd use pellets only if fishing up in the water for them). IMO the best baits to catch tench on are anything that has a natural look to it. Worms, maggots/caster, sweetcorn, luncheon meat, bread and chickpeas are excellent baits.

I don’t do that much tench fishing nowadays as I’m on the river as soon as things kick off but I always used to do well using molasses additive with very finely chopped worm and some soaked micro pellets… tench love grubbing around on the bottom hence all those patches of tiny pin bubbles which often give their location away.

If you want you can always add some chopped sweetcorn and hemp to give you a few different options on hookbait such as worm, one or two grains of sweetcorn or pellet and if you’re fishing beyond a range where you can hand feed it and you need groundbait as a carrier or feeder plug then any sweet mix should be ok.

The amount of groundbait (or particle feed) will depend on the water and the level of fish, you might find you need a decent blanket of feed down to pull them in and get their heads down or you might need to be a bit more selective if there’s a large head of carp and feed less in tighter pockets where you know the tench will be, such as near to lillie beds etc.

I personally favour short hairs but if it’s causing you a problem then there’s no harm in experimenting and tying some longer ones yourself.

Good luck with it.

I tend to use sweetcorn directly on the hook if float fishing with sweetcorn, micro pellet and ground pellet as loose feed/ground bait. When ledgering I use an inline method feeder (preston small 15g) and a three inch hook link with a hair rigged banded 8mm coarse pellet, the ground bait is ground pellet and micro pellet.

I always fish to features, lily beds, reeds, islands, overhanging trees, etc. I use pellet waggler rods for both feeder and float fishing.

When float fishing, I introduce a couple of walnut size ground bait balls once I have plumbed up and settled and then feed one every 10 minutes, I also find that one piece of corn aimed at the float every 15 to 30 seconds for five minutes can be a good technique. Another feeding strategy that works well is 4 pieces of corn every couple of minutes. A pinch of micro pellets or hemp every couple of minutes also works.

Finding the tench is the key to fishing for them, in my experience. The tactics are really basic catch-everything stuff, and simple baits, that also catch everything.

The one thing i've never really done while after tench, is fish open water on a clear bottom. Always done better fishing amongst or along side weeds/lilies.

If you can find a source cockles are a ber-illiant tench bait. Not so fashionable nowadays but the tench still love em.They love casters too....and maggot and will also happily pick up an artifical bait. Pellet feed is fine but though tench like a pellet so does everything else. I'm still searching for a bait that tench like that repels carp. Its a forlorn hope I know.

As for location....if there are lilies then there will be tench nearby.

How about john Wests Baby Clams in Brine ?

Buy John West Baby Clams in Brine (280g) online in ASDA at mySupermarket 

I think they should work as they look very much like cockles - Except a lot cheaper.

Another reason to sometimes go shopping with your other half ?


Steve

Tench love red baits, get hold of some red food dye and mix it with the salt water drained from a tin of GG sweet corn. Put the corn and liquid in a large glug pot and leave overnight in the fridge to soak a day or two before you go.

Why red works better for tench more than any other species I do not know, but it does seem to attract them also a red groundbait of very finely ground bird food, hemp and maize will keep them grubbing around for hours.

PS. They like Chilli powder and Garlic too, suggested levels would be 10g of each per 1Kg of groundbait.

Good luck.

laguna said:

PS. They like Chilli powder and Garlic too, suggested levels would be 10g of each per 1Kg of groundbait.

Good luck.

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Chris, does that suggested 10g of chilli powder alter according to how hot the powder is?

Mix it with 10g of gunpowder to check, CG??

cg74 said:

Chris, does that suggested 10g of chilli powder alter according to how hot the powder is?

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I've always used Heera brand extra hot Colin because well, its vastly more stimulatory to milder versions such as pimento and is finely ground.
I dont suppose you can get hotter than "extra hot" (other brands may differ) - 10g mixed with 1KG of groundbait still has a 'kick' and not overpowering.

Cheers Chris, I thought the same would be the case, what with their delicate palates.

I know chub and barbel are different species but with those two, I found a combination of red hot powder and mild chilli flakes brought the best results...
But they have differing preferrences as to the amount of inclusion of both chilli types.

Chilli flakes used in a paste wrap around a cork ball? or maybe in the base mix makes a lovely presentation, adds texture and palatable too certainly wont deter barbel and chub. well they'll eat anything that remotely looks edible as you know but personally prefer cheese, milk proteins and bread for chub.

Many have tried to emulate Haiths Robin Red (a blend of spices, peppers, crushed seeds etc), amongst those ingredients stated by anglers it contains paprika? which used in small amounts adds a little taste and colour to my goulash, but then I wouldn't necessarily take the chance of spoiling my meat by overdosing.