Silt fishing

I am actually asking a tench question, and beg your forgiveness for the hijack of your forum, but carp fishermen are really nice and excellent anglers...(is that enough?).
I have found a good tench water (apparently), but it is really silty (over 7ft in the margins). I have had a cast around with a marker rod and found about 6-8ft of water over silt, inbetween weed beds. No gravel, sand or clay etc, just tons of silt.
I have read a little bit about silt fishing to give me a start, but what about bait? Do I use something with a strong flavour, or will the flavour not escape the silt? Groundbaiting?, prebaiting?
Do you subscribe to the plug the lead in the silt and leave it method, or slow sink bombs (cork) with light bait (breadflake?) to rest on silt (is that possible)? How far will a normal 2oz lead sink in silt?
Will a tench burrow into the silt like carp?
Maybe someone would have a stab at an article if it isn't that simple. I hear some of the North West meres are very silty, maybe Graham would want a go? Thanks in advance.

Yes Mike tench do burrow in the silt like carp when feeding and because of this it makes a discolouration of the water and sends up a stream of bubbles

Mike,
I often fish in silt and have always done better on ordinary tactics i.e. bottom baits and 2-3oz leads. As for baits, I would try and use something that you do well for tench elsewhere as a starting point and if that fails perhaps look for a bait that doesn't take on too much silt smell or discoloration. Silt can be feet deep or just a few inches. If you can find firmer areas that can be better but a good bet (as always) is find the fish before fishing and fish to them.

Rob.

Yes, the depth of the silt is very important and would determine how I would fish it and what bait I would use.

Rik have you a good way of testing the depth of silt ?
Ive used the wool method in the past .

CAKEY

It's what I use as well Cakey.

I tie it to the lead and tie it to a swivel some way up the line.

A quick bit of Pythagoras and it's sorted.

Just out of interest, I fished an old estate lake in Norfolk a few weeks ago which had a similar problem. The way I got round it was to...wait for it...float fish!!

Ended up with a 24 pound 10oz Leather taken on a cockle. ...which was nice.I basically had the shot round the float and let the cockle fall naturally to the bottom. That way the bait was on, or not very far in the silt.

Rik I tie mine to lead too but I came up with the idea of tying the other end to a marker float which seems to work and no pythageysorus rex just read it straight of the wool.
Am I doing right do you think?

CAKEY still knitting

about two foot of wool

CAKEY still no baby

Cakey,
can we assume you are about to produce a ''biscuit''? If so, my best wishes to you and yours.

I've tried those bouyant bombs (**pike angler on our carp forum again alert**) and they're hopeless. You can't tighten down to them because they keep creeping back towards you.

Clive
About to become a grandad

CAKEY shes got twinges