Compact Float Rods

[mikench]

I’m with Rich on this one and just find it more comforting to make up my rod on the bank. I can then settle on the one or two for the job on the day. I do make exceptions in the event of a short session on a known venue and with a particular method and rod in mind.

 

[108831]

While I can ring up on the day,I will,i'm afraid each swim may require a differnt float,even if the same size,also shotting itself is critical to catching,pertinent to the swim itself,I want to know I have a freshly tied hooklink,plus no kinks in the mainline from them being broke down,that is me,I feel happier and more confident doing it that way....

 

[108831]

I’m with Rich on this one and just find it more comforting to make up my rod on the bank. I can then settle on the one or two for the job on the day. I do make exceptions in the event of a short session on a known venue and with a particular method and rod in mind.

Trouble is Mike,you have to leave the other thirty seven at home....?

 

[bencarvosso]

I swear by my compacts for tench fishing in Ireland. Long walks and short sessions mainly to the same swim I have cut out on a lake.... makes perfect sense to me and I wouldn't be without it... used various ones over the years but my go to tench rod is the drennan power float.... stops big tench going through jungle swims and has never been wanting.
I do use it with robust gear. 10lb line straight through, 12 or 10 hook, big float..Not exactly finesse fishing but it works and fishing light for these fish, they will make a mockery of your gear

 

[tigger]

I swear by my compacts for tench fishing in Ireland. Long walks and short sessions mainly to the same swim I have cut out on a lake.... makes perfect sense to me and I wouldn't be without it... used various ones over the years but my go to tench rod is the drennan power float.... stops big tench going through jungle swims and has never been wanting.
I do use it with robust gear. 10lb line straight through, 12 or 10 hook, big float..Not exactly finesse fishing but it works and fishing light for these fish, they will make a mockery of your gear

Out of curiosity, what size do the tench run round your neck of the woods?

 

[mikench]

Trouble is Mike,you have to leave the other thirty seven at home....?

Alan you don't know I moonlight for Pickfords.

 

[bencarvosso]

Out of curiosity, what size do the tench run round your neck of the woods?

Well the Irish record is 8.2lb lol. Miniscule compared to the UK ones.
But the surroundings make up for it and I love fishing for wild uncaught fish.
Best I've done is 7lb 10oz with a few back up mid sevens

 

[108831]

I like wild Irish tench,they weren't stuffed full of boilies is that still the case?

 

[tigger]

Well the Irish record is 8.2lb lol. Miniscule compared to the UK ones.
But the surroundings make up for it and I love fishing for wild uncaught fish.
Best I've done is 7lb 10oz with a few back up mid sevens

View attachment 11735

Great pic, propper dark green wild tench for sure.
I have heard the tench over there pull back pretty hard.
The heaviest i've had was a 10lb 4 ounce fish caught on a leger set up from a large gravel pit in Kent.
My best local float caught tench was 9lb 8 ounces and it was well after spawning. I think float fishing for tench at night is one of my favourite ways of fishing, they fight harder than any uk fish imo.
I go a little lighter than your set up and use 6lb straight through to a 14s or maybe a 12s hook. I use a number of float rods for them including a drennan super tench float rod.

 

[bencarvosso]

I like wild Irish tench,they weren't stuffed full of boilies is that still the case?

I have used 10mm boilies on the rare occasion I'm getting mullered from Rudd.
But most of time maggots, corn and worm would be my approach. That one was caught with one fake and 4 real casters on the lift method.
There are one or two very popular lakes that see a few boilies but nothing like the UK. Most of the lakes I fish you have to hack through rushes to find some bank then rake a swim and you won't see another angler on the lake from one month to the next which I love.
If people start fishing a lake I'm on I generally move on to pastures new. I prefer finding my own fishing, looking for lakes that may have tench in them giving them a go. Some turn up nothing special but sometimes you do find a real gem.

 

[Keith M]

Tench are my favourite species and although I’ve caught lots of them over the years my biggest was only 8lb 12oz, and during the same session I hooked two sixes and one five pounder plus a quite a few smaller Tincas. It was in a lilly strewn swim at my local estate lake one early morning, which is still a beautiful and fairly remote place to fish, but the Tench fishing is now not what it once was due to a pollution incident; although we are due to stock a few nice ones early next year

I even get a thrill from catching smaller Tench, they fight well and they do look good too. A few years ago; a mate and I used to spend around 3 or 4 very early mornings each week (before we went to work) catching Tincas from a local gravel pit, and catching up to around 11 or 12 Tench each up to around the 4¾lb mark was quite common. Nothing really big but it was still heaven on Earth; unfortunately there was a pollution later one year that wiped most of them out, and that was a really sad day for me and my mate and unfortunately they never seemed to come back to that gravel pit in the same numbers as before

Keith

 

[Pikerwoods]

Used to fish lakes round Balinamore for tench in the 80's lovely dark ones.

 

[bencarvosso]

I've not fished the ballinamore lakes in quite a few years, they can be busy but had some massive bags of tench off some of them
This was a 300lb bag me and a pal had over night from a lake up there 7 or 8 years ago. We fished from 9pm to 8am. The tench were in 3 keepnets and quickly put on a sheet in the bic boat for a quick pic and put back safe and sound.... I don't retain tench anymore unless it's a big one and I'll put it on a retention sling for a weigh and pic.

 

[mikench]

Bloody ell! Amazing haul.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[108831]

Mike's idea of heaven...