The 20 Year Tench

Thumbing through Mr. Crabtree the other evening while enjoying a glass or two of Taylor’s vintage port, I arrived at the summer section of the book, and it suddenly dawned on me that, and I’m not sure why, but for some unknown reason, I haven’t caught a tench in 20 odd years, not one. Maybe it’s something to do with not having fished for them or not having fished still water’s. Either way you would have thought that the number of rivers I have fished during that period I would have hooked one or two, but no not one.

I was suddenly filled with the overwhelming desire to stare into that lovely little red eye that the tench possesses. 

I don’t know what it is about the tench, it just looks like an ancient fish, like a dark medieval warrior, all stocky and clad in colours of the dark world of the wild.

A friend always said “It’s such a grumpy looking fish with its down turned mouth”. I like to think that maybe it’s smiling when it’s at home in the water and just looks grumpy when landed after putting up a valiant fight and being defeated.

So with all the Covid restrictions lifted by my angling club, (The Canterbury and District Angling Association) it was time to make plans.

Again not having fished the clubs lakes, a little delving into the association hand books and annual reports it was down to a choice of two lakes, Stour or Trenley. Stour lake was originally stocked with tench and bream but during severe flooding some years ago the two lakes became one for a number of weeks so it’s not really known what fish are where. I asked a friend who has a deep seated knowledge on the two lakes and his advice was to fish the top half of Trenley.

Armed with my trusted pair of Chapman 500 split cane rods, a Speedia wide drum centrepin and Mitchell 400 reels, I set off before dawn on my long overdue adventure.

The wind was blowing from the north so I opted for the south side of the lake, tench it is said don’t like cold northerly wind.

I found the perfect swim with lily pads on both sides of a clearing.

I spent a good half hour raking the swim before settling down to a nice cup of tea and a little prebaiting with sweet corn, chopped worm and small balls of bread paste.

The rods were set up and cast out, a home made goose quill float on the centrepin rod and chopped worn on the Mitchell rod using a light link ledger.

I can’t believe it, I’m tench fishing on a stillwater, who’d have thought it.

I wrapped some silver foil around the line on the link ledger rod and left it to take care of itself so I could concentrate on watching the bright red tip of the quill float.

After 20 minutes or so bubbles started to appear in the swim but they were not the pin needle bubbles of the tench, no they were the large sporadic bubbles of carp.

Go away carp I don’t want to play with you today, I’m only on 1lb TC rods and 6lb line, go tell your dark green mate Mr. Tench I’m looking for him. This went on for most of the day with not a sign of feeding tench. Please don’t tell me I’m going to have to wait a few more years before we are reacquainted.

With most of the day gone and not a single bite let alone a fish gracing my landing net it was time for one last cup of tea, rebait the rods and settle down in the last chance saloon. I kept the sweet corn on the float rod but switched the ledger rod to bread paste, hoping that the 10mm ball of goo would be irresistible to my quarry.

An extra sugar in the tea and a couple of custard creams should do the job.

15, 20, 30 minutes later and not a sausage, a couple of fry broke surface, I don’t want a perch, I’m after tench and with that the silver paper shot up and rattled in the guide ring. Quick as lightning I grabbed the rod and struck, fish on I gasped, fish on. A dogged fight ensued with numerous headshakes and striving for cover in the lily bed, no no no come out I pleaded as the bamboo rod took on the shape of a deep arc. After what seemed an absolute age I finally slipped the net under what would be a most welcome and memorable 3lb8oz green fighting tench.

Tell your friends I’m coming back next summer to play and not leaving it another 20 years.

I went tench fishing

I caught a tench

I’m a happy man