My first session of 36hrs was cold in fact the morning frosts of -2c did little to help out in the terrible conditions. I persevered using method mix and plastic casters and the Drennan inline maggot feeder. The bobbins remained fixed if not by the frost but the total lack of any activity from anything with fins. Had some fun with winged individuals that can swim on lakes though.

I just think that the shallow area I’m fishing has not warmed up sufficiently. After saying that at night I took one of about 4lbs on a popped up boilie.

Then later in the morning I had another of similar size.

So no blanking for me!

not the best looking tench

I was supposed to be guiding Mark on the same venue the following week. The weather hadn’t improved so I suggested we try elsewhere. He asked if I could help him out on a new club lake he had just joined to see whether we could find out where the tench were. He had walked the lake the previous day and spotted one tench rolling but no other activity.

We agreed to meet at 7am. The forecast for the day was to be horrendous, gale force winds and pouring rain. It wasn’t too bad for the first hour or so and we could even make out one or two fizzing tench. Then it set in. I was so pleased we had some shelter from the worst of it.

So we baited with hemp and and live red maggots. I had never set eyes on the lake before so not knowing fish stocks etc then we didn’t put too much in. The rigs were much the same rigs as before, one with the method feeder and plastic casters and the other Drennan inline feeder and 3 plastic maggots.

We could see a gravel bar going down the length of the lake. It was about ft deeper either side of it. So Mark fished down one side and then another two rods down the length of it. The lake bed was fairly clear of weed, other than the normal silk weed that often lays bright green on the bottom.

We had to wait 3 hours before we got the first take that had the rod tip pulling around as the fish took off. Mark lifted the rod and started playing a tench.

Mark playing his first tench of the season

Mark did a great job of playing the fish lightly as we were using smallish hooks. It looked a decent size fish.

5lbs 4oz

Well we were both pleased as we were not far away from moving swims. In fact I had already prebaited our next swim. So of course we sat tight waiting for another tench to make a mistake. Sure enough another hour or so passed and the maggot feeder rod was off again.  This time there was an angry male tench on the other end. Not large but at 3lbs 14oz it still gave a great account of itself.

The wind just didn’t stop trying to uproot every tree around the lake. Then again after putting both maggots rods on the feeding area line started being pulled off the spool of one of the rods.

Mark lifted into the fish. Again it fought really well and Mark did an excellent job of playing it. I shouldn’t be surprised at this as mark is a very accomplished angler.

This time the fish was a very short fat tench with big shoulders and at 5lbs 2oz very nice. Here is a short video of it going back.

Time was moving on and Mark needed to leave near 8pm and about an hour before that one of the maggot rods was off again and the rod arched over. This was a more of a slower fight with the tench plodding around. It’s fascinating witnessing the tench twist and turn in the deeper margins. We netted it there and soon had it on the scales 6lbs 2oz and a very pretty tench.

6lbs 2oz

So that was it for one of the most windiest days I had fished in.

Mark was a happy man, what a great start on a new venue.

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