More Than Reviews the Tench

………………Common………………………….. Golden

Tench

The tench or doctor fish (Tinca tinca)

A freshwater and brackish water fish of the cyprinid family (commonly called ‘carp’) found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also found in Lake Baikal. It normally inhabits slow-moving freshwater habitats, particularly lakes and lowland rivers.

Tench are one of the hardiest coarse fish of all, creatures of habit they seem to have a character all of their own, with olive green skin and a small red eye, although they are a very hardy fish in recent years they have been bullied out of many fisheries by the more popular and successful carp, as such tench are becoming very sought after both by venues and anglers, tench grow much slower than carp, but rest assured a lake with big tench will always pull anglers in.

Their diet consists mainly of insect larvae, snails, and worms. It grows quickly, the female faster then the male, living in small shoals. If the water temperature drops below about 5o C the Tench withdraw to deep holes and bury in the mud.

Methods of Capture.

One of the best baits to use for Tench is small red-worm or red maggots. These can be fished with float methods ideally ‘laying on’. The float needs to be set about 10cm over depth so that the bait is actually resting on the bottom. The bulk of the shot needs to be around the float, a waggler with a cane antennae, and a single number 4 positioned 8cm from the hook. Fish over loose fed maggots or chopped worm close to weed beds or the bank-side. Tench tend to be cautious feeders and often play with the bait before confidently taking it. This is reflected in the bite. The float will often bob a few times before lifting slightly and then gliding away. Many bites are missed by over anxious anglers striking too early and it is advisable to wait for the float to glide away before striking. Once the Tench looses it’s inhibitions it will rise to intercept feed and bites can sometimes be had as the bait is falling through the water. If this is the case, replace the no.4 shot with a number 6 and move it further up the line so that the last 50cms falls freely.
A Tench once hooked can present the angler with a quite energetic fight, often diving for available cover and snags therefore tackle needs to be fairly strong.

An alternative bait is a Kidney Bean, presented on a size 10 or 12 hook and fished slightly over-depth with a waggler. The bean should be squashed at the very end to show white which in turn produces an attractive smell/taste.

Tench are a early morning species so try for them at the crack of dawn or at dusk. A simple cage feeder with sweetcorn as bait should be taken by a tench or two.

Tags: Tench (Tinca tinca), Tinca Tinca, Water Temperature, Worms, Yenisei