Incredible week for monster tench!
June is generally regarded as the very best month of the year for monster tench.
And judging by this week’s captures, it would be hard to argue – the sheer number of double-figure fish reported to Angling Times this week was staggering!
In fact, specimen-sized fish have been showing in numbers over the past couple of weeks, suggesting that there is simply no better time than now to catch one.
One angler who has already enjoyed phenomenal success this season is specialist Chris Taylor, who has taken no fewer than four double-figure fish – topped by his biggest of the season so far at 11lb 8oz.
It was caught from a southern gravel pit, and was one half of a pair of doubles, the other of which weighed in at 10lb 9oz. Both fell to a worm hookbait presented on homemade blockend feeders. His rig consisted of 12lb E-S-P mainline, a 10lb Fox Illusion hooklink and size 11 Drennan Barbel hook.
Chris had to put in extra effort though, hiking to a swim over a mile away: “I was reluctant to fish it due to the distance involved, but with other lakes being closed I went for it. I was exhausted after two trips lugging my gear, but I soon prepared my swim with a castable weed rake.”
The Hampshire rod then woke at the crack of dawn to continue the pursuit: “I was up at first light to put five Spombs of fresh bait over each of my three spots. I then caught tench steadily until noon, when I latched on to something that fought much harder. After a few hairy moments of battling the fish in the weed, there could be only one winner – I couldn’t believe my luck when the dials registered 11lb 8oz.”
Chris isn’t the only angler to bag a double – several other anglers have also taken some impressive tench…
Daniel Woolcott 11lb 3oz
targeting a southern gravel pit for three years resulted in Daniel Woolcott finally landing his target of a double-figure tench – in the shape of this fantastic 11lb 3oz specimen. Daniel told Angling Times: “I’ve put a lot of effort and time into catching this fish.
Every year I failed, but this year it’s finally come good.” Daniel used helicopter rigs in his approach. These consisted of 8lb Drennan Supplex Fluorocarbon hooklinks, size 14 Super Specialist hooks baited with three live maggots, and a cage feeder of groundbait, dead maggots and pellets. He added: “It was an immense fish – it was great to see it!”
James Buckler 11lb
Big tench often fall to carp anglers’ tactics, as James Buckler found out when he landed this 11lb beauty from Manor Farm at Linear Fisheries in
Oxford. It fell to a
Dynamite Baits Monster Tiger Nut pop-up over a bed of Red-Amo boilies, hemp and corn. He said: “It wasn’t my target species, but it was quite
a specimen.”
Matt Fernandez 10lb 8oz
Persistence paid off for specimen angler Matthew Fernandez. The result? This impressive tench of 10lb 8oz. The catch comes after an enduring campaign on a southern stillwater. He said: “After three springs on the venue, I’ve been rewarded with a double-figure fish. A new approach of regular prebaiting helped me land more than 40 tench, this one being a new best.
My mix consisted of Frenzied Hempseed, 6mm Krill Pellets, sweetcorn and Source boilies.” He presented a Source boilie hookbait on a heli-rig, a 3ins hooklink and a size 10 Korda Kurv Shank hook.
Carl Hill 10lb 8oz
Loughborough angler Carl Hill headed to the Medway Valley Fisheries complex in search of his first double-figure tench – and was rewarded with this 10lb 8oz beauty. The new best was fooled on a worm-kebab hookbait, presented on a helicopter rig comprising an 8lb Drennan fluorocarbon hooklink, a size 10 Nash Wide Gape hook, and a 2oz Drennan blockend feeder packed with red maggots.
Mike Townsend 10lb 5oz
A 300-mile-plus round trip to a southern gravel pit rewarded Mike Townsend with his first tench of the season – at 10lb 5oz. The Yorkshire rod targeted an area just short of a gravel bar at 40 yards. Four spods of maggots, hemp, pellets and chopped worm tempted the specimen, along with a smaller one of 8lb 14oz. Both fish were taken on an open-ended feeder helicopter rig, with a hair-rigged worm hookbait on a size 12 hook and 8lb hooklink.