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Keith: with his personal best

I am not a night fisherman, much preferring sleep to star-watching, and for tench fishing that is no hardship.

Keith Arthur
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Once again the angling press has been filled with tench captures as an ever-increasing number of anglers realise that, even if the weather is cool with night frosts, Mr Tinca will still have a go.

I've already gone into catching tench from gravel pits, where floatfishing the margins is a brilliant method so let's take a look at another evocative tench habitat, the estate lake. These shallow meres were formed in the heyday of grand gardens, usually by damming a stream or headwaters of a river to fill a beautifully cut hole.

The resulting lakes were shallow, clear and, because of the fertility of the surrounding land, usually well represented with water plants. Of those plants, lilies were probably the most prolific and there is nothing more evocative to a tench angler than watching lily pads twitching as tench forage between the stems.

The silty nature of the lake beds provides a perfect breeding ground for midges and mosquitoes so bloodworm is in abundance. The plant life encourages water snails too, so the fish have a rich larder. As the tench filter their food from the silty lake bed clouds of tiny, pin-head sized bubbles appear and that is usually a precursor to action!

Close-in floatfishing with the lift method is another sure-fire means of success but the feeder is a more than viable means of putting a few tench on to the unhooking mat.

I prefer to use an open-end feeder set up with either a quivertip if the banks allow the rod to be set at right angles to where I'm sitting, or a bobbin set-up if my swim entails peeking out through a window in reedbed. My choice of rod would either be a medium feeder rod with a 1.5oz test curve quivertip or a 1.5 - 1.75lb test curve 'Specialist' rod.

Backwind

I always use reels with a front drag - I simply don't trust rear drags and only backwind when using very light hook lengths when match fishing. Line should be 6 - 8lb breaking strain for the reel, with one strain lighter for the hooklength. I don't use braid when tench fishing.

The safest (for the fish) and most efficient method of fishing the feeder is on a standard running rig and I prefer to use a block-end rather than groundbait feeder. To set up the rig, first slide a snaplink swivel on to the line, followed by a rubber buffer bead, ideally a bead that will fit snugly over a no8 swivel.

Tie the swivel on to the end of the line, then tie 12ins of hooklink material on. I prefer to use fluorocarbon as it is heavy and tends to sit straight on the bottom as well as being virtually invisible in water; at least to my eyes.

The hook will be a size 14 eyed barbless Carp Match hook. Even if barbless hooks are not demanded by the fishery owner, I prefer them for perfect presentation of the bait, which will be red maggots.

The feeder I prefer is a rocket-style block-end with the casting weight in the nose. These feeders cast superbly - like rockets of course - and will sit nose-first in the silt, allowing the maggot loading to escape from the holes. Don't worry too much about the bait burying itself into the soft silt: tench love nothing more than having a good old dig to get at their grub.

Load the hook with two or three live maggots then tip them off with an artificial rubber grub. These float which helps keep the bait on the silt and also seem to deter roach and rudd which, in such shallow water, can follow the feeder from splashdown to the lake bed and beat the tench to it.

Even if you do get indications that small fish are having a go, at least you will still have something on the hook for tench to home in on.

There are not that many species for which I'll use flavourings but tench seem to have a fondness for caramel/maple type tastes, so a teaspoon of a good quality flavour, such as Mainline Activ Maple 8, which is also a food source additive, can increase catches when mixed into a pint of maggots.

There is also a new product on the market called 'Atomic Cloud' which is a strongly-coloured and flavoured powder which makes a lingering cloud in the water. Putting a handful in your maggots can create a good feeding signal for the fish. Choose red, if possible, irrespective of flavour.

Accurate

It is also worth trying a piece of artificial corn as a change from the rubber maggot: yellow and red seem a good tench combination.

Accurate casting is the key, as is sharp-eyed observation. Scan the water looking for those giveaway bubblers and cast to them with a bomb on the line, before tying on the hooklength. Once you have the bomb in the right place, slip up and count the turns of the reel handle as you wind the line in.

Remember that number because if you have to unclip the line for a hard-running fish, you'll be able to get the range easily within a couple of casts.

Bites are usually pretty positive: not as violent as carp but certainly more rod-wrenching than bream. There's no need to strike, with a barbless hook the bite will be sufficient to set it, so just lift the rod and let the fun begin.

I am not a night fisherman, much preferring sleep to star-watching, and for tench fishing that is no hardship. It does, however, pay to be on the lakeside early as the dawn period is usually very good. For two hours bites can be fairly regular but then they will often slow down.

Keep casting to maintain a decent level of feed in the swim and start paying close attention again at about 2pm: for some reason there is frequently a feeding spree during mid-afternoon before it all slows down again until JUST before dark. Once the sun has gone completely, I am usually not far behind it.

Keith answers your questions

Hi Keith, I'm just writing to say i enjoyed watching the show this week but I am in a bit of trouble as I have been getting back into match fishing the last couple of years and doing some local matches around the area I live but have really struggled to get any serious weights. I know a lot of this could come with practice but is there any advice you could give? Plus, if there were any ideas you had as to whether having some lessons or proper match advice would be good, would be a great help. The area I live in is Herefordshire, the matches I've been in have been on the Wye and at Docklow, do you know of any other venues that would be of benefit to would help also. Sorry to ask so much but my competitive streak is getting the best of me! Hope you can help! Kevin Webb
KEITH SAYS: The first step on the road is always the hardest, Kevin. By the time the proper Wye season starts next season, as the river fishes best in winter, you'll have a bit more match experience under your belt but don't let that fool you: the Wye is a difficult one to crack. It's vital to draw well and when you draw to know what you have in front of you. My best advice is to take a couple of the early matches off and actually walk the banks watching. A chat to those who look like they know what they are at will also help, if only to show you what you are up against.

As for Docklow, I am sure this is a water where knowing the right method is what matters most. Certainly a day's coaching with someone expert on the venue will help enormously and probably save you throwing money into the bin marked 'Pools Fodder'! Ask the fishery owner or manager if he can recommend a coach and book a day, even a shared day. It will be money well invested. Whoever you recruit to help will also be able to give you good advice about alternate venues. Good luck!

Hi Keith. After watching the VT of Steve Ringer on how to catch bigger fish with the pellet waggler on last week's show, I just want to know what type of rod I could use. I have a 14ft Shimano match rod and a 11' 9" Avon rod with one-and-a-quarter test curve. Are these rods any good for the job? Wes Sheldon
KEITH SAYS: Hello Wes, of the two, the Avon rod will be best suited to the pellet waggler. Modern rods designed for the job are usually shorter than average; I have an 11'6" and a 12-footer, both with Avon-style progressive actions to prevent hook pulls. Make sure you have a decent reel with a working drag as using the drag effectively will help you land more fish and land them faster. Tight lines!

Keith - great show with Steve Jackson! Was wondering when you were showing the viewers the different types of banded/hair rigs - what were the actual hooks Steve uses? I know they are spade end, but would what brand and strength of hook and or what would you use for this type of fishing for Carp shallow. I know alot of people normally use heavy guage-eyed hooks... Alan O'Brien
KEITH SAYS: I can't help with Steve's patterns but I suggest you could try the Gamakatsu Pellet G110 in 14 or 16 (there's little between them!) or my choice, the Kamasan B911. If you prefer eyed, the newish Drennan Carp Match Eyed are an excellent hook. Using spade ends with bands either on a hair or direct is fine but if you want to use the 'lasso' or a hair loop, please don't use the knotless knot unless you are using substantial hook length material. I find it a poor knot, failing at the eye regularly due to the acuteness of the angle with the line coming back through the ring. Go for a separate hair instead. I have been trying some new TINY rubber bands from Nash Tackle. I can't tell you the name because I can't find them in their catalogue. Gary Bayes gave them to me - after I begged him! - at a tackle show earlier this year. Tie the hair to the bead and slide the bead on to the hook. They are small enough to grip and there is no compromising the tackle with a poor knot: use a palomar with mono or a grinner with fluorocarbon.

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