Tears, Tench & Pristine Perfection

 I got a bit emotional on arrival at half nine at the little tench pond for the first sortie there this year, a combination of many a time spent here with dad and the achievement of finally getting another car, after scrapping my last one the previous day, who knows? I just thought 'Here I am fishing' as I unloaded the new workhorse, tears of joy I guess welled up, but it was hayfever itching the eyes if anyone saw me, honest.

Two others were on the pond but I still got my favourite spot, one that I now prefer to my other previous favourite spot and the one before that. For such a tiny pond I don't half get about.

I plumbed the depth and in doing so gauged the weed situation, pulled the odd strand out, figured a dredge was not needed and ascertained around 4ft would be the depth to set my pole float, with the weight of the bait to cock it, oh yes it was bread time, the simplest of tench baits and a very effective one too.

In went a few balls of feed, I'm going down the route this season of just wetting a slice at a time in the net rather than making up a mix each time, saves me nicking the wife's tupperware I suppose. As I set up the rudd played about with the surface remnants, the rest sinking slowly twitching in the sunlit water as it was hit by more ravenous hordes although some of them quite decent.

I knew I'd get bites, bread is perhaps the most instant bait going, so visible, so tempting, and so it was a few decent rudd and roach were caught on the drop, using a light float may seem like madness but you know instantly whether the bait is gone or how much is left. 

However It wasn't long at all before my clutch was screaming and my 4lb line was working hard to keep a tench out of the weed which was thicker closer in. The first of the day was a nice dark fish.

Two more good tench followed on what was a warm lazy day, I did lose just as many which wasn't ideal, not through snap offs but by the tench shedding the hook in the weeds, a step up may be needed next time but for now I was content to sit back, three good tench is decent for a late morning session. I stop to have my lunch and just soak it all in.

I left the other two anglers there not catching much, it was a decent time to go, by now the wind had picked up and was busy blowing all that catkin fluff into my corner, I joked earlier about hayfever but it was now getting in my throat and irritating the eyes, worse still it was sticking on the line, blocking the rings, we've all been there. Time to regroup and reminisce before returning the following week.

So I am back, getting to the fishery at half eight which super early for me, ok it was cloudy and cold but I didn't expect to be the first car in the car park.  I hit the same swim eager to give it more attack, more focus, this time I'm going 6lb straight through to negate those weed runs, I'm not keen of fishing so heavy but lets see how it goes I thought.

A heavier float went on as one of the draw backs of heavier line, taking 1x no1 lightly squeezed so that it pings off rather than catches on any weed, the bread is fed as per normal and the interest is instant once more. It's amazing how less effective heavier line is as I struggle to even hit the larger rudd and roach, I get a few netters, then I get a rare brown goldfish which I could swear was the same one I caught here a year or two ago.

The tench however were much slower to feed, mind you it was surprisingly cold compared to last time, steam was even coming from my breath, it took a good hour or more before a few bubbles appeared, the odd rush started to twitch and action became imminent, As experienced anglers we sense this sometimes don't we? The alert levels were amber, I was switched to Defcon 3, anymore anticipation and I would have to change the bulb!

Then the float goes bob,bob,bob before dipping, here we go, I hit and hold it away from the weed well, all proud only to see the funny side of a fiesty tench barely a couple of pounds sliding over the net, but it was a start.

Another similar sized tench followed and I did think how much fun these would be on the lighter gear, then I also saw the irony when I lost a couple, including one on the drop, that they were just shedding the hook like before, just to keep me humble, was it weed, poor technique, wrong gear or just one of those things?. 

Then I had a spell when a couple of the better tench arrived and were landed.

It was still mid morning when I stopped for a coffee, I checked the other ponds and still no one was here, a quick check of the club website explained the carp pool was booked for a match, must have been a ghost one as no one had turned up, my little car still sat lonesome in the car park, I had the tench pond which always remains open on match days to myself, that'll do me I thought, as a kingfisher made the usual sounds before stopping on the tree opposite, I do often wonder why the most colourful bird is often the noisiest in flight.

Returning to the fishing I decided after catching on more weed than last time (who knew weed grew!) that I would have a play with a purchase I made from ebay, this little grappling hook cost around a tenner.

With two prongs folded in and two out it worked a dream, easy to throw, minimal splash, took out plenty of weed which was also very easy to remove from the rake. whether it would hook too hard on something solid I don't know but I would expect the prong to break or bend in such circumstances, what do you expect for ten quid including the rope, not sure about using it to grapple up steep banks either, the rope supplied wouldn't take my weight, but it did get the float I lost last time back complete with my hook attached to a rush, shed from a tench and a reminder that the heavier line is a good idea with the weed increasing.

The club does supply weed rakes, big heavy things and I know full well the fish don't mind the raking, this was shown instantly on the first cast back in, once again it's one of those dip, dip dip bites that could easily be mistaken for rudd, but you can kind of tell the difference after a while, this latest tench, a lighter colour was immaculate.

By now the fizzing had stopped, even the rudd weren't playing blow football with the surface bread, the odd carp, a rare fish in this pond made a swirl far beyond any safe cast, the other side of lillies, even the sinking bread dropping through the layers only got the odd twitch from silvers. When this happens it's bread punch time.

Two or three double punched discs stay remarkable well on a size 10 hook, able to resist the silvers when they have calmed down a bit, more importantly if fools the wary, despite no fizzing, no signs of action three more tench came in three casts, this one was all head. I was pleased as punch.

Just after lunch two other anglers joined me on the pond, just to remind me it wasn't mine, even if it sure felt like it all morning, what a lovely morning it was, perhaps my lost fish ratio was too high again but not as bad as last time with 8 tench already landed, only one was lost due to me being a plonker the other couple just shed the hook inexplicably.

In between tench action I watched those carp drift about, there's only 4 or 5 in the pond and often they are pretty shy compared to their muddy puddle compatriots next door, I was aware one was taking off the top sporadically, pieces of bread I had deliberately fired past the lillies, one of the main drawbacks of bread is wildfowl so the odd slice finding it's way out of the main feed zone does no harm, besides I wanted to tempt a carp out, be ideal with the heavier gear on today.

A carp then came into view leaving the lilies for the first time, the only time. My scissors were place on my ruckbag in the event of a carp mugging possibility, the reason for the 1 x no1 shot is ease of removal, whilst having no shot makes ambushing surface carp a doddle I was nonetheless pleased with my formula one style pit stop of removing the shot, wrapping a giant bit of bread with enough weight for distance and depositing said bread bang in front of this old carp's nose.....

It doesn't always work like that I know but when it does it's magic, bam! suddenly though I now feel under gunned, these wild type,clearwater carp* are always strong, this one just peeled line and went straight through those lilies...and rushes, my gear should tame a carp this size with ease I thought, relieved to bring the fish straight back through. When no shot is on the line, no float, no swivels etc it's actually rare that anything snags in such circumstances, even so this fish still ploughed around taking the mick for quite a few more runs, before a work of art was in the net.

The beautiful common was a wonderful way to finish a couple of tench trips to the pond, 11 tench to around 5lb some quality silvers, a bit of fizzing, takes on the drop, on the surface, all while others on conventional baits struggled. I often think the harder you work with bread the more you are rewarded yet at the same time it's simple, I haven't found a way where it's not messy but I'm not sure I mind one bit about that.

All I needed to do now was find which car was mine in the car park.

*I am by no means claiming this is a Wild Carp, however clear water fish where they are in small natural numbers seem far removed from most carp in pools, physically and aesthetically, therefore wilder in comparison.