The tench has got to be one of the most satisfying fish to catch in fresh water. It offers everything, from a really hard scrap to beautiful colours, and even comes in gold! The tench is a really muscular fish, very sturdily built, and has really tiny scales which are embedded in its skin to give the fish a smooth finish. The colour of a tench is a lovely olive green colour along the back, which fades to a golden flank with a yellow and sometimes orange belly. The fins of the tench are purely for power, and consist of large rounded paddles that are very dark in colour. Either side of the thick lipped mouth is a single barbel which is used to root around for food with. A key feature of a tench is the eyes, which are tiny perfectly rounded and orange/red in colour. Tench which live is clear weedy waters appear very dark in colour, almost black, whereas those in coloured weed less water are much paler.
The tench also has a separate colour altogether, seen as a separate ornamental species, and appears in a golden colour, arrange, sometimes with black spots along the back and head. This species are commonly kept in ornamental ponds, although waters do hold them.
The tench is distributed throughout Europe, with the exception of the north tips of Scotland, Scandinavia and Denmark. The tench can grow to large sizes, into double figures, but the average size around the UK is between 1lb and 4lb. Tench are one of the only fish that can clearly be sexed out of breeding. The male fish have distinctly larger and thicker ventral and pectoral fins, and its anal muscles appear much larger and almost stick out.
Spawning takes place in May and June, similar to carp, in thick week and shallow water, but the tench eggs need a warm climate to develop and hatch. In some eastern European countries the tench is kept for eating, especially places such as Germany and Serbia!!!
In terms of match fishing, tench are usually good bonus fish, especially on natural venues. They have also formed a large part of many commercial catches, and are now high-up on a fisheries stocking lists. Although they feed more vigorously in the warmer months, they still get caught all year round. As mentioned before, these are really powerful fish, so don’t be scared to use heavy gear to get them out. Tactics wise, a pellet approach can be effective, using expanders or even paste on the hook, and loose feeding smaller free offerings, and a chopped worm and caster approach is also renowned for catching tench on all venues. In large natural venues, the larger tench tend to feed at dawn and dusk, and a stalking approach, with a small dumpy waggler on the bottom (John Wilson Peacock float lift style) should work. Don’t miss out on catching the tench, get on the banks and have a go for some!!!
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I`ve only ever netted 2 tench, one was only a baby so it was a fairly easy catch but the other one (caught the day after) was a beast and put up a hell of a fight. but when I eventually got him it was so satisfying. Nice size and colour. and gave me a great edition to my photo collection.
i was fishing yesterday in a local lake in liverpool and i caught a nice 5 pound tench followed by a 4 pounder,so today am after a 7 or 8 pounder fingers crossed!!!!!
what a fish i am only 16 and i had a nice tench from me local lake it was 5 6 onz what a fish took me for a right mission when i hoocked it wantend go straght for the reeds thanks 4 reading plz do reply what ur biggest fish
I only started fishing in march and I LOVE it…the best evening’s fishing I ever had so far was on Vulcan Reservoir in Newton Le Willows where I finished the session off with 5 Tench in a row within 30 minutes…I have now installed MUCH stronger elastic in all my pole ends
this will be my 5th week of fishing tom midweek knockup at carterhall and have realy started to want to get into match fishng
hi my name is Dean Stanley. i fish on a warter near my house it called carr mill dam. i have nealy caught every fish on the dam but i realy want to catch a tench . have u got any tip on catching tench. please right back!
Absolutely love tench fishing. I prefer it to anything else. Must have caught literally hundreds of 2lb, 3lb and even 4lb fish. Only ever broke 5lb once though. It was 5lb 3oz from Newsham Park in Liverpool.
yer but have u got eney tips on catching them
I have caught some nice Tench on Lobworm with a size 12 hook on the Waggler at my local water Spade Oak, near Marlow, Bucks. Tench love the margins and seem also to like red. Try different baits such as red maggot, caster, sweet corn, and put down a bed of hemp which is a good attractor for Tench. The last one I caught was 8lb 2oz.
i went fishing today and caught 2 tench on sweet corn (first time a went tench fishing)
I go fishing on our local park pond its not very big as ponds go but its got maybe 30-40 pegs at a push I keep getting very good results fishing out the tench there . I normaly get from 3-8 tench in a session I have taken some good pictures of these catches from time to time. If anyone wants to see some pictures email me on m1dnvmartyn@aol.co.uk. I will gladly post you a few back to you I live in Leeds but don’t drive at all. If anyone wants to go fishing at this pond contact me its free to fish (local council maintain it)
i have caught sizable tench using cockles on the lift method , if this is any help to anyone ? if you have used this method or can add to it let me know pls .
in my local pond in Hull i caught 3.5 tench at the end of october that was a buzz. the biggest tench in pond is only 4, its also been known for someone to a catch 3.5 black tench never seen or heard of one before but there is photo proof of it as anybody else ever seen or caught one?
i have only been fishing for a month and all i have been catching is rudd and skimmers but the otherday i had 3 tench bites i only landed 1 because i forgot my landing net i didnt land a 4lb beauty my hook riped out and i nearly cryed and the other 1 snaped my 10lb line. But the fight was amazing and i am going back to catch them again. E-mail me if you want to know what bait i was using.
I find catching Tench to be among the most satisfying fish to catch May I suggest that you take your time with bringing them in tire them out somewhat before you bully them at all. Of course its has to be done at times to avoid them from getting into all the snags but in general do try Patience as with all the larger fish, I have not been out at all yet this year unfortuneately but hope to remedy this when my health improves hope you all keep getting tight lines and good results. I now live in the village of Kingsbury thats 5 miles South of Tamworth if anyone wants to get out for a fish together sometime email me
i live in hull where is your local pond dave
another day another 3.8 0z tench ha does any one know where i can buy seperate pole sections because i only have two top sections and i need some more please e-mail me with answers thanx
try ebay 4 top sections,some1 might have spares
only ever caught 1 tench ,about 5 pound.was on double maggot while targeting big roach with waggler.anyone got any tips as i know my local lake holds tench to 12 lb.cheers………p.s good luck
you on about noddle hill pond if so i had 51/2 pond last year (black),and this year i have had a 5
yes mike noddle hill pond. i have been pulling out 4.5 tench just of late on scopex mussel.
i have never caught a tench and have been fishing for about 6 months, any tips?
Well i am 15 and i have caught alot of tench. i only fish for tench and bream and on the odd occasion catch carp. my biggest tench is 11lb 13oz. you should use a feeder set up with pop-up corn on the hair. i have had most of my tench on this set-up. hope that helps
thanks alot for the advice, i will try it out the next time i fish =D
Re – Photo on article ,DO NOT lay Tench/Fish on grass to unhook /photo etc unhooking mats are cheap
that iz one big tench ive cought hundreds of them but my biggest is 3 nd a half pound tho but not many gud fisheries in newcastle this is wy im going to the woodlands and i hope t beet some personal bests this season
you should try mussels and king prawns i have caught several big tench 8lb plus on both baits , lots of ponds that i have fished dont produce anything on sweetcorn/worms/maggots/bread/meat boillies, but as soon as you put mussele/king prawns on get ready for a fight they love them and sometimes you get the unexpected carp when they find your bait lots of luck to all who trys the baits.
i love fishing for tench, to me they symbolise everything good about summer fishing. i am off to fish a lovely little estete pond near to me here in dorset. i will post the news of my catch on my blog http://ukcoarsefishingreviews.blogspot.com if anyones interested
At 62 I have taken up fishing for the first time in more than 30 years. At Suffolk Water near Ipswich I caught my first ever Tench around 1 – 1.5 pounds. I was delighted. One week later at the same venue but different lake I caught one which weighed just over 8 pounds. That one really gave me the shakes, it took 10 minutes before coming to the net. Yesterday (25th August) I got my first ever Mirror Carp weighing 13 pounds. Excuse the pun but I am now “hooked” again after all these years.
i was fishing at mi local pond the othe day when i hooked my favourite fish a tench after a huge fight i landed it, it was 7lb i was very happy because im only 14
i caught a nice 3lb golden tench at a pool that didnt even know theyhad tench i was only their looking for roach while teaching a friend
Tom
I have caught some very nice tench at noddle hill pond this year to 5 1/2 pound on method feeder with 6mm halibut pellets. Also ghost carp to 10 pound and lots of mirror carp to 17 pound all using the same method. most coming from peg 2 fishing to the island.
hi my name is Dean Stanley. i fish on a water near my house it is called Carr Mill Dam. i have nearly caught every fish in the dam but i realy want to catch a tench . Have u got any tips on catching tench. please right back!
i’d wait untill the summer when the weed has grown back and look for tench holding featurs like lilly beds and fish to them. i would give the lift method a try with casters or lob worm fished over some groundbait and free offerings. sometimes raking your swim before fishing can help to attract tench as this churns up the bottom and bring their natural food to the top of the lake bed. hope this helps.
alrite mate, were about in liverpool u from an were u catchin these tench? am from huyton av been goin piking an theres tench were av been goin but i fort the tench wernt bitin coz of the cold weather, what bait av u been usin an what method? a reply will be much aprieciated, thanks.
EXPECT TENCH CAPTURES START TO INCREASE NOW THE BIG FREZE HAS FINISHED,SESSION ANGLERS LIKE CARP BOYS,WILL BE CATCHING THEM ON BOILIES AND PELLETS AT THE MOMENT IM GUESSING,
IF YOUR NEW TO TENCH FISHING, LOOK AT WWW/TENCHFISHERS.COM,
EXPERINCED AND NEW TO THE SPORT VERY WELCOME, HOPE THIS HELPS………….
Do Tench only feed on the bottom , if not has anyone have any tips Thanks .
yes mate they do feed on bottom luncheon meat is very good. i always fish over depth when fishing for tench on float. you tend find tench next to reed lines in margins. our local lake can produce twenty to thirty tench in a session i have never caught a tench less than 4lb in our lake i guess we are lucky they love princess luncheon meat. i hoped i have helped
paul as mick has said L,meat will at times catch , where as on another water you might struggle to get an indication, ,various baits, mate corn,pellet, boilies, maggotts,casters,worms,bread,cockles, will all catch tench………..
Tench also feed up in the water. At Trench Pools Telford we used to catch large bags on casters fished 2-4 feet deep in 16 feet of water on the waggler, constantly loose feeding 3-4 pints of casters and hemp. On several occasions during evening sessions there I fished Expo ground bait laced with casters in an open feeder and caught on the drop!
Expo is also worth a try in conjunction with casters, red maggots or pinkies or strawberry pellets/corn on the waggler and pole too. I start about 1 inch over depth and sometimes experiment up to 6 inches over depth. In general I find Tench will take most baits but if I was limited to two choices it would be casters and corn.
paul,you didnt say what type of angling situation you preffered, float fishing or ledgering? if i use the float rod i will use the lift float method,useually start with 4-5in laying on, then work it from theredown too2-3in depending on twitching or missing bites,2 days are seldom the same so adjust the lenth?
now if your ledgering there loads of rigs to think about,feeders,gage feeders, method bombs, bolt rigs, i my self prefer the maggot feeder with a short hook link size 12-14 hook with either mag or caster, that would be my first line of attack on any water and then change from there, just a few for you to think about mate ????
i am planning on goin fishing at my local pond in the next 2 weeks. i know that there plenty of good size tench.i will be using 2 rods 1 on the float and the other ledgering.I’ve never caught a tench and i am not kitted out to the max, just basic gear,hooks, weights and floats.so im looking for tips on how to catch 1 of these beauty’s and what bait and ground bait to use. help would be much appreciated thanks
hi scott, when useing the float rod,line 3-4ib minimum up to 6ib depending on size of fish present,ie carp do pick up tench baits as well m8, hook size if useing mag or caster 16-14,if useing corn 12-10, if pellets or small boilies 12-10,on the float find margin fishing to be most productive,GROUND BAIT> theres various types to choose from, expo,tenches 3000,afew small balls laced with mag and caster should do the trick, FLOATS> wheni fish margins a small drennan float does for me fished lift float style>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>LEDGERING, SCALED DOWN CARP TACTICS,BOLT RIGS,FEEDER,OPEN OR CAGE FEEDERS,WITH BAIT AS MENTIONED ABOVE, hope this helps mate,but just to let you know march temps are not that great for the tench, i know went last saterday for 7hours temp was 6c that was air and not water, BLANKED,if the temps hit double figures and stay like that for a bit,that could bring the tincas on the feed,just few things to think about scott.
thanks for the help mate,much appreciated.
alright m8 i am glad tohear that uhave caught a decent size tench in some waters tench like tuti fruti boilies coz they give of sweet smells but durin the winter months i tend to use lob wormand i have never regreted it because i have caught a dencent size perch aswell so give it a go u cud be surprised
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