The tench is one of Britain's most distinguishable and loveable fish, with its olive green flanks, tiny red eyes and powerful grey-brown fins. Anglers cannot fail but recognise this beautiful species, but by the same token, non-anglers recognise the tench too, due to its distinctive shape, colour and size, and due to the fact that many tench are sold in garden centres as pond fish.Tench Fishing can be one of the most rewarding types of fishing but at the same time one of the hardest. Tench are a very shy species of fish and they can become almost unfindable and uncatchable at certain times of the year. There are Tench in most lakes, rivers and gravel pits up and down the country, some that never ever get caught.
Tench are different to the carp. They are much shyer, more timid and more fussy when it comes to feeding. The tench will not compete for food in the same way that carp do and this makes them harder to catch. Tench prefer natural baits, that look natural. They can be caught on boilies and pellets, just like carp because in many lakes they have become a natural food source for the fish as anglers continue to use them.
Baits to catch Tench - Their natural foodstuff are bloodworms, small crustaceans and microscopic foods such as daphnia. But tench can quite easily be tempted by the likes of worms, sweetcorn, red maggot, casters and luncheon meat.
Targeting and finding tench in lakes can be quite easy during certain months of the year. Firstly, tench are never too far away from vegetation or underwater gullies. They are a bottom-feeding species that use the sides of ledges and the stems of underwater weed as cover.
Tench can produce streams of tiny bubbles when they are feeding. These are created when the tench crushes its food, and the bubbles escape through the gills. So, if you find series of these pin-prick bubbles breaking the surface you know you are not too far away from a feeding tench.
Binoculars will help enormously when searching for these signs, as will a high vantage point.
But if the water's devoid of any bubbles, watch for signs of reed knocking around, lilies moving, coloured water close to weed and calm patches within rippled water all denote the prescence of a tench or two.
Therefore if you are the type of angler that fishes for different fish throughout the year then make sure that you save some time inbetween these months to fish for tench.
