Lengthening and increasingly warm day and night time temperatures and the dawn chorus getting earlier each day can only mean one thing if you’re a specimen angler, it’s time for a spot of tench fishing!
I am very fortunate that I have the fantastic Linear Fisheries complex only 45 minutes away from home, and with it some of the best tench fishing in the country. Although predominantly a carp water, come April and May each year you will find the banks of most of the lakes on site dotted with anglers targeting tinca. Whether you are after a big hit of fish or targeting a specimen, Linear caters for all.
What with having a busy life at both work and home, fishing is a luxury I don’t often get to indulge in. With that in mind, I recently booked a few days of annual leave with the sole intention of going fishing, much to Mrs Baldwin’s ‘interest’.
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-bivvy](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-bivvy.jpg)
Arriving at the fishery on May Day Bank Holiday possibly wasn’t the wisest move, and 3 hours of walking and looking commenced before a suitable swim was found. It was soon apparent that the swim I had chosen was thick with weed, from the near margin right the way across to the far bank, finding a clear spot big enough to present 2 rods was proving difficult. I wasn’t far from giving up (not taking a weed rake was definitely a rookie mistake) when I cast a little further right and got the unmistakable tap tap tap of gravel straight away! Game on.
A few more casts revealed a relatively clean spot no bigger than a bivvy and only a few rod lengths out, perfect. I set about baiting up the clear spot with a combination of groundbait, hemp and chopped worm, then left the swim to rest for an hour or so whilst I got everything set up.
Tackle wise, fishing for tench is pretty straightforward. If you barbel fish you have all the gear you will need. I use a 2lb barbel rod, 12lb Gardner Mirage main line, a block end feeder fished helicopter style with a short (3-4 inch) tied from 10lb Gardner Target Fluorocarbon with a size 10 GT Target Specimen hook. This may sound like a heavy set up to some more experienced tench anglers, however the venue is weedy and I don’t mind hooking carp so want to maximise the chance to land one should I be in that fortunate position.
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-rig](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-rig.jpg)
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-target-fluorocarbon coarse fishing tenching heaven target fluorocarbon](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-target-fluorocarbon.jpg)
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-specimen-hooks](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-specimen-hooks.jpg)
With everything set I got both rods clipped up the short distance, loaded the feeders with maggots and cast out in anticipation of a good session. Within 5 minutes the right-hand rod was away and a feisty 4lb’er was soon in the net. It was a great start and I was hoping the first of many.
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-return coarse fishing tenching heaven tench1](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-return.jpg)
I quickly had another on the bank and it was looking likely that a red letter session was on the cards. Having said that I was mindful of introducing too much bait, so after my initial baiting up all I introduced for the fist 24 hours afterwards were maggots and chopped worm through a feeder. The reason was that I didn’t want the tench to get too preoccupied and not find the hookbait amongst a lot of bait. The little and often baiting plan paid off, as over the course of the next 48 hours I landed 9 tench, topped off with a new PB of 9lbs! Not to mention a couple of rogue pike (however strangely no carp at all).
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-return2 coarse fishing tenching heaven tench returner](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-return2.jpg)
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-bank1](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-bank1.jpg)
I returned 2 weeks later for another go, as I had some bait left over that I had managed to look after well enough for it to be usable. Finishing work, I quickly loaded the car, made sure my wife’s dinner was done and sent her a text ‘gone fishing, dinner is ready, house is clean, back tomorrow’ – hopefully she would have calmed down by the time I got home.
Arriving at the fishery in glorious spring sunshine I was hoping to get back in the same swim, unfortunately it was taken, but with a plethora of other pegs available I was soon finding a spot and baiting it up. I didn’t have as long a trip as the previous session, so baited lightly in the hope I could keep fish visiting the area regularly and pick them off one at a time.
Despite what I would consider good conditions and fish rolling literally everywhere it was a relatively quiet session. Just after dark a rogue pike took my worm hookbait and led me a merry dance before being landed and released.
Just after 1:30AM one of the rods let out a single bleep but nothing materialised so I buried myself back in my sleeping back and thought nothing of it. Next thing I knew all hell had broken loose and I was stood, barely awake playing what I initially thought was a lively carp. After an intense but short battle I was looking down at a tench, that to the uneducated looked every ounce a double. It wasn’t quite that big, but at 9lb 6oz it was a new PB and a rather respectable one at that. Quickly getting some self takes done I released her to fight another day and popped the kettle on.
The rest of the night passed quietly, and I awoke to a stunning sunrise and carp launching themselves out of the water every few seconds. I always carry a carp rod with me when going to the Linear complex, so I soon had a solid bag flying out to the area where most of the carp were jumping and rolling.
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-swim-scenic coarse fishing tenching heaven swim](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-swim-scenic.jpg)
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-rod-set-up](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-rod-set-up.jpg)
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-mirage-main-line](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-mirage-main-line.jpg)
Having felt it land on the lake-bed with a dull thud I was confident it would be presented well enough to get a bite, so I was happy to leave it. As the sun got high in the sky one of the tench rods was away and a few minutes later a cracking 6lb male tench was in the folds of the net.
I was hoping for a few more but alas it wasn’t to be. The carp rod did produce a nice fully scaled just under 22lb not long before I had to leave so all in all it was a rather successful impromptu session.
![coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-bank2](https://gardnertackle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coarse-fishing-tenching-heaven-tench-bank2.jpg)
Brilliant picture of success