Since I caught a splendid brace of a 15lb 4oz bream and a 9lb 5oz tench at the end of March I’ve had a gruelling time to say the least. The brace came on my last session on a venue that has been very kind to me over the years. I had decided it was time for a new challenge and started on a gravel pit with an air of mystery about it. My new water had the appeal that when I got a bite I wouldn’t have any ides what it was.
My target was tench but after 6 fishless nights and barely a sign of tench my enthusiasm was waning to say the least, especially when one of the two carp anglers on the lake laughed when my mate told him we were after tench and went on to say in 3 seasons on the water he’d never seen one let alone caught one!
The only bright spot as I settled in for another night was there were a few carp showing near my freshly dragged spots in the middle of a large weed-bed. I was on the phone to my mate and had just said I would catch a carp that night even if the tench remained elusive when the alarm sounded. The speed of the run made it clear there was no mystery as to what was on the end. It was clearly a carp that had picked up my rubber casters sat on top of a large ball of Sonubaits Supercarp Method Mix! The only question was how big and would I land it!
All went well initially with it kiting to the left through the fine weed then it just turned and kited into the reeds to my left and I had no option other than jump in the boat and follow it. Luckily it came out of the reeds as quickly as it went into them and after towing me around the lake for a couple of minutes it entered the net first time.
On returning to dry land I found I had a mint common of 25lb 1oz in the net. In the past couple of years I’ve caught four carp while tench fishing and they’ve all been within 4 oz of 25lb!
I’m now up to 10 blank sessions after tench on this and another new water – that’s the joy of fishing for really big fish! Still if I can’t catch tench, carp like this are a damned fine consolation!
