Green Giants

Ok, I know that title's been used before but I do think it's appropriate. The tench fishing this week has continued in the same vein as last week, a bit slow but with great rewards. The week started off in fine style when I had a sizzling run within five minutes of my first cast. I had decided to go back to short hooklengths and heavy feeders since I've found a spot where the weed isn't too thick and I've also uprated my tackle. We're now on ten pound main line with an 8lb 15oz hooklink. The hook was a size ten was and baited with two plastic casters hair-rigged.

The heavy tackle gave me a great deal of confidence as I steered the tench between the patches of dense weed and when I got it close in where the weed's at its thickest I was able to keep the fish close to the surface as it ploughed around. It certainly ploughed, a cracking scrap by any standards and i could see it was another big fish. 9lb 1oz it went on the scales - I was well pleased with that.

The session didn't produce any more fish but I did lose another one. It didn't stay connected for very long but again it felt like a big one so that was a bit of a disappointment. Stepping up the line and the hook size hasn't completely cured my lost fish problems it seems.

Next day out was with Denis. It was s low affair that had a highlight and a lowlight. The highlight was the capture of another tench by me, 7lb 8oz this time and obviously spawned out. The lowlight was yet another lost fish, a tench again, and on the strong tackle. It fought very well and I'm sure this was a very big fish - possibly the biggest one I've hooked this season so I was gutted when it buried its head in the marginal weed and managed to shake the hook out. The weed is getting thicker by the day and it won't be long before we have to make the decision to drag it or abandon that particular part of the lake.

Thursday was a day I couldn't make it. I had a family function the evening before which meant I had to have a beer or two but I was also drafted in to ferry my daughter around on Thursday morning so there was no fishing for me. Denis fished on his own and finally broke his duck - and in spectacular style. Opening his account with a five pound bream he went on to catch a super tench of 9lb 1oz before eclipsing that one with a monster - the monster we've been after all this time!

One last day together to end the week but with clear skies and early sunshine it was always going to be hard. I didn't get a single bite but Denis hooked and lost two fish, one a tench and the other a bream. Once again the weed was his bete noir.

The weather's getting warmer, these tench will spawn very soon. Maybe too soon for me but at least Denis made the magic mark!