GUIDE PAVES THE WAY TO HUGE TENCH
11lb 11oz fish after Gribble shares secrets
THE dreams of a tench fishing fanatic came true when one of the UK’s top specimen hunters helped him bank a huge 11lb 11oz tench.
Tenchfishers member Eddie Court enrolled the services of former Drennan Cup holder Dai Gribble to improve his tench fishing skills, and was rewarded with the titanic tinca at a Medway Valley Fisheries stillwater.
The fish, taken on maggot feeder with three grubs on the hook, was Eddie’s first doublefigure tench – and he was quick to credit Dai for the capture.
He said: “Even though I have been fishing for years I am so glad I went out with Dai. He pays so much attention to detail and showed me little things that I’d never considered before. I would recommend any angler to go out and book a guide.”
Kent rod Eddie began the 24-hour session with the capture of an 8lb 13oz tench.
Meanwhile his friend Huey Boyle broke his personal best twice with the capture of fish weighing 7lb 6oz and 7lb 10oz.
Not to be outdone by the pair, Dai got into a fish weighing 10lb 5oz the following morning, which he tempted after recasting his rigs at dawn.
Like the other two anglers, Dai also used a helicopter rig cast to the back of a gravel bar, but his was filled with chopped worm and had four pieces of worm on the hair.
It’s the Staffordshire angler’s biggest tench of the season so far.
Eddie’s tench doesn’t qualify for a Drennan weekly award because the competition doesn’t include fish that are banked during guided sessions.