Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Canal tench
Glorious tincas from the towpath
THE Grantham Canal is a bit of a misnomer. The fact that around threequarters of its length is non-navigable means that it would be more accurate to describe it as a handful of huge snake lakes, interspaced with long sections of either dry or marshy channels, rather than a traditional canal. Look on a map and it resembles not so much a traditional ‘cut’, as a series of dotted lines leading from Grantham to the River Trent at Nottingham. It’s safe to say that, from a number of standpoints, the venue fits the title of ‘the canal that time forgot’. But things are changing. Twenty years ago a few hardy souls from the Parkside Angling Club purchased a length of the canal and decided to return it to its former glory. When they took it on, the three-quarter mile, 60-peg length was just another reedinfested dry gulch, but by building a dam at one end they were able to prevent any remaining water escaping, and before long the waterway began to fill. Since those early pioneering days the venue has gone from strength to strength and now boasts beautifully manicured grass banks, reams of wild flowers along its length and bespoke angling platforms. Having also benefitted from a healthy restocking program, it is a real credit to the men and women of Parkside AC. It holds impressive shoals of silverfish, big pike and the odd very large carp, but it was the venue’s tench population that was the target when we joined Dynamite Baits’ Development Team member, Leanne Knott, on the bank for a recent session. She had agreed to show us how to target canal tench, not just from this ‘cut’, but from any similar watercourse.
Tracking down tincas
When it comes to native British fish species, there are few better sights than the silky smooth olive flanks and red ‘teddy bear’ eye of the tench. It’s little wonder that they occupy a special place in the hearts of many coarse anglers. Canals might not be the first type of venue that springs to mind when you mention tench, but these waterways of yesteryear can offer some spectacular sport if you know where to look. “The fish tend to be more prevalent in certain areas, usually where the boat traffic is minimal,” Leanne said.
“Canals can offer spectacular angling sport, if you know where to look”
“That’s maybe why they’ve done so well on the Grantham canal - there’s virtually no boat traffic!” she added. This factor has a big bearing on how productive a canal can be for tench. They like to spend a lot of their time in the deeper central track, and do not take too kindly to the commotion caused by boats going backwards and forwards over their heads, leaving nowhere quiet enough for them to settle. The other reason that tench don’t tend to thrive in busy canals is that, unlike the weed-rich gravel pits and other stillwaters where tench flourish best, the turbulence caused by boats prevents the weed taking hold. This means any resident tench struggle to find the food they like, and so move on to different areas where the pickings are more to their liking. “This stretch is typical,” Leanne explained. “With the canal having luxuriant weed growth, the tincas here have loads of natural food, so they don’t need anglers’ baits to get bigger. “The other thing to think about with regards to canal tench is that they tend to be territorial. Once you find them, they tend to be in the same pegs every time you fish - it’s a definite trend I’ve witnessed time and again.” For today’s session, Leanne had decided on two lines - one across to the base of the far shelf, and a second at the bottom of the inside shelf at an angle of 45-degrees to her right. These, she pointed out, were both excellent natural food-holding spots, as well as being regular patrol routes for the fish.
Tried and tested tackle
With the Grantham Canal being very weedy, plumbing up before fishing is highly important. A plummet will mask the hook and easily pull through the weed, so Leanne places a shot an inch or so above the hook, so that the point is left free to snag up on any ‘green stuff’! By looking around and taking your time, it’s possible to soon find the weed free areas. “I’m looking to fish two-inches over depth, so that I get a stable presentation in the wind and tow,” the 28-year-old Newark-rod told us. With regards to the rest of the tackle,
Leanne uses the type of light set-up commonly found on commercial fisheries. The elastic is a grey Hydrolastic, which is strong enough to stop the tench surging into the weed, while still being sufficiently soft to prevent hook pulls. Her mainline is Shimano Aspire Silk Shock in 0.14mm (2.4kg) diameter, attached to a 0.12mm (1.7kg) hooklink which terminates in a size 14 Drennan Wide Gape hook. As she was fishing on the canal, she chose to use a barbed pattern in order to prevent her worm hookbait wriggling off. The only difference between the two lines she was targeting was the floats she chose to use over both. On her main line (far bank) she used a KC Carpa Silver 4x14, while on the inside line opted for a KC Chimp 4x14 to counteract the stronger wind which was more prevalent there.
Basic baits suffice
Although armed with the usual suspects of maggots, casters and worms, with her bait choices Leanne took another leaf out of the commercial fishing handbook by also feeding micropellets. After moistening them so that they sank, she placed a handful in the pole cup, along with around 50 casters and half a dozen chopped worms. “Worms are the most expensive part of the feed, so to make them go further, I like to feed micros,” she explained. “As well a helping to hold the tench for longer, they are light, so they sit on top of any weed. The final plus point is that being pellets they are like little sponges, so they soak up all the chopped worm juices, meaning the smell and attraction is held in the swim for much longer.” After this initial hit of bait, Leanne will then regularly top up the swim with a few casters through the pole pot. Only if the line dies completely will she freshen it with another full pole cup of mixed feed. This tactic, however, wasn’t needed on the day we joined her, as the tench action came thick and fast all day. After around five hours of fishing, in some pretty appalling weather conditions, Leanne had manged to land a glut of tench, a superb result from any fishery in the land, let alone one that used to be nothing more than a dry creek, filled with grass, Norfolk reed, nettles and dock leaves prior to the intervention of the good people of Parkside Angling Club.