Traditional v modern tench feeder tactics

Dynamite Baits’ Paul Elt lifts the lid on the two very different approaches he’s been using in his quest for a double- figure tinca

IF CATCHING a big tench is one of your targets this summer then get yourself on to a gravel pit.

Their crystal- clear waters and luxuriant weed growth make for a hugely rich environment, alive with millions of aquatic creepy- crawlies, which the tench feed on with abandon.

Tench are my favourite species. But, even though I have chased them for more years than I care to mention, I

am still to catch a double. My current personal best stands at 9lb 11oz, so I can’t grumble, but I’m hoping this will be the year of the double.

In a bid to achieve my goal I have changed my approach and have started to fish a combination of traditional feeders with livebaits on two rods and a modern flatbed Method feeder on the third. And so far it has produced some excellent results…

Feature finding

As I’ve already stated, gravel pits are awesome venues for tench fishing. The abundance of natural food means that tench don’t have to work particularly hard to pack on the pounds. I’m currently fishing Bawburgh Pits, near Norwich, and the lakes have more life in them than a tramp’s vest. If you raked out some weed and threw it up the bank, within a few minutes it would have crawled back into the water! So rich are the pits that you could argue that they are the finest big tench waters in the UK, with dozens of double- figure fish caught every year.

Gravel pits, due to the extraction process, always have a large number of underwater gravel bars and plateaux to be found.

The tench patrol along these prominent features, using them like a road system as they swim up and down looking for food.

If you look on Google Earth, these bars are often visible. If you already know roughly where the features are, when you arrive at the lake you can use a marker float set- up to cast around and find exactly where the bar starts and ends, how high it is and if there is weed or silt surrounding it.

This initial reconnaissance is paramount to success. Unless you put in a little time to find the right places, you are effectively fishing blind. This is not to say you need to spend weeks working around a lake, just a few hours with a marker float and then a trip to the lake at first light to see which bar the tench are rolling over is all that’s required.

I try to put in the groundwork early in the season and I can then reap the rewards when the fish are at their biggest.

Although the margins are brilliant, tench don't mind deeper water either. Typical features for me would be areas with marginal lily pads, marginal weedbeds and the bottom of bars and plateaux. These are all good places to target tench, because they tend to be rich with natural food. Creatures such as caddis larvae, bloodworm, snails and other crustaceans are irresistible to tench that love to pick over small particles and food items.

The ingredients for Paul’s modern Method approach