Jubilee Tenching - Its starting to come good!

This week i have mostly been fishing for .....er, Tench surprise surprise. The permit setup on my favourite Tench water has changed dramatically this year with only limited season tickets being issued . Fortunately ive managed to secure myself one but it only recently came through which means ive been going at it hell for leather to try and make the most of the tiny window of opportunity to catch a lump or two.
My first trip back to the water was a Thursday evening and i met up with fellow SVSG member Rob on the bank at around 5.30. I dropped in next to him but shortly afterwards another angler whod just packed up from further along the bank came by reporting a good catch of 11 fish. There was obviously a few fish moving up there so Rob and i moved around to try and grab a slice of the action.
After about half an hour the wind dropped and the lakes surface became flat calm which was great for spotting bubblers and spot them we did. Straight out in front of me at about 40yards we could plainly see a couple of good patches of bubbles fizzing up so i quickly moved a rod onto them. 10 minutes later, just as i was extolling the virtues of casting to signs of fish, the same rod hammered off and a smallish Tench of 4-5lb was quickly landed.

Its good to be back!

That proved to be all the action i was to recieve that evening, Rob too ended the evening on just one fish and we were both slightly bemused as to why it was so slow, conditions seemed perfect.

My next trip was to be a full day session on the Saturday and upon my arrival i was most surprised to see only one other angler present as i was fully expecting it to be packed. There had been a good few fishing on Friday and quite a few fish were landed so i was hopeful of a good day.

Hoping for some action

Once i finally got settled in a swim and fishing it took a good couple of hours before i had any indications. A drop back on my left hander resulted in a hookup but straight away i could feel the line grating through something. Within seconds everything had locked up solid and despite my best efforts to free it i ended up winding in minus my rig. I quickly retackled, recast and spombed some bait out.

Hour after hour ticked by with nothing happening whatsoever, the place looked dead. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and aswell as there being rain in the air the temperature had dropped dramatically too due to the cold wind. It was 3pm and i was just considering packing up when i suddenly had a bite and struck into a fish. The excitement was pretty shortlived however as the hook pulled after just a few seconds leaving me feeling gutted.

I had the very real prospect of a blank hanging over me but i thought that lost fish might herald a change in my fortunes so i decided to delay my pack up for another hour or so just in case. I was glad i did as, twenty minutes later, i finally landed a fish! it was around the same size as the one i had on Thursday evening and i was well relieved.

Two bites in quick succession was a good sign and an exchange of texts with Phil who was further along the bank revealed that he too was starting to get some action aswell. Mine continued another 20 minutes later when i recieved a slow run on my right hander. This time my strike met solid resistance and i knew from the lack of head shaking that i was into a good fish. It kited around some pads to my right and then buried in them, i had no choice but to bully it hard to get on the surface so i could pull it over them. The fish rolled on the surface amongst the leaves giving me a good look at it and i prayed it wouldnt fall off. Thankfully it didnt and my first decent Tench of the year was soon in the folds of the net. She went 8lb2oz and was a just reward for trusting my instinct and staying on despite the fishing being a grueller.

A lump at last, 8lb2oz

Nothing else was forthcoming over the following hour or so and the weather began to close in a bit so i headed home already making plans for my next trip down.

Bank holiday Monday was my next chance to have a crack at the lake and, anticipating a lot of other anglers getting down there, i set off extra early to try and bag a swim. I neednt have worried because there was only two already there and they didnt have tickets so it looked like i had the lake to myself.
There were fish showing all over the place so i was somewhat surprised when it took nearly two hours to get a pull. At 6lb4oz it was a fine start and it came just as the sun was beginning to make an appearance, even better! The wind was an easterly so it was quite chilly but certainly not enough to put the fish off i thought. Despite this, another long lull followed without any indications and it was late morning before my boilie hookbait was finally picked up by another fish. This one went mental and did its best to pull my arm off, after landing it i could see why, its fins were enormous! It punched well above its weight and was worthy of a pic.

Paddles!

Morning slipped into early afternoon and the sun was about as strong as it was going to get. Families of people were forming a steady procession around the lake and i was getting a little tired of the screaming kids and thoughtless dog walkers. There was plenty of bird activity to keep me occupied though and it seemed that they all wanted to eat my bait!

A cheeky bait thief, one of many

I was just taking a phone call from headquarters when i suddenly recieved a fast take and had to cut her short. Even at range the fish felt heavy and wasnt shaking its head much, just like the biggun from Saturday, so i played it very gingerly. I caught a glimpse of the fish as it rolled on the line about 20 yards out and the tiny pelvic fins coupled with a rather rotund belly confirmed my suspicions, it was a good fish. No further dramatics ensued and it wasnt long before i was hoisting my prize aloft on the scales. They sailed  past number eight and settled on 8lb8oz, my joint biggest from the water, well chuffed! I collared a passer by for some pics and although photography wasnt his forte i managed to get a couple of useable pics in the end.

8lb8oz, my best of the year so far

An hour after that fish i managed another one of 6lb exactly which rounded the session off nicely. When i returned to the car i realised id made the fatal error of parking under 'Pidgeon shit tree' and it looked like an Albatross had crapped all over my motor. People laughed and small children pointed as i drove through town on the way back but it was a small price to pay for another quality fishing trip.