PB tench today on my second ever river outing

[MartinWY]

We done indeed I can only imagine how well that must have gone in a river at that size!

Watched my grandad get one out the Thames a couple years ago that certainly wasn't that big but it had me thinking it was either a barbel or a record perch! Different animal to the Stillwater ones for sure, still had the doggedness but it properly ran as well which was quite un tench like.

When it first took off I thought it was a big perch too. I've never caught a perch above 2lb odd, do they fight like tench?

 

[MartinWY]

I have no expectations of ever catching a tench from flowing water. I doubt that escapee tench would last very long in the higher reaches of the Dales rivers I fish. There's no chance of one existing in such rivers naturally.


Head upstream on almost any of the Dales rivers. I tend to fish size 12/14 hooks and bunches of maggots in an effort to avoid minnows. It still doesn't work. A 16/18 and a single maggot will see you catch minnows until you are sick of the sight of them

Are many tench in rivers escapee's then? Another thing I didnt know.

I've often stood on bridges and gazed in wonder at the chub and barbel below. Theres a particular bridge, just outside skipton iirc, which was great for that. I lived in skipton for a few years, but that was during my off years from fishing.

The minnows aren't for me but my boy and I reckon I'll get as much pleasure watching him catch them as I did from this tench

 

[Silverfisher]

When it first took off I thought it was a big perch too. I've never caught a perch above 2lb, do they fight like tench?

I’d say they do a bit at least more so than a bream or chub which were my first thoughts when he struck into it until it woke up. This was said fish, not as big as yours which is a whopper but not bad for a river.


Given the size of Perch in the stretch you can see why that was our first thought once it got going.

 

[JayD]

Fabulous. Who's book is that on please?

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John.

 

[MartinWY]

I’d say they do a bit at least more so than a bream or chub which were my first thoughts when he struck into it until it woke up. This was said fish, not as big as yours which is a whopper but not bad for a river.


Given the size of Perch in the stretch you can see why that was our first thought once it got going.

Cracking fish, particularly the perch. That tench is in beautiful condition, just look at it!

Did you lose weight between those two captures?....

 

[Silverfisher]

Cracking fish, particularly the perch. That tench is in beautiful condition, just look at it!

Yep they are good uns

Did you lose weight between those two captures?....

The perch one is how I looked a couple years ago and the tench one is what I’ll probably look like in about 45 years if the genes are anything to go by

 

[Sam Vimes]

Are many tench in rivers escapee's then? Another thing I didnt know.

They occur naturally in some lowland rivers, but I wouldn't expect them to be anything other than an escapee if one turned up in the bits of Tees and Swale that I fish.

 

[tipitinmick]

Comments like yours make me appreciate how fortunate I was. Just can't take these things for granted at all. Beginners luck it is then.

On your book there is one fishery that does indeed hold double figure Tench. In past years I’ve seen two caught. Sadly not me. There’s quite a few 8’s and lots of 5’s but, the water is so so clear it’s hard to catch them. If our club allowed night fishing we may see more on the bank. It’s a sight to see when these fish spawn.

 

[NoCarpPlease]

They occur naturally in some lowland rivers, but I wouldn't expect them to be anything other than an escapee if one turned up in the bits of Tees and Swale that I fish.

About 25 years ago there were a LOT of tench suddenly coming out of rivers such as the Great Ouse, Warwickshire Avon and Thames. Perhaps this coincided with anglers using a lot of chopped worm as bait?
These days they seem to be few and far between ... but still occasional captures. There was one caught on Saturday on the Avon in match.
sadly for me, I haven’t caught a river tench since the early 1980s.

 

[Silver fan 82]

It's alright, I know I just got lucky really.

The river seemed very healthy though and I had a good snoop around. Wildlife was plentiful with bucket loads of water snails, insects and such, just ideal for them to grow big I reckon. In general the area was full of life. I saw buzzards high above, kestrels, many species of dragonfly, damsels, various butterflys, beetles, all manner of things. Oh and not one but two, of the rarist of rare creatures, the environment agency employee.

The biggest thing for me is knowingly fishing a place where specimen fish live. I always had a problem believing there were fish present to specimen proportions in any water I fished, no matter what I was told. Now I know they are, at least in this water, I can cope with endless blank sessions, just for that one chance.

Thats the joy of fishing rivers mate, you never really know what may turn up,

 

[MartinWY]

About 25 years ago there were a LOT of tench suddenly coming out of rivers such as the Great Ouse, Warwickshire Avon and Thames. Perhaps this coincided with anglers using a lot of chopped worm as bait?
These days they seem to be few and far between ... but still occasional captures. There was one caught on Saturday on the Avon in match.
sadly for me, I haven’t caught a river tench since the early 1980s.

You're the second person now to say they are so rare. I didn't realise at all. Learned a lot this week.

 

[Deejay8]

I always find tench to be a difficult fish to guess the weight of. They are a bit flabbier than silvers or carp, and sometimes appear bigger than they actually weigh. And sometimes a smaller fish is packing more muscle and weighs more.
The pot bellied doubles you see, are usually females around spawning time, and the pot belly is caused by the roe being stored. It adds quite a bit to the weight of the fish. But after it's spawned, and for a few weeks after, the fish will look pretty much the same, even though it weighs less. It takes a while for the fishes belly to shrink after spawning.