Big Fish Column

Spring continued to make its presence felt slowly last week with another slight improvement in sport prompted by a period of somewhat warmer weather.

Consistency in the weather is still lacking though and this more than anything is needed before we see the results we have come to expect for this time of year.

A couple of tench catches have been the highlight of the week with the species continuing to appear more regularly and a few of the better fish, which we know local waters are  capable of producing, beginning to show.

We are still some way off seeing the best of the tench fishing for the season and are at least a week behind previous seasons but at least the fish are feeding and are now there to be caught.

Top tinca for the week was an excellent spring specimen of 8lb 8oz which fell to the sweetcorn offered by Twyford's Andy Pearce who fished a session on one of his local gravel pits with feeder tactics.

Making a pre-dawn start, Andy mixed up a brown crumb groundbait laced with mini pellets, hemp and corn and presented a couple of grains of Enterprise Tackle corn over the top, hair-rigged on a size 10 hook to a 10lb braided hooklength and 8lb main line.

With his baits in place just as the dawn feeding spell commenced he netted a couple of fish around the 5lb mark and a reasonable bream of about 7lb before the bigger tench picked up his bait. Andy finished his session with a final fish which tipped the scales at 6lb 14oz.

Also scoring with tench last week was Marlow angler Robin Brooks who fished a small local venue with a corn and maggot cocktail under a waggler float to net a brace of fish scaling 5lb 12oz and 7lb. Robin used a powerful 13ft float rod and 6lb line main line straight through to a size 12 hook to tempt the fish; the largest taking the best part of five minutes to subdue from a margin swim.

Nationally tench are beginning to stir in increasing numbers and the first double figure specimens of the new campaign are beginning to make the headlines. Locally, doubles are very rare but not impossible and the next month should see the best chance of a real heavyweight.

To report catches call 07780 755138 or email ian@bigfishtrail.com