Stewart Bloor

Field Tester

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This is the time of the year when the all-round angler is definitely turning his attentions to tench. In spite of the harsh winter we've had in the UK, where species targets have been quite limited, there is no doubt that the traditional spring fish are now on the munch. And you don't get any more traditional than Tinca tinca. And certainly for me, as someone who fishes for a wide range of species, it's been on my agenda during the month of May.

Preparation begins at home -adding CSL to hemp  

One of the most important things for us as anglers is preparation. Which means that we don't just begin our session the moment we arrive at the water's edge - we start way back before then. Preparation will come in many ways, one of them is bait and with hemp playing a major role in my tench approach, boiling the seeds in advance was part of the plan.

Once boiled, washed and cooled, I added some SBS corn steep liquor to them. This was left to soak overnight and helps to give the seeds an edge. Hemp is great, but with flavouring it really comes into its own. CSL was all the rage a few years back amongst carp anglers - and others - I'm not sure it is quite as popular now. But don't be led by trends, it is still a fantastic additive and with just a small amount needed, a bottle will last a very long time.

SBS sweetfruit groundbait is perfect for tench

Added to the hemp was sweetcorn. A very popular bait, again like the hemp, this will also take on the CSL, which can only add to the attraction. Then finally, at the water's edge I added SBS Sweetfruit groundbait. I've been using this since the start of the year and it really is good stuff. It smells as it is described and as we know, tench do have a 'sweet tooth' so it's a perfect final ingredient. Fishing at distance I need the groundbait to catapult the particles, but it is actually an important part of the approach in its own right as an attrractor.

All mixed and ready to go

So what about the actual fishing? How did that go? Well, as you can see from the photos below, it all came together quite nicely. My hookbait was SBS corn-shaped popper boilies, fishing three about 4cm off the bottom. This bait is definitely one of my all-time favourites and like the CSL a tub will last you for ages. I've never counted the number of individual baits in a tub but they certainly run to three-figures. I use them for specimen tench, bream and carp. Why not try them, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

A nice daytime tench

My hook pattern was a size 7 Big T Raptor and trying the set-up in the margins it looks not only very inviting but also balanced. That's an important aspect of fishing isn't it? Making sure our rig and bait looks right. On this particular venue - a gravel pit - I was fishing at some distance on a plateau. In all honesty I love all venues, but there is something special about a gravel pit. They're certainly a challenge though and on this one if I get one tench every 24 hours it's a good return. But they're all big ones so that suits my approach.

That's the great thing about fishing isn't it, it can be to each one of us what we want it to be. Many anglers just want to catch lots and lots of fish, and that's fine. But as someone who sets his stall out to catch decent ones, I'm more than happy to sit it out. Confidence is a big thing and if I tell you that I only took the poppers with me and no other baits, that says it all doesn't it? I'm so confident in them that I didn't need a back-up just in case they let me down. And as you can see from the photos, they didn't!

Caught in the day and on SBS corn-shaped boilies

The venue is very clear and invariably most of my fish come out during the hours of darkness. But this spring I've been catching more fish in the daylight hours. That is fine as it means I'm not basically wishing the days away and just waiting for darkness. There's always something nice though when your alarm comes to life and you find yourself lifting into a good tench. And on the subject of alarms I fish with ATTs and use the six-magnet rollers for my tench fishing, giving me maximum sensitivity.

This one came out at night

So, a great start to the year on the tench front and hopefully that will continue. I've got a few more sessions planned, also fishing a different venue, one where I had some nice fish out last year. All I know is that when those corn-shaped boilies emerge from the PVA bag and sit up on the deck of the lake, that my confidence level is sky-high and it's not so much will the alarm start to scream but when!

By: Stewart Bloor