Tench & Bream Fishing- Gravel Pits

This cheeky sod had no nerves... I was setting up and had thrown some bread on my bedchair to dry before mashing it into my groundbait, and I guess it just decided to help itself!

Weird cloud and sunlight over a Tench Pit.

Sash and golden looking Tench.

The F10 boilies murdered 'em for a couple of seasons.

A roasting hot weekend, and the Tench fed like crazy that night. I think I had about 15 of them. This one weighed 7lb 5oz.

Slipping back a lovely fish into the crystal clear gravel pit.

Personal best male Tench at 6lb 13oz. A bit of an enigma, cos me and Sash have caught a few around this size between us at our local lake... and yet the biggest female we are aware of is one of about 8 to 8 and a half that has been ashore a few times. We had expected them to get bigger than that...

Still had some lovely fishing though.

"Hold it at arm's length- go on- it'll make it look bigger.

Dusk over a Tench Pit, and suddenly the chances are looking a lot better.

My ideal way of keeping Tench for a photo- as stolen from Len Head's book "Tench". Just make sure you find some fairly deep marginal water, and you can safely keep up to four of them in a sack with no problem, and you don't have to keep bringing it in and out. It is not recommended for long periods though- just a couple of hours til the light gets better for a picture.

Another really pretty, almost yellow Tinca.

An old friend of around 7 and a half pounds with a crinkly tail for Sash.

Who also visited me a couple of times.

Perfect 7 pounder from a local pit again.

And the crinkled tailed one is still going strong this summer. Time to find somewhere else to fish.

Perfect Male Tench with huge paddles on the morning with strange light.

Sash baits up with the old faithful Tutti Fruttis.

Part of an overnight catch of ten fish- most of them on Boilies.

Another one safely returned.