The lift method for tench is the most traditional way of landing yourself a big tinca. there is nothing better than watching your float slowly slide under the surface before striking into a monster tench. We've pointed out some of the main areas to look at when setting for the lift method for tench fishing.
A) HOOKBAITS
Use a biggish hookbait that the tench will take with confidence. For this there’s little to beat sweetcorn, fished as a single grain or in pairs.
B) SHOT ON THE DECK
As a general guide, shot the float with SSGs or AAAs and fish overdepth with the shot holding the bait still on the bottom. Fix the shot around 4ins from the hook, or more if the fish are finicky.
C) ATTACHING THE FLOAT
Attach a straight waggler with a length of silicone tubing at the base and set the float so that its shot are on the bottom with the float tip visible at the surface.
D) HOW IT WORKS
After a tench has taken the bait, it upends, feels the weight of the shot and bolts. The float will lift, sometimes lying briefly on the surface, before shooting under quickly.
E) WHEN TO CONNECT
You need to be patient when lift method fishing! The float may twitch and tremble for a while as a fish plays with the bait. Eventually the float will lift and then shoot under. Only then should you strike!