When we think of specimen groups, it’s easy to imagine they’re little more than a handful of enthusiasts sharing whispers of big fish and reminiscing about the ‘good old days’. But that’s not true of the Tenchfishers.
Founded in 1954 by Richard Walker, Maurice Ingham and John Ellis, they started as a secretive, invite-only society. Today, there are nearly 600 Tenchfishers, from all over the world. We recently met up with a few of their committee members at Sywell, where we learned the true meaning of being part of this historic club.
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More than just big fish
Although initially conceived as a group dedicated to catching specimen tench, today the group values the relationships more than it does specimens.
Tenchfishers president Phil Jackson, who’s been a member for 47 years had this to say about the group:
“It’s as much about catching two-pounders as it is doubles.”
“I see us as a group of anglers with old-school values. We take our fishing seriously, but not ourselves, we fish because we love it.”
The camaraderie between members was immediately apparent with many getting much more than they bargained for after signing up.
“My motivation behind joining was to learn more about tench fishing, and now I’m the chairman!” Pat Dower joked.
Secretary Ben Kennedy joined because he was after a new personal best, and after catching it on his first fish-in with the group, he realised he’d stumbled across something much more meaningful.
“The Tenchfishers highlights the positive impact angling can have. It gives people the chance to be a part of something” he told us.
“There’s a lot that’s been said about men’s mental health recently, and the struggles we have in ‘opening up’. The Tenchfishers is a safe place. We have each other’s backs, and there’s a strong sense of community. I’ve made friends for life here.”
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Restoring an iconic venue
An important area for the Tenchfishers is their sub-group, the National Tench Heritage Alliance (NTHA), through which they aim to promote and protect the species.
The historic Sywell Reservoir has been the focus of much of their work. Although once a famous tench water, sport began to drop off a few decades ago. But, since 2011, the group have been gradually restocking the venue with the Environment Agency (EA), as well as building fish refuges.
“The late David Watson started the work at Sywell, and after his untimely death, we wanted to carry it on in his legacy,” said the group’s web editor, Mark Daffern.
“The aim of the project is to re-establish a healthy breeding population of tench. We carefully monitor all fish caught, taking detailed catch returns and scale samples, which we send to the EA to monitor. With this data, they can advise us on how well the programme is working and how we can improve.”
“The venue isn’t prolifically fished, but we’ve seen an upturn in the sport,” Mark revealed.
“It’s a hard water deep and filled with natural food and weed, but there’s always the chance of a ‘double’.”
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A wider impact
Tench are a species much loved by the nation, finishing No1 in a ‘favourite species’ poll Angling Times ran in 2021 – but finding a venue to target them in is becoming increasingly difficult. The rise in popularity of catfish is detrimental to the species, as is the boom in carp fishing, in some respects.
Not only are many waters heavily stocked with carp, but many of the places where tench do thrive are now often expensive syndicates.
As a result, the species is steadily moving further out of reach for many anglers. But the Tenchfishers are working hard to make them accessible again, especially for kids.
“When I started fishing, it was on mixed-species lakes, when the tip went round or the float went under you never knew what it’d be,” said John Osborne, the group’s sponsor relations and advertising manager.
“I vividly remember catching my first tench, but these days, the chance of that happening is becoming increasingly slim.”
By promoting and supporting venues and clubs with multi-species waters, the group are changing that.
If you’re a fan of the species, or simply looking to add a new dimension to your angling, we’d urge you to check the organisation out.
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