Specimen Ace Simon Ashton was left in awe after landing what he described as the finest tench he has ever seen during a recent session for the species.
“At the start of the year I set myself targets for the season, and top of the list was a new PB tench.
“I had planned a session with Drennan’s media team at a gorgeous 30-acre Nene Valley gravel pit to shoot some content around their new Specimen Tench and Bream rods – but disaster struck when we discovered it had closed early because the resident carp were spawning!
“Two weeks later it’d reopened and, on my return, I selected a swim along the western bank, into which the wind had blown for the last three days. Straight away I saw a few fish show, which boosted my confidence.
“A quick lead around revealed a clear gulley amid the Canadian pondweed, running parallel to the bank. It was two feet deeper than the surrounding area and looked to be a perfect patrol route. I baited with six Spombs of mixed micro pellets and hemp, and cast three maggot feeders with worm kebab hookbaits over the top.
THE WORM KEBAB RIG IS DEVASTATING FOR BIG TENCH, FIND OUT HOW TO USE IT HERE...
“Just 30 minutes later I had my first bite, but the fish unfortunately came off as it charged into a weedbed. After introducing a little more chopped worm and hemp, that same rod tore off again, but this time I was bitten off by a pike. The same thing happened again a few minutes later!
“I was thinking about switching over to Method feeders and fake casters, but my next bite was from an 8lb tench.
“To keep the swim ticking over I added another three Spombs of particles and soon after managed another fish, this time weighing just over 9lb.
“After a brace of smaller fish the cameraman left and typically, an hour later, I had the best yet at 9lb 10oz.
“After topping up again, another nine-pounder followed fairly quickly, backed up by a superb 9lb 14oz fish that evening.
“Exhausted, I wound the rods in for some well-earned sleep, but it rained that night, and I awoke to find that I hadn’t put the lid on my bait bucket properly, resulting in a maggot migration!
“Only a handful remained, and these were all floating in rainwater. My worms had escaped too, but I found half-a-dozen hiding under the bag.
“I just managed to scrape enough together for a final cast while I packed away, and it wasn’t long before I was in again.
“The fish charged through my other rods, and when the mother of all tench surfaced I wasted no time in landing it!
“I called the bailiff over, who weighed it, and I couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw the needle of the scales resting on 12lb 4oz.
“A true freshwater leviathan, taken on a session I’ll never forget.”
THE BEST BIVVIES WILL HELP KEEP YOU DRY WHEN FISHING ON LONGER SESSIONS.
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