How hard do you try to catch the fish you really want? Do you give it a few sessions before moving on, or do you stick it out until you finally land it? Raymond Ball is one angler who showed serious dedication in his pursuit of big tench on a large gravel pit he has been fishing. After blanking for an entire season on the venue, a tactical switch transformed his results, rewarding his persistence in superb style.
“I’ve been fishing a Lea Valley pit for tench over the last few seasons. There aren’t many fish in it, and I blanked the whole of last year’s campaign on the water," Raymond told us.
“Early efforts this spring hadn’t been any better, however over my last two trips I’ve managed a tench in each, the first and biggest of which weighed 10lb 7oz, followed by one of 9lb."
“Both came after I started fishing maggots popped-up off my in-line feeders, sitting on a four-inch hooklink."
“I do this by threading a bit of foam, which I trim into a rough maggot shape, up the shank of the hook, then add two more live maggots," he explained.
“Previously, I’d been adding a fake maggot, which whilst buoyant, offers more of a balanced hookbait, rather than one that’s sitting above the feeder.
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“You may be thinking it’s a weedy pit, but there’s hardly any in it at the moment. However, when testing my rig in the margins, I noticed that when my maggots were on the bottom, it didn’t take them long to get lost in the low-lying detritus.
“So, I decided to try popping them up on one of my rods, and it’s that one rod that’s produced all my fish.
“I think one reason that the presentation is effective is that the tench aren’t really feeding hard at the moment. Before catching these, I’d seen just a few bubbles over my bait. Perhaps the popped-up hookbait is catching their eye?
“I kicked off my first successful session by feeding 10 spombs of hemp, micro pellets, chopped worm and dead maggots, and fished my feeders over the top.
“I’d caught nothing on the first day, but at midnight of the next I landed a small catfish of around 10lb, which I thought initially was a big male tench, judging by its fight.
“The next morning was very misty, and I was thinking about packing up when, at 11am, I saw a few bubbles rise over my bait.
“About 30 minutes later, I had the bite, with the fish coming in reasonably easily to start with. But when I saw it, it screamed off repeatedly, and I prayed my size 12 hook would hold! Thankfully, it did, and I soon had my first tench of the year in the net, and what a whacker.
“Next session I had the nine pounder, and now I’m going to switch both of my rods over to popped-up maggots. I might even try doing it with a worm kebab – a bait I’ve caught lots of tench on over recent years.”
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