Just watched 150lb of prime tench stocked into a club lake…

[hague01]

It seems to me that one of the joys of fishing is that whatever the "target" species maybe if you catch it's unlikely to be what is aimed for. Unpredictability is for me part of the pleasure of anticipation.

 

[S-Kippy]

Tench can live with carp......its just hard to target the tench when carp dominate as they are such greedy pigs. I know a few waters where the tench fishing was superb until the carp stock was increased and the tench virtually vanished. Its all about balance....you cant just chuck a few whatever into a water and expect to create a mixed fishery.

I find it sad to see carp and carp anglers dominating virtually everywhere down here. I am a member of the club that have stocked these tench and applaud the attempt to reverse that trend. I might even give the place a go now....I've not fished it for years because it was just yet another muddy hole full of carp.

 

[108831]

Whatever you think carp become the dominant species on lakes,especially when a decent head are present,they force tench out,but as ive said before,the Danny Fairass approach of spod loads ask questions later force the tench to feed differently,that is why it would be pleasant to have carp free(or virtually so) waters,creating what used to be the norm in the UK many years ago...also on these waters the carp may not be a known quantity as not many anglers would be prepared to blank endlessly...

 

[hague01]

I am certainly not driving 35 miles and paying a fee because I know what I will possibly catch. Majority in the water are carp but a better than average crop of tench. It's the anticipation I seek

 

[no-one in particular]

I used to fish a commercial that had one lake with just tench and bream in it and they were big, it was a lovely lake as well with nice secluded swims and an island. OK that's not natural but it was lovely fishing it. It wasn't easy either, I found going down to a 3lb line got more bites but you had to wait a long time sometimes or they just wouldn't feed at all. Perfection on a commercial !

 

[markcw]

Tench can live with carp......its just hard to target the tench when carp dominate as they are such greedy pigs. I know a few waters where the tench fishing was superb until the carp stock was increased and the tench virtually vanished. Its all about balance....you cant just chuck a few whatever into a water and expect to create a mixed fishery.

I find it sad to see carp and carp anglers dominating virtually everywhere down here. I am a member of the club that have stocked these tench and applaud the attempt to reverse that trend. I might even give the place a go now....I've not fished it for years because it was just yet another muddy hole full of carp.

That's why I said earlier about carp out feeding the tench, it's not so much a problem on large waters it's the smaller waters that can suffer.
WAA has a couple of waters that has both large carp 20lb+ and tench that go to 10lb+ in them.

 

[peter crabtree]

That's why I said earlier about carp out feeding the tench, it's not so much a problem on large waters it's the smaller waters that can suffer.
WAA has a couple of waters that has both large carp 20lb+ and tench that go to 10lb+ in them.

You wouldn’t worry about tench starving in this lake as tons of bait goes in on a daily basis. I’m confident ! As ever, never pessimistic like some of you?

 

[steve2]

The biggest problem is that few clubs or owners will now stock anything other than carp of all sizes simply because carp anglers be they specimen hunters or big bag baggers rule the roost.

 

[108831]

It isnt starving them,it is having a species of fish that is more aggressive pushing them off of bait,come on Simon,you have fished long enough,you have seen it,on the canal many years ago it was commonplace,catching roach and skimmers and then the pigs would push them out,carp find food sources quickly,especially as I said previously when there are good numbers of them,ie a well stocked club lake,not a commercial type water...there are always exceptions,but quoting waters that hold record size tench doesnt really apply,because they feed similarly to carp...

 

[markcw]

You wouldn’t worry about tench starving in this lake as tons of bait goes in on a daily basis. I’m confident ! As ever, never pessimistic like some of you?

Not at all, I have fished the WAA waters , and had some big tench .
The one I mentioned about tench crucians and carp is small, a decent cast with a good waggler will put you across it, and a cast with a feeder will put you lengthways on it.
That is why we were rod and lining the carp out, and a quick transfer up the road to a carp only water,
What I don't like are pools with catfish in them.
Lymm AC have a pool that had a good head of tench, they are not caught in numbers as such now. It also held the UK record for a golden orfe.
The largest catfish in there is just shy of 80lb.
Plus others of various sizes, these cats have decimated the silvers population in there. The same as they have done on a few more Lymm waters.

 

[markcw]

The biggest problem is that few clubs or owners will now anything other than carp of all sizes simply because carp anglers be they specimen hunters or big bag baggers rule the roost.

We queried why the club were sorting a mixed fishery complex out that was fine as it was in a way, apart from a few anglers transferring carp from one pool to another.
They had made it a booking on system for a couple of pools on there with a peg reserved for bailiffs, The other 3 small pools that would hold a total of around 25 anglers for all 3 were on a first come first served basis.
We we told that carp anglers put money in the club's coffers, that's why work on what could be deemed pleasure angling pools was down the list.
They seem to have lost a few members over this,

 

[steve2]

I was talking to my brother a few days ago about modern day fishing and the must catch attitude anglers now seem to have. Easy the catch carp now top of the table, a fish that when we started was virtually unheard off.
We were reminded of an article Richard Walker wrote back in the 60’s. It was that a time would come when the rivers will be dead and we will be sitting around manmade ponds catching stocked fish.
There was another one by someone else that said we would end up fishing lakes that will be stocked with carp of whatever size you can afford to catch. 30lb /40lb carp would replace the 20lb carp target and 20lb fish would be consider run of the mill in these waters.

Not far of the truth judging from what I now see and read.

 

[john step]

I was talking to my brother a few days ago about modern day fishing and the must catch attitude anglers now seem to have. Easy the catch carp now top of the table, a fish that when we started was virtually unheard off.
We were reminded of an article Richard Walker wrote back in the 60’s. It was that a time would come when the rivers will be dead and we will be sitting around manmade ponds catching stocked fish.
There was another one by someone else that said we would end up fishing lakes that will be stocked with carp of whatever size you can afford to catch. 30lb /40lb carp would replace the 20lb carp target and 20lb fish would be consider run of the mill in these waters.

Not far of the truth judging from what I now see and read.

I remember that article well. Walker ( if memory serves) in the same article wrote it as a story line where someone was ridiculed for catching small wild roach from a stream when he could have caught many 2lb roach in the stocked roach pond.

I was told I was barking by an angler on my last pre covid trip up to the Swale. He couldnt make out why I would spend all day for maybe a couple of barbel when I could go to the local puddles for 100lb of carp.
I do sometimes bag up on easy carp but there is only so much of the same thing.

 

[S-Kippy]

We we told that carp anglers put money in the club's coffers, that's why work on what could be deemed pleasure angling pools was down the list.
They seem to have lost a few members over this,

That's happening all over. As I've said on here before I often cannot get on the members lake at Godalming because of the carpers who have very cleverly introduced some rule changes that favour them against those ( like me) who fish there for the big crucian and (less so) tench. There seems little point in remaining a member of the club if I can't get on the water. People have left over this and will continue to do so....I would give up my membership if the "Old Boy" rate which I now qualify for wasn't so ridiculously cheap.

It comes as no surprise to me to learn that the new fishery manager there is an avid carper.....there will be more carp stocked ere long I suspect. The tench have virtually disappeared already and the crucian will follow I suspect. I can catch decent crucian from the Marsh Farm lakes but they're day ticket so why join the club ? It already has far too many members which is another reason why its hard to get on but an open membership generates income and money in the bank is all some club commitees can see. They have (or had) an absolute jewel there which is being slowly but surely ruined by narrow sighted, selfish people.

 

[sam vimes]

We were reminded of an article Richard Walker wrote back in the 60’s. It was that a time would come when the rivers will be dead and we will be sitting around manmade ponds catching stocked fish.

Sounds like Redmire Pool.

 

[john step]

Sounds like Redmire Pool.

Ouch! That hits the target on a couple of levels. I doubt it was considered a carp puddle nor is it now but when one thinks about it ....Yeah!

 

[steve2]

Sounds like Redmire Pool.

Agree Redmire is now just another run of the mill stocked day ticket carp lake with a bit of past history. Some anglers are willing to pay hundreds just get it off their tick list. Back in the 60's it was still a mystery water and home of alleged monsters.

 

[sam vimes]

Agree Redmire is now just another run of the mill stocked day ticket carp lake with a bit of past history. Some anglers are willing to pay hundreds just get it off their tick list. Back in the 60's it was still a mystery water and home of alleged monsters.

Indeed, but despite the mythology that's grown up around it and its later demise, it was always a manmade pond with stocked fish. Essentially, it was also one of the earliest examples of a syndicate water.

People tend to wax lyrical about Richard Walker. They hold him up as a paragon of "traditional" angling. They conveniently forget that he was particularly famous for fishing a manmade pond with artificially stocked fish and was at the cutting edge of the development of bite alarms.

 

[steve2]

I do seem to remember that his fishing mate Maurice Ingham who came up with the idea of the bite alarm and Walker developed it.
Yes Redmire was one of the first ponds stocked with a faster growing breed of carp before then we had mainly wild carp breed for the pot.
From there on the bigger and bigger carp race started so Walker also started the carp ball rolling to where it is today.
May be he is rolling in his grave at the thought of what he help to create.

 

[peter crabtree]

Ron the hat clay knew “Dic k Walker”

and reminded us on a daily basis ,,,lol