Tench Length-Weight tables

[Sean Meeghan]

I spent Saturday afternoon stalking fish on a local gravel pit and I saw the 3 biggest tench I have ever seen. I was fishing a small hole in the trees on a heavily wooded bank and the sun was shining down into clear water giving me an excellent view. I'd started to get line bites so I climbed back up the bank to get a better view and this is what I saw:

A very large tench was mooching around in my swim, stopping occasionally to pick up the odd pellet. Every now and then it brushed against my line, which was obviously making it nervous, and which was giving me the gentle liners that I'd seen. Whilst I was watching a good carp entered the swim from further along the bank, made and abrupt turn and swam out into the lake. The fish were obviously seeing and feeling the line which could only be inches off the bottom as I was fishing close in in 3ft of water with the rod tip almost touching the surface.

I pulled a bit of slack off the reel and used a rod rest to push the line down so it was lying on the bottom and then returned to my vantage point. Shortly after 2 more tench entered my swim and I had to grip the branch I was leaning against very firmly as I went weak at the knees. The first tench was about 2ft long and I'd put it at about 10 or 11 pounds (the water has been known to produce fish this big), the other 2 were at least 4 inches longer than this. All 3 fish continued to visit the swim over the course of the afternoon stopping occasionally to pick up a pellet until I saw one feed close to my bait, then leave the swim in a hurry. My rod tip had pulled round, but no line was being taken off my reel and on retrieving I found a tench scale on my hook. The fish had obviously hooked itself lightly outside the mouth and spooked. As the smaller of the 3 fish continued to visit the swim I can only assume it was one of the other 2 that I'd hooked.

So, how big was this fish? If I had to guess I'd say it was around 13lb, but I'm not an expert on tench. It must have been around 28 inches long, but obviously judging length is difficult in these circumstances and it could have been a couple of inches either way. Certainly if the 2 bigger fish were barbel I'd be confident of them being doubles.

 

[The bad one]

Sean I've never heard of a length to weight ratio for tench, but that's not to say someone hasn't worked one out.

For me the critical factor is not the length but how broad it was across the back. I've had short fish that I thought might make a scraper 6, turn out to be 7 1/2. Long fish that I thought were a good 8, turn out tobe in the lower 6 region from many different types of water.

If you get the length and width, you got a really big fish/forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

My 9 3PB for a long time was a shortish fish. I was so amazed at the width of it's back as lay in the water in net, whilst I got the camera ready, I photographed it several time from above. Unfortunately it was pre digi cameras and the shots are on slide, so can't post them on here.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Sean,

You need to catch one! That will give you the best 'yard stick'!

Goos luck! /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

I agree with Mark

 

[Mark Hewitt]

I don't................

I can't seem to spell Good!

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Thanks Matt

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

OK Mark

 

[Sean Meeghan]

You spell alright Mark!

I know what you mean about depth and girth Phil, but these were seriously long, big-framed fish. I've really got no reference point for estimating weight hence the post. Someone out there will have the measurements of their PB tench (hopefully a double) that will give me a reference point.

 

[Michael Townsend 3]

I don't think you could do such a table for tench.

Some waters produce long lean fish, while others are shorter, but very deep. Sounds like a nice place though Sean.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA)]

The biggest tench I ever caught was exactly 24 inches long. It was caught in August of 1996 and weighed 8lbs 12oz.

Peter Stone caught the same fish in June of that year and it weighed 1 oz short of 10 lbs.

Weight for length scales for tench?

I don't think they are possible.

 

[Andy "the Dog" Nellist (SAA) (ACA)]

The biggest tench I've seen on the bank weighed 13lb 5oz. She was just 22.75 inches long and I'd caught her 6 weeks earlier at 9lb 1oz. My longest tench was 25.5 inches and weighed 10lb 14oz and I've had a 24.5 inch well built tench that weighed just 8lb 7oz. In other words length is a very poor indicator of weight.

 

[Sean Meeghan]

Ah well, as Mark says I'll have to catch one of them to find out.

Fat chance of that!

 

[The bad one]

Oh what a defeatist attitude Sean! Never say never! Sounds like you need to recommit to a personal Mission Statement to me!/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

 

[Sean Meeghan]

The problem is Phil that they probably live in the middle of a large gravel pit. Most of the better swims are inhabited by long stay carp anglers, I haven't got the time for a long campaign and it's 16th June soon which will be a major distraction.

 

[The bad one]

Swim blockers eh! Bain of real fish anglers all over! Call in the otter squad then tell em' they've eaten all /forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

And you know the rivers are rubbish until August at the earlist.

Drop off close in sorts the muchers out mate! And boy do tench like to much along it.

 

[Sean Meeghan]

Trouble is I've got nearly a mile of drop off to go at.

I know what you mean about early season on the rivers - I have to wade through the 11lbers to get at the little uns!!

 

[tigger]

As has already been said by others, I don't think a length to weight ratio chart for Tench would work as they vary so much in shape.