Thomas Turner
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Can I make it clear that I only write what I know about so you won’t get any advice from me about using a waggler on rivers, for example. Whilst I have had excellent advice on how to do it, notably from Bob Roberts I remember, this is not an approach where I would be happy claiming expertise. Where I do know my stuff is on gravel pits and to a degree on estate lakes, though I do not fish them as much as I did pre otter. So, what follows is the result of many years of hard fishing on way over thirty gravel pits this century….and come to that, more often than not for tench. The norm these days is to catch tench on feeder, probably at range, but the vast majority of those I take with me, want to do their business on a waggler. Great. Why not? It’s visual, hands on, exciting, satisfying and extremely productive, if done right. Here are the “rules”, if you like!
Wagglers and tench bubbles..JB baiting the first ledge
THE FIRST DROP OFF
Most pits, and estate lakes off their dam walls, will provide water between 5 and 12 feet deep a mere one or two rod lengths out. Tench adore to patrol this drop off to deeper water, especially if the water is not overly pressured and it is in this zone that I have constantly seen my guided clients/friends land upwards of 800 tench each year for as long as I can remember. Note I used that word “patrol” and that is one of the keys to success: you need to put down enough bait to hold tench as they progress along their routes and even better, put down so much bait that pods of wandering tench coalesce into one large, enthusiastically feeding group.
Wagglers and tench bubbles..JB baiting the first ledge
BAITING..WHERE, WHEN AND WHAT?
I’ll be completely honest once again and say that most of my tenching has been on carp syndicate waters and I have done deals with the anglers there. I don’t go near the top carp swims and they allow me uncontested access to spots that I prebait. I bait as much and as often as I can and obviously, this would be a problem on a day ticket water or a large club venue. On these places, you can still bait but it becomes a more risky occupation.
“Where” is not too big an issue as you can draw tench in to most places if the feed is sufficient. As tench patrol the first drop off regularly, they will tip on food wherever they come across it generally. “When?” Well I love to bait the night before a morning session. If you put in enough, travelling tench will come across the feed, go down and stay in the swim, ready for your appearance as close to dawn as you can manage. Obviously, if you can keep bait going in over days, then the amount of tench and their dependence on you grows. If I am guiding a group, I’ll try to put in bait two or three days before they arrive.
“What”? Over many years, my base bait has been Vitalin, a dog food you can buy in 15kilo bags from pet food suppliers. I wet the dry flakes till they become a mush and then add goodies, notably boilies, those that I will use on the hook. The tench adore the Vitalin which breaks up after being scooped or Spombed in and the boilies are the cherries that keep them searching. I’m not too fussed over boilie types but I have a gut feeling that they like red as a colour and I have had huge success with both Source and especially Robin Red. A mix of 10/12/15ml seems to be about right to me.
“How much”? Almost, I would say, as much as you can afford. A bag of Vitalin and two kilos of boilies is no way too much for a long session. A group of fifty tench, perhaps more, can hoover up bait in the warm months and the more bait they find, the longer they will stay. This isn’t always cheap-share the cost with mates. It isn’t hugely purist. But it really works!
JB and friends with float caught tench and bream
THE WAGGLER SET UP
This is childishly straightforward. A 13ft float rod is perfect unless the swim is very deep…I am very happy with the Thomas Turner Classic+ and I guess most anglers would be. You are fishing close in so a pin or a fixed spool reel will do equally well with a main line of around 6lb bs. I choose the right waggler for the job and mostly one taking 4BB is about right. I put all the weight up top to lock the float. I have no shot down the line where tench can be spooked by it in the water column but occasionally in windy conditions, I will put a AAA or similar six inches from the hook as an anchor- generally a 15ml boile will be weight enough. A size 10 hook is a good starter and the boilie is invariably fished on a short hair, half an inch or less. I then set the float about a foot over depth so the line from it to the bait hangs limp and unthreatening. Tench brushing against slack line show little fear whereas they will bolt from a line that is cheese wire taut. Bites are pretty much unmissable as you are fishing an ultra confidence rig that offers little or no resistance to taking fish.
Wagglers in action
Waggler shot
THOUGHTS
The approach has taken some very hard carp waters apart. If you start hooking streams of twenties and thirties, you have to scale up to 8/10lb line and think about a move to a 12ft Avon type rod or a light carp rod..I believe there might be some of these in the Thomas Turner pipeline… Big bream can be an issue even though generally you’ll find them further out. Swims situated on a pinch point where bream have to travel through from one part of a lake to another can become very “hot” if enough bait goes in. If the tench become finicky, use a smaller waggler or push it up the line so it is two feet over depth rather than one. Use half a boilie on a size 14. Try a worm- random but it can work. Minimise drift by sinking the line from rod tip to float, even putting a BB a foot ABOVE the waggler to make the process faster. Eventually, if the pit is large enough, you might have to decamp to another bank to find “new” fish that aren’t wised up. (But many of my best swims have fished well for seasons.)
Enoka with waggler caught tench
The post The Lost Art Of The Float – Part 3 – The Stillwater Waggler appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
Wagglers and tench bubbles..JB baiting the first ledge
THE FIRST DROP OFF
Most pits, and estate lakes off their dam walls, will provide water between 5 and 12 feet deep a mere one or two rod lengths out. Tench adore to patrol this drop off to deeper water, especially if the water is not overly pressured and it is in this zone that I have constantly seen my guided clients/friends land upwards of 800 tench each year for as long as I can remember. Note I used that word “patrol” and that is one of the keys to success: you need to put down enough bait to hold tench as they progress along their routes and even better, put down so much bait that pods of wandering tench coalesce into one large, enthusiastically feeding group.
Wagglers and tench bubbles..JB baiting the first ledge
BAITING..WHERE, WHEN AND WHAT?
I’ll be completely honest once again and say that most of my tenching has been on carp syndicate waters and I have done deals with the anglers there. I don’t go near the top carp swims and they allow me uncontested access to spots that I prebait. I bait as much and as often as I can and obviously, this would be a problem on a day ticket water or a large club venue. On these places, you can still bait but it becomes a more risky occupation.
“Where” is not too big an issue as you can draw tench in to most places if the feed is sufficient. As tench patrol the first drop off regularly, they will tip on food wherever they come across it generally. “When?” Well I love to bait the night before a morning session. If you put in enough, travelling tench will come across the feed, go down and stay in the swim, ready for your appearance as close to dawn as you can manage. Obviously, if you can keep bait going in over days, then the amount of tench and their dependence on you grows. If I am guiding a group, I’ll try to put in bait two or three days before they arrive.
“What”? Over many years, my base bait has been Vitalin, a dog food you can buy in 15kilo bags from pet food suppliers. I wet the dry flakes till they become a mush and then add goodies, notably boilies, those that I will use on the hook. The tench adore the Vitalin which breaks up after being scooped or Spombed in and the boilies are the cherries that keep them searching. I’m not too fussed over boilie types but I have a gut feeling that they like red as a colour and I have had huge success with both Source and especially Robin Red. A mix of 10/12/15ml seems to be about right to me.
“How much”? Almost, I would say, as much as you can afford. A bag of Vitalin and two kilos of boilies is no way too much for a long session. A group of fifty tench, perhaps more, can hoover up bait in the warm months and the more bait they find, the longer they will stay. This isn’t always cheap-share the cost with mates. It isn’t hugely purist. But it really works!
JB and friends with float caught tench and bream
THE WAGGLER SET UP
This is childishly straightforward. A 13ft float rod is perfect unless the swim is very deep…I am very happy with the Thomas Turner Classic+ and I guess most anglers would be. You are fishing close in so a pin or a fixed spool reel will do equally well with a main line of around 6lb bs. I choose the right waggler for the job and mostly one taking 4BB is about right. I put all the weight up top to lock the float. I have no shot down the line where tench can be spooked by it in the water column but occasionally in windy conditions, I will put a AAA or similar six inches from the hook as an anchor- generally a 15ml boile will be weight enough. A size 10 hook is a good starter and the boilie is invariably fished on a short hair, half an inch or less. I then set the float about a foot over depth so the line from it to the bait hangs limp and unthreatening. Tench brushing against slack line show little fear whereas they will bolt from a line that is cheese wire taut. Bites are pretty much unmissable as you are fishing an ultra confidence rig that offers little or no resistance to taking fish.
Wagglers in action
Waggler shot
THOUGHTS
The approach has taken some very hard carp waters apart. If you start hooking streams of twenties and thirties, you have to scale up to 8/10lb line and think about a move to a 12ft Avon type rod or a light carp rod..I believe there might be some of these in the Thomas Turner pipeline… Big bream can be an issue even though generally you’ll find them further out. Swims situated on a pinch point where bream have to travel through from one part of a lake to another can become very “hot” if enough bait goes in. If the tench become finicky, use a smaller waggler or push it up the line so it is two feet over depth rather than one. Use half a boilie on a size 14. Try a worm- random but it can work. Minimise drift by sinking the line from rod tip to float, even putting a BB a foot ABOVE the waggler to make the process faster. Eventually, if the pit is large enough, you might have to decamp to another bank to find “new” fish that aren’t wised up. (But many of my best swims have fished well for seasons.)
Enoka with waggler caught tench
The post The Lost Art Of The Float – Part 3 – The Stillwater Waggler appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
