Tench Fishing: The Future

The Tench

The popularity of the tench is easy to understand, where conditions are suitable they can exist in good numbers and grow to a good size and on appropriate tackle, give a good account of themselves.

The tench (Tinca tinca) is so distinctive that whilst it is a member of the family cyprinidae (carps) it is afforded its own subfamily (Tincinae) and genus (Tinca) of which it is the sole member. It has a wide geographic range and distribution, primarily across Europe and Eurasia, the extent of its “natural” range has been influenced by man having been historically seen, in some cultures, as an edible table fish.

The tench is one of our most recognisable fish, famed for its muscular appearance, paintbrush-like tail fin, small scales and green colouration and of course the “small red eye”. The small pair of barbels at the corner of the mouth, may go unnoticed to the casual observer.

The sexes of mature tench are readily distinguished with males having noticeable ventral, lateral muscular protuberances and thickened leading edge to the pelvic fins. The extent of these characteristics may vary depending on the time of year and age of the fish and whilst their role has been studied no clear evidence exists for their purpose.

Fishing for Tench

Tench are amenable to a number of different angling approaches and techniques, from a few pleasant hours whiled away fishing the classic ‘lift method” using a traditional quill float with a hook bait that reflects the catholic tastes of the tench, to a multi rod, “session” approach fishing at longer range on larger waters.

In the summer season, tench are caught mostly in the daylight. There can be a period in early spring where anglers report fish caught at night but generally tench feed most consistently during daylight hours. We can go further and say that that they mainly feed from morning to lunchtime as evidenced by the extensive catch return records of The Tenchfishers. This very convenient “office hours” feeding habit makes them amenable to day anglers, whether “pleasure” or “specimen” anglers.

The average weight of tench would appear to be increasing and whilst a 5lb tench was a target specimen fish a specimen fish today would perhaps be seen to be 6-7lb. Overall, 8lb fish are exceptional. Fish over 10lbs are, it would seem to some commonly reported, but are in fact rare specimens and fish in excess of 11lb are very rare indeed.

Taking care of Tench

The distribution of the tench reflects in part their tolerance of a wide range of conditions. Whilst they are found in slower moving lowland rivers they are primarily seen as fish of still waters. To grow to a specimen size tench generally need some space and stability. Tench are slow growing, long lived fish and thus need some consistency in food availability and appropriate spawning sites. Whilst they will spawn each year, they are late spawners, perhaps the latest spawner of all freshwater fish in the UK and thus the success of each spawning event can be very variable.

Tench can coexist with king carp and indeed on some waters where there is a sensible balance in stocking levels and good management (not just above the water line but more importantly below). The natural diet of both tench and carp are very similar, although clearly king carp can take larger individual food items. Photographic evidence often shows tench and carp feeding together in relative harmony. However, if carp, and or bream, are present in higher numbers and biomass then tench can suffer and fail to reach their potential and ultimately may decline in size and number.

Tench, in an ideal environment and without excessive competition can thrive in smaller waters, but tench do need adequate room. The largest specimens almost always occur in the larger waters, most commonly gravel pits but also larger reservoirs. Mature pools of 3 – 10 acres, if well managed and with a thought to the tench can provide excellent fishing.

There are relatively few fisheries managed as tench fisheries, despite the undoubted popularity of the species. At best, the more enlightened carp fishery owners are aware of the popularity of tench fishing and offer opportunities to tench anglers by a Spring ticket from March/April to the end of June.

Carp fisheries can readily be “boosted” by the purchase of additional stock and it is not uncommon on some “specimen” carp waters to stock with fish into double figures and with the rapid growth of modern strains these fish can rapidly grow to 30lb fish and provide years of sport.

On the other hand, Tench are relatively slow growing and quite expensive to rear and thus expensive to buy, and larger specimens are often difficult to source. So once a fishery that once contained good or specimen sized fish declines it is very difficult and expensive to restore. More emphasis must be placed on the longer-term sustainability of current waters that produce good tench otherwise the national status of the well-loved tench may continue to decline.

The Tenchfishers went to visit Arron Standing of Coarse Fish UK (www.coarse-fish-UK.com)  down in Sussex.  Arron breeds thousands of tench a year in a plethora of stock ponds and here are his key ideas on raising tench.

Obviously, Arron is talking about a largescale professional operation and his ideas represent an ideal but any club wishing to raise tench will hopefully find this information useful.

Brood Stock

Arron uses his experienced eye to select his brood stock from thousands of young fish by their size, strength and shape.  These fish will be three to four years old and around a pound in weight and they are kept as brood stock only for a few seasons.  This is because the spawn is more viable with a higher hatch rate in younger tench.

Stock Ponds

Alkali water is best for growth rates, that is above pH 7.  A level of pH8.5 is ideal.  Arron’s lakes are on chalk substrate in the South Downs hence they naturally have a high pH level.  Put another way, he recommends a water hardness rating of at least 90 milligrams per litre of water as calcium carbonate (61-120 mg/l is classified as moderately hard).

A stock ponds ideally needs to be quite large so as not to overcrowd the tench.  A good size would be 30 metres by 15 metres and not be too deep, so that the water warms up relatively quickly.  A good configuration would be a pond of two to six feet deep with a shallow gradient from one end to the other.  Something like amphibious bistort (Persicaria amphibia), which grows in water up to 3 feet deep, can provide cover but should only extend to a maximum of a third of the area.

Ideally ponds should be drained between cycles (usually, two or three years).  The silt is removed and the area of the lakebed treated with hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) before refilling.  This kills parasites and diseases and maintains the fertility of the water.  Hydrated lime must NOT be added to a pond with fish in it as it will probably prove fatal.  However, Siltex (a porous form of calcium carbonate) can be safely added to stocked ponds to improve the water quality.  Calcium is important for growth.

Stock ponds should be fairly open with not too many trees nearby.  Light penetration is important and tannins from leaf fall will tend to make the water more acidic.

Fish

The ideal is to raise cormorant-proof sized tench (around 2lb) so they have a chance of avoiding avian predation.  It is possible that this size can be achieved with a stock of two-year-old, eight-to-ten-inch fish in two summers if they are not overstocked.  In the size of pond mentioned above, around 200 fish of eight to ten inches would be appropriate.  An added advantage of two-year-old stock fish is that at that age they can be sexed.

Tench seem to do best in stock ponds if they are not mixed with other species.  Eight-to-ten-inch fish will cost around £7.00 each.  If possible, it is more economical to raise them to 2 to 2½ lb than buying them in at the larger size.

Eight-to-ten-inch tench are currently around £7.00 each.  There is always a big demand for tench and they always sell out.  Big tench cost around £17 a pound.

Feed

In the summer it is important to feed them little and often.  Growth is best achieved by the use of premium, non-vegetable based, high fishmeal content pellets (e.g.  by Coppens or Aqua) which have a better conversion rate.  Small pellets (2-3mm) are more digestible and are better than larger ones.  The rule is to feed 2% of the total weight of fish a day and 3% if it is really warm.  (That means if you have 100lb of tench, provide 2lb of feed).  Below 14 degrees C there is only a need to provide very low levels of maintenance feed, and none at all in the colder months, as feed won’t convert into growth.

Protection

Otter-proof fencing should be installed all around the sides of the pond at a height that allows for marginal reeds, as shown in the picture.  Then a tennis court style mesh, no bigger than 1 ¼ inches, should be extended right over the top.  Nets are a must as they are needed to keep out birds as small as dabchicks.  They are more secure than “string ponds” where cormorants can learn to fly in between the ropes.

Having created a mixed-species lake on a boggy site in Devon, my father and I decided in 2012 to construct a second lake specifically for tench, having learned a lot from the first experience.

We appointed a contractor who knew how to build lakes for fishing.  Well, he actually knew a lot about everything fish-related.  The lake we dug out, although only an acre in size, was full of features, with bars, troughs, nice shallow margins and again fed by several good-sized springs bubbling up.  Once lined with clay, the lakebed was completely covered with a thick layer of topsoil and manure was placed in the margins.  When the lake was filled, this gave a real boost to insect life and provided an immediate food source.

I was straight in with the water plants, digging in several types of water lily and although the Nymphaea alba is our natural white-flowered lily, I mixed it up with reds, yellows and pinks, several of which came from garden ponds and were just getting too big. With an average depth of three feet and with just six feet at the deepest part, it suits water lilies perfectly.  There were a few issues that I think shaped the fishery into a potentially great water for tench to thrive in, some of which I am now living to regret and some I think were a great move.  A fellow fishery owner once told me you spend the first ten years of a fishery putting stuff in and the rest of your life trying to remove it!

The first issue was the inclusion of the water plant Nuphar lutea, commonly known as the ‘brandy bottle’ due to the alcoholic aroma emitted from the yellow flowers.  This plant, with its large waxy leaves, can grow in six feet of water, so that’s a problem with a lake six feet at the deepest.  The plant also quickly spreads with seed pods that float on the water and large rhizomes that are thick, tough and very hard to cut through.  I put this plant into the lake because I had in my head the stereotypical tench water, with large rafts of lilies punctuated by the odd gap where feeding tench could be seen by the fizzing of numerous bubbles.  This was indeed the case because the plants spread, creating huge beds and as soon as you look at the lake it screams tench.  This plant along with the Nymphaea alba have provided the tench with a fantastic environment and without them I don’t believe it would be a success.

These surface living plants are crucial to the other keystone species living at the lake, dragonfly and common blue damsels can be seen on every leaf.  Bees visit the flowers, while frogs and toads hide among them.  The ‘brandy bottles’ have, over the last few years started to take over the lake to the detriment of the other lilies, which are becoming smothered by the bigger leaves of the Nuphar Lutea.  I need to get in the water and do some serious underwater removal of the bigger rhizomes, not a task I am relishing.

The next issue that contributed in a positive way to the construction of this tench lake was the introduction of a water plant known as Menyanthes trifoliata or ‘bogbean’, a plant that as the name suggests, thrives in bogs, marshes and fens.  I planted it in two shallow bays and allowed it to thrive.  The plant resembles the floating plants of the Amazon, with large dense floating beds sat on the water’s surface, flowering between March and June, providing dense surface cover and shade just like the lilies.

Below the surface, the bogbean forms a lattice-work of strong wiry stems that form a natural refuge, with a barrier against large predators such as cormorant, otter and large pike.  They also provide the perfect hatchery for tench with the fry able to remain totally safe and shaded. It wasn’t until I witnessed the tench spawning in both of the bogbean beds every year that I realised just how good it was for that purpose.  This plant is, however, pushing the limits of where I want it to expand to and will be subject to some pruning.

I have also planted one plant that always reminds me of the late great John Wilson – the Lythrum salicaria commonly known as purple loosestrife.  John very often pointed out this stunning purple plant growing along a river he was fishing on.  These plants, along with many others such as yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), arrowhead (Sagittarius sagittifolia), water mint (Mentha aquatic), brooklime (Veronica beccabunga) and fringe lily (Nymphoides peltata), all made it on to the fishery, together with a few not so visible plants like hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) that I have put in the tench lake.  As a native oxygenator, it’s a great addition.

One point that visitors to the lakes just can’t believe is that the tench lake was started off with a stocking of just six tench, four females and two males, in May 2012 and furthermore, they were barely a pound in weight. Not even ten years later, we had captures of nearly forty fish in a day, between 2½ lb and 4lb.  This really is our finest achievement and I know from many other fisheries locally how they have struggled to get their tench to thrive.

The tench stocking was a massive success but on the other hand, I made a huge error with the rudd, stocking six one-pound fish in the hope that the shoal of six fish would just grow big and be a success story like the tench.  The rudd population exploded and hundreds of the little critters swam around removing natural food from the water.  I added perch and they did well to start with but then I started finding a few big perch and more rudd-sized perch.

The next mistake I made was to put in a few jack pike to deal with all these annoying small fish and like the perch, they started off doing a great job smashing into the fry.  However, like living in lockdown, they got lazy, big and slow and decided it was easier to eat one tench a week rather than chase the fry. Recently I had a 4lb tench taken by a 15lb pike.   Things are pretty balanced now but it goes to prove that reacting to one problem can create a bigger one.

Both my dad and I are lovers of wildlife, so much so that we paid for an ecologist to survey the site and give us some advice on habitats.  This was a worthwhile experience as she quickly identified several species that visited the lakes and following that visit, we added bat boxes, left some wildflower meadow, created a wildlife pond and constructed some large log piles as habitat.  The site was visited by deer, badgers, foxes and a family of stoats that moved into the log pile, no doubt attracted by the abundant rabbits.

It became a real oasis of species, however, with the arrival of the otters, we needed to take drastic action and erected a five wire mains-driven electric fence around the whole six-acre site at a significant cost.  The cost was both financial and ecological because with the electric forcefield in place, everything was kept out and part of what we loved was no longer there.  To get around this, we changed the bottom wire to an earth wire that still prevented otter ingress but allowed the smaller animals to pass freely.  The lakes were once again full of frogs, toad and newts.  Now we once again have the stoats, rabbits and voles and we have also had several grass snakes and adders, plus lizards which love to sunbathe on our stack of pallets.

Another creature I have been overjoyed to see is the glow worm, a large beetle Lampyris noctiluca..  It is the female that emits the green glow to attract a mate during June and July.

The huge diversity of habitat we have created with all the different ponds is a real benefit for the environment and I would urge anyone looking to create a pond or lake to consider the wildlife and habitat first and the anglers second.  Who wants to fish in a sterile home-from-home environment?  I for one want to be just a guest in the habitat that clearly belongs to the creatures that reside there.

So, to summarise the key points

• If digging out a new lake choose your land wisely, bearing in mind soil disposal, water availability and a source of clay lining material.
• Always work with the EA and follow their advice.
• Discuss construction options with contractors as early as possible.
• Make sure your planning application covers all the information they could need.
• Ensure you are creating an environment for the fish and wildlife foremost and the anglers can slot in.
• Think about the species you stock and the effects they may have as they grow larger and more numerous.
• Have a well thought out program of planting, some stuff takes years to establish.
• Design predator control measures because they will arrive at some point.
• Remember to take time to enjoy what you have created, it’s easy to get sucked into working every visit.

I hope that’s explained some of the issues connected with creating a little tench heaven.  When I see anglers using their traditional tench gear to catch tench from amongst the lilies of our lake it makes me feel immensely proud.  If anyone is thinking of creating their own fishery / pond and would like some further information just drop me a message.

Our website is  https://sanctuarylakesdevon.wixsite.com/mysite

The Royal Leamington Spa Angling Association was formed in 1890. The Association controls the fishing rights to stretches of the Warwickshire Avon, Leam and local canals, plus several reservoirs and former sand pits around the Leamington and Coventry area containing healthy stocks of tench.

One project, given the backing of members was the development of the Jubilee Pools complex on the outskirts of Coventry. The complex consists of two lakes: Island and Horseshoe, with Island being the larger of the two at approximately    9 acres.  Both lakes contain a healthy head of carp, bream, and roach and perch with Horseshoe containing tench.

In 2014 following requests from many members who fished the complex, it was decided by the committee to promote Horseshoe Lake as a more balanced coarse fishery.  Members had been asking for more tench and the forward-thinking committee realised they had to make room for them in the lake.  Wheels were put in motion to remove approximately 350lb of carp and relocate them into Island Lake, an established carp water, to make way for stockings of tench to supplement the reasonable head of tench already present.

Horseshoe covers around 4.5 acres and runs to depths of 18 feet in one bay with the back bay running to ten feet. Marginal shelves of around six feet lend themselves nicely to float-fishing, a method favoured by many members fishing for tench.

An initial stocking of 350 tench of around the one-pound mark, was introduced in November 2014 from Coarse Fish UK and March 2015 saw a further 500 ten-inch tench stocked from the same supplier.

February 2017 saw a further 500 six-inch tench stocked along with 2 million tench larvae from EA Calverton. More young tench and crucians were added in 2021.

The tench, now room has been created with the removal of some but not all carp, have grown on well with many fish in the 2-4lb bracket showing, along with the odd five-pounder.  All of the fish appear in good health and certainly have learned how to put a bend in a float-rod, being very spirited fighters.

The footfall of anglers now turning up specifically to have a day’s fishing for tench has increased with anglers coming from the Leicester and Birmingham areas to sample the sport on offer.

At AGMs, since the project was undertaken, there has only been praise for the initiative from members with no dissenting voices from the carp angling contingent of the club.

Leamington Angling Association also have other waters containing stocks of tench including Ryton Country Park, Napton and Snitterfield Reservoirs. The many “pleasure” anglers in the club enjoy spring and summer fishing for tench, roach, and bream but are happy to encounter the odd carp.  They will often move onto the rivers later in the year, while the more serious specimen anglers come winter, will be found lure and drop shotting for perch and piking on the rivers and reservoirs.

Speaking to members on the bank there does seem to be a really healthy appetite for tench and general mixed coarse fishing; some have grown tired of the carp scene and are enjoying getting back to more traditional methods of fishing for other species, with the spirited tench as firm favourites.

In essence the Horseshoe project undertaken by the Association has proved to be very popular with many members within the club and the feedback from the bailiffs who also live on site has been overall extremely positive. So good progress has been made in furthering the cause of this most beautiful fish.

A real blueprint now exists for any other clubs wishing to undertake similar projects and I know the committee of the club would be more than happy to provide guidance and advice, as would the National Tench Heritage Alliance and the Tenchfishers.

We are looking forward with great optimism to a prosperous future for tench fishing within the club and proving to the younger members that it isn’t just carp that put a bend in the rod and put a smile on your face…

Royal Leamington Spa Angling Associations website is found at https://www.leamingtonangling.co.uk/

Below is an aerial footage film of Horseshoe Lake

This case study looks at a famous day-ticket venue, Marsh Farm in Surrey. It is an example of a highly successful commercial and club focussed tench & crucian fishery in these modern carp-focussed times.

Marsh Farm is under the ownership of Godalming Angling Society, which has a current membership of just under 2,000.

Marsh Farm is a gated complex of three small lakes: Harris Lake, Richardson Lake & Hill Lake.

There are 119 swims, secure parking, and an angling shop on-site. There is also disabled facilities.

The complex is situated adjacent to the Godalming AC members-only Johnson’s Lake which holds the current joint crucian record plus specimen carp & tench.

As well as day ticket pleasure fishing Marsh farm complex frequently hosts junior participation events run by Angling Trust qualified coaches.

Across the 3 lakes there is good swim access with numberous disabled designated swims which are priority access for those who qualify.

The lakes were created from scratch in 2000 on sheep grazing land that Godalming Angling Society has since transformed.

The mixed fishery opened in the summer of 2004 and offers opportunity to catch tench of decent size without the need to belong to a club or syndicate.

All three lakes were originally stocked with fish from Johnsons Lake and some have grown on to specimen sizes.

After the initial stocking some additional silver fish and bream were added to Richardson Lake but most of the 3 lakes recruitment has been natural.

The lakes are managed pro-actively by Godalming AS’s Fishery Management Committee. For example, recent works have been undertaken applying Siltex to the lakes to manage the sediment loading. There is also a structured programme of winter feeding on the lakes plus a lot of time & effort spent managing the margins and islands to benefit both angling access and fish habitat.

The complex is not subject to major Otter predation but avian predators are an increasing issue resulting in requirement to use deterrent cormorant wires and occasional licensed culling to take place.

There are very few snags in the man-made lakes which means suitably balanced fishing gear can be used safely and without the threat of a rogue big carp smashing delicate tackle.

The fish may be caught from all over the 3 lakes, but tench are notably caught tight to the islands with feeder tactics, however, margin float fishing tactics also produce.  Because of the complex’s topography it can be windy causing powerful undertows which often make light floats a challenge to employ effectively although waggler fishing with loose-fed maggots is a successful tactic when possible.

The average stamp of tench seems to be around 4lbs with some taken to 7lbs. Specimen crucians of 2-3lbs are present in all 3 lakes plus roach, rudd with perch.  Harris Lake holds the notably largest tench and Bream are only present in Richardson lake.

To find out more about Marsh Farm and Godalming Angling Society’s waters visit their website at: http://www.godalminganglingsociety.co.uk/article/marsh-farm-fisheries-home