Estate lake tench - giving em some grubs

For the last couple of years I have said that I would drop my ticket for the estate lake but the fact is that it offers the best tench fishing for miles. When I say miles I'm probably talking about fifty as I think that the Nene valley would be my next best bet and with this water being a mere fifteen minutes from home it is difficult to turn it down. The chances of breaking my personal best are fairly slim I'd say but it does produce one or two fish that would make that mark each season and the head of back up fish is substantial, you can certainly go home with an aching arm if all goes to plan. A trip or two further afield after that elusive double may be on the cards in the next few weeks but until then local it is.

Surface fishing for carp - The beachcaster rig - hot stuff!

Over the years I have spent an awful lot of time sat behind carp rods, in fact when I think back I sometimes wonder what I would have caught if I hadn't become so engrossed in the one species. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed myself immensely and nothing beats a capture after a long period of hard work. Catching nothing for weeks, and in some cases months, on end was the way my fishing went for years. Hard waters captivated my imagination and you have to get into the mindset of taking the rough with the smooth, the fact is though you spend a hell of a lot of time waiting and if I had the hard figures on paper in front of me now I'm sure that I would be shocked at just how much time I spent sitting next to water doing nothing much. Marriage and a mortgage changed all of that, no longer could I dedicate so much time and in many ways that is what led me back to my roots and fishing for other species and I see that as a major result, my eyes were opened. I have always kept a couple of carp tickets but each year I use them less and less and my main water is now difficult for me to fish due to distance and the time required to get there, over night sessions are impossible, I have to face the fact that I really must decline the ticket next year but I do still enjoy a bit of carping. A local fishery became available to me this spring and though I was in two minds I eventually decided to join. Being only twenty minutes from home gives me the option of short sessions and as a rule that is how my fishing is done, it has to fit in and around my fairly hectic lifestyle.