Tench Ahoy!

Dear Readers,

I am now trying to make up for some times when I haven't been that active on writing. So, for the first time in COTTL history, a new blog entry on two successive days!

Spring is coming and I am getting anxious. There is nothing better than getting out fishing when the long winter is over. I just love the feeling when the world is coming to life. All the rivers flowing free and lakes glimmering with sunlight...

My fishing history is quite diverse, as I have been fishing with many techniques for a lot of species. At this moment I am going through the carp-crazy -phase. I have been fishing exclusively for carp for five years now (Yay!). Before carp my mind was on tench, which is a species that still haunts my mind. It is not as big as carp, but somehow it's more delicate and in some ways, even more mysterious than carp. 

The body shape of tench has real stopping power. The fish hasn't got any sharp edges. Its small red eyes and round fins totally complete the design. The fish is a work of art. Tench is probably the most beautiful fish I know, despite its humble coloring.

I used to fish tench on the pole, which in my opinion, is the best method. The presentation of the float is very delicate, and sometimes you can fool the tench to bite just playing your float. Considering all the methods where the bait is laying on the bottom, pole fishing is just über. It takes a lot more skill to handle a float and a pole than just using bolt-rigs. Besides playing a tench on the pole is a lot more fun than using rod and a reel. With strong pole elastics and a balanced rig, there is no problem in playing a 2-3 kg fish. That is the maximum size that tench grow here in Finland.

I promise myself to go fishing for tench with the pole (yes, the full monty, including a match angling seat). And at last, a picture of a fish! Here's a photo of my PB tench. It never went to the scales. Anyone having an idea about the weight of this fish?

Me and my PB tench. Don't know the numbers though...