While tench fishing is traditionally synonymous with using a float, I doubt that many modern specialist anglers actually own one, preferring to lounge behind a battery of rods and electric bite indicators. Ignoring the potential of float fishing however, is a major folly that I think no tench angler can afford. If the tench in your waters don’t come close in, obviously the only option is to go out after them but if such a fishery exists, I’ve yet to find it. Everywhere I’ve fished, the tench spent large amounts of time close in where float fishing has offered a particularly effective method of catching them. Indeed at such times I’ve caught fish so close in that had I fished any closer, my bait would not have been in the water. 

No ledger or feeder rig can remotely compare with the sensitivity of a properly shotted float, nor convert as many bites into fish on the bank. At its best, ledgering is never more than a finely honed skill, but done properly float fishing can be pure wizardry. Unless you’ve mastered float fishing, your probably thinking I'm indulging some kind of purist passion here, but in comparison ledgering is always remote and ambiguous.

Intuitive approach
Float fishing however is intrinsically a far more intuitive, compelling method of fishing, by which it is almost possible to conduct the fishes activity through careful direct observation combined with sensitive responsive baiting and pinpoint presentation of the hook bait. Indeed at times I have experienced periods of activity where its been almost possible to orchestrate proceedings building up a rhythm of casting and feeding that has almost taken total control of the fishes feeding, ensuring bites occur almost to order

No background
The biggest problem for modern anglers turning their attentions to tench is that they seldom have a background of club fishing that was once an essential part of most anglers’ apprenticeship. Nothing can equip us better than time spent learning a variety of different methods, including those used for tiddler-bashing. Today anglers are likely to come to tench straight out of carp fishing and wouldn’t know the difference between a waggler and a stick float. Therefore if this article is to be of use, it probably needs to start at the very basics.

For tench a variety of different wagglers will fit the bill but Drennan Crystal Straight and Bodied Wagglers cover most of my needs and being constructed from clear plastic, they are less likely to spook fish in shallow water. Generally I use floats with veined inserts, which offer more sensitivity for delicate bites and allow use with a chemical ‘Nightlight’. In windy conditions I generally use Crystal Bodied Wagglers, which are basically an improved version of what were traditionally referred to as antennae floats incorporating a buoyant body at the base of the float to stabilize it in choppy conditions.

Laying-on
Where many anglers come unstuck float fishing is that they don’t have a clue about shotting patterns, which puts them in a distinct disadvantage causing casting difficulties and inevitable tangles. The usual way of fixing a waggler to the line is by locking it in position between split shot which is fine in shallower swims but can be difficult to cast in deeper water, therefore I generally set up slider style, tying a 3lb mono stop-knot on the line and grouping the bulk shot around 4ft up line from the hook. This allows me to move swims regularly, easily resetting the depth by slipping the stop knot up or down the line. By using a 2-piece 12ft rod rather than the usual 3-piece, I can also keep it made up in the quiver. There aren’t any two-piece float rods on the market, so I use a 12ft 1lb10oz Harrison Interceptor, which has a tippier feel than most specialists rods, providing sufficient power to dominate very big fish while still light and crisp enough for float fishing. 

For mainline I try to avoid dropping below 6lb, with Gold Label being my first choice. Sometimes its possible to get away with lighter lines, but in most pits all to often there’s too much weed to take such risks. While it is possible to use a braided hook link, it unnecessarily complicates the rig and increases tangles and I therefore generally use a length of Trilene XL (Extra Limp) as a compromise.

What hook to use depends on the bait in use, but for maggots and casters I generally use a Drennan Sedge hook in size 14, and for corn the same in a size 12. While actually designed for fly tying these hooks are sufficiently strong to be coupled with 6lb line. I try to avoid dropping down to a 16 because I find I loose too many fish through hook pulls and have occasionally also suffered the hook opening when a hooked fish finds its way into weed or marginal reeds. Sedge hooks are a little large for their stated size, and are rather long in the shank, they are probably best suited to self-hooking feeder tactics but I’ve found them so reliable that I use them for virtually all my maggot fishing.  
 
Good shot
Many anglers incorrectly space the shot shirt-button style resulting in poor casting and regular tangling. Its rare for tench to intercept a bait the on the drop, therefore the best option is to get it down quickly and nail it to the bottom. To achieve this I set an anchor shot at the precise depth of the swim so that it only just rests on the bottom to prevent the bait drifting out of place. Generally a No 4 shot is about right, acting perfectly as a telltale which when lifted from the bottom by a fish picking up the bait, is registered by the float lifting in the water. In windier conditions however a BB may be required to improve anchorage and accentuate lift bites.

Between the bulk shot and the anchor I generally set an intermediary BB shot slightly over half way between the two to help get the bait down quickly and help stabilize the float against drift. This set up this serves most of my needs, casting well and being sufficiently stable to stay put in all but the windiest conditions providing sufficiently sensitivity to indicate delicate bites. The only problem with keeping a float rig made up is regularly crushing the float. To prevent this a float adapter can be incorporated into the rig facilitating a quick change of float should it be required. Being set up this way when moving into a swim all that is required is to pop a float into the float adaptor and slide the stop-knot to the right depth. As a plummet I nip a triple swan-shot on the line setting it against the top of the telltale shot, but find it necessary to remove one of the larger bulk shot from the line otherwise readings will be constantly over-depth.

Once actually fishing I adopt the procedure of casting beyond the baited area, then quickly sinking the rod tip and spinning the reel to sink the line out the way of the wind, drawing the rig into position at the back of the baited area, then by opening the bail arm the bait falls to the bottom as the line slides through the float. As shown in diagram 1 this rig casts well and causes very few tangles, particularly if you get into the habit when casting of stopping the float before it drops into the water, by trapping exit of line off the spool with a finger. This will straighten the line out, sending the bait out beyond the float so that the rig lands in a line, rather than a heap, while also helping mend any bow in the line. 

The only draw back with this rig is that is susceptible to line-bites, which can be a considerable problem when float fishing occasionally leading to foul-hooking the fish in the fins. Having foul hooked fish to over 9lb I take this problem very seriously. Numbers of tench milling about over the feed are bound to result in false indications, some of which will pull the float under. Rather than swatting them all, I have eventually learned to be a little circumspect rather than letting my natural reflexes control my strike.

Hook link lengths are generally a matter of trial and error, but I use the philosophy that short hook links speed up indications and therefore are better for showing delicate bites, while longer hook links allow more time for bites to develop. Therefore I generally couple shorter links with small baits and longer links for larger offerings but generally find 4 to 8in. covers most eventualities, allowing me to judge timing of the strike according to the size of the bait, with bigger bait given a fraction longer.

Feeding
One of the constant problems in catching the nomadic tench in the gravel pits I fish, is in locating fish to begin with. Watching for rolling activity or for fizzing fish is never time wasted especially at dawn. Unfortunately the fish don’t send up fizz in all swims particularly when feeding over clean gravel, but wherever the bed is softer they generally will. Using this to my advantage by baiting the margins in several swims with a few handfuls of hemp, the fish usually give their whereabouts away. What’s more, when you find them, they will be already happily feeding just waiting for your hook bait.     

When float fishing I adopt a little and often style of feeding. With eyes glued to the float any signs of actively, such as bubbling or gentle line-bites are fairly obvious, therefore the timing and volume of feeding is undertaken by responding to demand. A variety of baits can be used but float fishing really comes into its own for particles, with combinations of maggots, casters and hemp, which can work the fish up into sufficiently frenzied feeding to loose any sense of caution, becoming sufficiently competitive not be unconcerned about the disturbance of other fish being hooked, played and netted in their midst. It is entirely possible to get through a substantial amount of bait fishing this way.

On occasions when I’ve managed to get the swim boiling, I’ve run out of bait by lunchtime, having used up four pints of maggots, three pints of casters and four pints of hemp. Yes its expensive but after a session that warranted using this much bait, you can be sure I’ll go home with a smile on my face.
 

This article was originally published in Coarse Angling Today