Tench
Tinca tinca
Dark green, thick-set, and a summer-dawn classic of weedy lakes.
Also known as: Estonian linask, Finnish suutari, Norwegian suter, Swedish sutare.
- Typical size
- 30 to 45 cm
- A big one
- Over 50 cm and past 3 kg is a big tench
- Where it lives
- Warm, weedy lakes, ponds and slow backwaters
- Best time
- Summer, best at first light
- Common methods
- Float or feeder with worm, corn, or bread
About the tench
Tench are deep-green, powerfully built lake fish with tiny red eyes and a love of warm, weedy water. They give themselves away at dawn with patches of pin-prick bubbles as they root through the bottom. Hook one and a slow, dogged, unstoppable fight tells you at once what you are into.
Catching tench
Fish the margins and gaps in the weed at first light, and pre-bait a swim to draw them in. Watch for their tell-tale bubbling and cast to it. Corn, worm and bread all catch, and a strong hooklink helps, because a good tench will bury itself in the nearest weed the moment it is hooked.
Before you fish: closed seasons, minimum sizes and catch limits differ by country and by water, and they change. Always check the current local rules and buy any licence you need before you go.
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