The Fishing Coach

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by an aquaintance of mine, Dave Cohen, for a recommendation for a set of digital scales. Since they first became avilable for anglers I have had a couple of sets, one was useless and unreliable and the other I lost before I could give the a real trial. I always went back to my old Avon dial scales but about a year ago I bought a set of Rapala Sportsman scales on Ebay

These have proved to be very reliable and I had no hesitation in recommending them to him. Dave has no computer so asked me to find him a set.

I found him a set on Ebay from a seller I have used in the past, Roger the Pike. I ordered the sacles at about 11.30am on Monday and paid by Paypal. At 9.45 a.m. the next day I received a telephone call on my mobile from my partner telling me they had arrived. Now that is what I call service!

I was able to hand the scales to a very impressed Dave Cohen at the monthly meeting of the Molesey Anglers Curry Club that evening.

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Once again I have visited my favourite water on the Taywood A.S. ticket and fished the notorious motorway bank. I used the same tackle and methods as I did on Friday but got to the swim at about eight a.m. My experience of these vast gin clear gravel pits tells me that early morning fishing for tench is little use as they cruise all day looking for food and the trick is location.

I was surprised to find another angler on the same bank. He was using the same sort of tackle as me and not fishing for the carp for which this lake is renowned. I had a quick chat with him and he was happy for me to set up in my favourite swim just next door. It is always polite to ask - you never know, you might need him to take a photo later!

Over the next couple of hours I had three line bites, where the indicator just lifts a little and drops back. These I am sure are caused by a patrolling fish swimming into the line between the feeder and the rod tip. The chap in the next swim left about lunchtime but before he did so he threw in about a dozen large balls of groundbait thirty yards in front of him. This was just within my casting range and after he left I couldn’t resist an experimental cast into the area. It would have been rude not to!

The result was a 6lb 4oz bream heavy with spawn and would have explained the line bites I had earlier.

The hunt for the big tench continues.

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