Follow the tell-tale signs to be in tench heaven

2:41pm Thursday 1st May 2008

LYMM Angling Club assistant head bailiff Brett McPhee spent a few days fishing as he enjoyed some well-earned time off work last week.

I encountered him on Friday on Founders Pool, where he had landed carp up to 23lbs during the day and was settling down to his night session.

Over on Belmont Pool, action was fast and furious with nearly everyone catching.

Long-standing carp angler Peter Biles continued his quest to better the fish he caught there last year, which weighed in at more than 29lbs. I am convinced there are two or three fish in there that weigh more than 30lbs.

Over on the other side of the water, young Jeff Mowbray was enjoying good action with eight fish landed in his morning session.

Jeff is a relatively new member but has impacted very positively in his short time with us by making extremely credible catches on several occasions.

The year appears to be flying by. It is already May and we can look forward to an eruption of action from one of my favourite species - tench.

The waters to head for will be tench heavens Lymmvale and Whitley Pool, both of which hold huge stocks of these summer favourites.

Early morning sessions have always proved to be the most productive, especially on Whitley Pool.

The nice thing about tench is that they give away where they are feeding by releasing strings of what are described as pin bubbles, which looks a little like as if someone has thrown an Alka-Seltzer in the water.

Because of this giveaway, it is really worth taking a little time looking around the water for the tell-tale signs. It can save some time and bait by starting to fish where you know the fish are.

Carp also give their presence away in the same way, although the feeding bubbles tend to be much larger.

Club president Eddie Rothwell visited Village Pool on Sunday evening, although decorating duties at home prevented him from having enough time for a fishing session.

Eddie reported that all the anglers were catching despite the bites being lightning fast.

Fish were a little lower in the water than normal and I agree with Eddie's theory that this was probably due to the rain cooling the temperature near the surface.

I can be contacted on 411774 or 07810 254402 but be prepared to leave a message.