A NEW BOOK NOW OUT. Targets set and achieved.

My third book, 'Targets set and achieved' is now complete and ready for sale. As the title suggests it reflects the past seven years of my fishing. Twenty different rivers where double figure barbel were caught, crucians and roach to near record size, perch, chub, tench and bream to make the mouth water. All will be in the pages and well illustrated with lots of colour photographs.



There is a 1000 copy print run of the hardback edition and a further 40 leather bound copies for the connoisseur.



Copies available from myself just email phlpsmith9@aol.com or ring 07980 394864 for details



Still a limited number of leathers available.





Alternatively use the web page http://www.philsmithangler.co.uk/ where you can order by Paypal or credit/debit card.





Friday 3 June 2011

Tench surprise.

My 1st choice tench venue seems to have been decimated and all the bigger tench have disappeared, this means I have to move on.   I chose a water in the Home Counties that I have fished for bream for several years, I know the big tench are there but the pit is very big and there are few tench in it.  Last week I blanked, could it do the same again to me.

I intended to fish open ended feeders with casters as bait, it needs the open end version to enable the caster to be left in the swim since there is no flow to dislodge them from the closed version.  Three artificials were put onto the hair with a size 16 Palatrax hook [ bigger than the size states] and I cast the two rods every 15 minutes in order to build up the swim.

Up at 4.15am and out went the fresh baits loaded into the feeders, I kept to the self imposed time-table until the first bite at just before 10:00am.  What a scrap, I thought it was going to be big but when I put it on the bank I could see it was very big.


                                                                   11lb-14oz monster.

  At 11lb-14oz it puts 1lb-2oz on my pb and I would rank it within my top 5 specimen fish of different species.  Icing on the cake is that it is definately a different fish to the one I witnessed last week at 11lb-12oz so there are at least two monsters swiming there.  I caught a 6lb-13oz male to complete my session and make my day a memorable one.

                                                               6lb-13oz male specimen
I fished for a further two days and caught just one each day, 7lb-10oz and then 5lb-1oz on the last morning.  Not easy fishing but what rewards wait you if you succeed.

                                                          successful rig for tench.

3 comments:

  1. That is a simply stunning Tench,congratulations
    on the new pb.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unbelievable fish Phil and a lucky one as getting into your top 5 along with near record crucians and roach is no mean feat !

    Now you are a blogger though, you are duty bound to tell all the others where you caught it, I hope that's clear ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Greenbottle by your left thumb on the last photo is smiling in approval at your rig...... er.... not that I've examined the photos closely or aything.

    Amazing tench Phil.

    ReplyDelete