THE TENCH. 



THE Tench is a beautiful fish, thick and well made, and con- 

 sidered by many Anglers to be as good as any that swims, and 

 I think so too ; but would like him better if he would forsake 

 the muddy waters and take to a pleasant running stream ; but 

 this he does not seem to fancy, so we are obliged to take him as 

 he is. 



Tench spawn at the latter end of May or beginning of June, 

 and, like the Carp, seek, for this purpose, the most retired places, 

 shallow and full of weeds. Tench should be strictly preserved 

 during these months. They are then poor sickly fish, and 

 easily taken by the poacher's net. The best months for Tench 

 fishing are July, August, September, and October, and some- 

 times in March and April, when the weather is fine and warm ; 

 but he never bites in the cold winter months. I believe he 

 hides himself in winter either amongst the weeds, or in his fa- 

 vorite mud, for we cannot so much as get a glimpse of him in 

 winter. When I can catch Tench in March I find them in 

 first-rate condition, perhaps better than at any other time of 

 the year, but he will rarely be persuaded to bite so early in the 

 season. The best baits for Tench are worms, wasp-grub, cad- 

 bait, and gentles. I once had a very good day's sport in a pond 

 with the wasp-grub for bait, and gentles for ground bait. I 

 baited the place the day before with gentles : this was in the 

 month of July. The wasp-grub and cad-bait are the two best 



