Speaking to the next generation of anglers

After speaking to youngsters keen to get out fishing this coming weekend, it was clear they were already identifying that, as new anglers, they were already slotting fish into two brackets: our summer species and our winter species. Although many will agree with me, as I shared within this meeting, that most species can be caught at any time of the year, most anglers will generally set out to catch a targeted species when they’re most likely to be caught.

With this, as my new friends carefully prepared for a pike fishing trip, after assessing the most traditional period on the calendar to begin their trip for this prehistoric-looking predator, another fish that was also mentioned as a favourite, was the tench. As reported several weeks ago, anglers nationwide once recognised our Leeds-Liverpool Canal as a venue that was notably the most famous canal in the country. Upon its day, back in the 70s and 80s, tench held the fort on nearly every length of ‘our cut’ spanning from the city centre out to Halsall.

After a terrible disease struck, which saw thousands of fish lost during the 1980s, this beautiful slimy green fish, one that has the ability to test out even the strongest of tackle, the tench is a species that has been at the forefront of Liverpool & District AA’s aims to resurrect its once huge stocks. It’s an amazing, powerful fish that again has the L&DAA carrying out an ongoing stocking programme to support it.

The rise in popularity of the quiet, unassuming bream

Contrary to popular belief by many, tench are shoal fish, a species that will often at times be notably caught in numbers during the summer months. My understanding is that tench are actually fish that just group together in small families at certain