Dutch specimen angler Hans Moolenaar fished a lake in the Netherlands recently which is known for its early spring tench.

After the wind had turned from the North-West to a South-Westerly direction, the tench became hungry and responded to the warmer wind by feeding! Hans and his friends recorded a superb catch of 19 tench – all coming on a Drennan In-Line Flat Method Feeder with a mini-boilie hookbait.

Surprisingly, no fish came on a 2nd rod with an in-line bolt rig maggot feeder – because normally Hans has noted that most early spring tench love those maggots! Later into Spring he’s noticed the mini-boilies are more popular with the tench.

The hooks fished with the mini-boilies were size 12 Drennan Specimen Plus. In Hans’ opinion, these are the best all-round hook for any bolt rig fishing, no matter the species! The hooklink used is a very short piece (four inches) of Super Specialist Sink Braid in 8 lb breaking strain.

Below is a picture of the Hans’ own specially formulated Dutch tench Method Feeder rig. Hans likes to use the rig like a ‘shocker rig’ for carp – replacing the supplied Method connector with a swivel and ESP Streamliner Rig Sleeve, remarking that it helps him prevent ‘hook pulls’.

** Since Hans sent us this story he’s been back for more, catching 7 extra tench during an evening session! Hans points out that tench fishing in the Netherlands isn’t easy – but he has years of experience on these venues and a little luck!