After several months spent chasing the small number of big carp that live in the shallow areas of a 90-plus acre busy park lake in Yorkshire, Joel Martin started seeing the odd large tench drifting in and out of his eyeline.
So, with the carp proving frustrating, he went home and packed away his carp rods, returning with his tench gear and a bucket of maggots. His first few sessions yielded several decent fish up to around 9lb, but on his latest trip received a one-toner of a take, which he initially thought would be one of the elusive carp… only for this huge tench 12lb 3oz to surface at the end of the battle, ready for netting!
The 30-year-old used a helicopter rig incorporating a Drennan feeder bomb packed with maggots, a size 12 wide gape specialist hook, 8lb mainline and a four-inch hooklink made from 6lb mono.
Well done Joel!