It seems like I only get one opportunity a year to target gravel pit tench.  Lucky each trip over the past three years has been relatively successful (not for the size of tench, but for the number).  

My standard tactic is fishing an open ended feeder fishing at a range of about 25 meters.  To start the swim off I chuck in 3/4 tangerine sized balls of groundbait before tackling up.  My groundbait usually consists of brown crumb, a few pints of hemp, a pint of casters, corn, a few red maggots and last but not least some sensas 3000 lake (I'm not convinced it catches me more fish but I like the smell). For the hook bait I use a brandling worm tipped with either a red maggot or a caster. The rig used is as follows - the picture is pretty self explanatory (not a complicated setup).


I didn't have to wait long for a bite, the fish came consistently throughout the day. James and I ended up with a 45lb net of Tench.  The biggest fish was only about 2.5lb, which is quite unusual for a gravel pit that has not been stocked with small fish. Even after feeding very heavily the fish we were catching were still small but i'm not complaining. Im not quite sure why this might be, a few years ago the average sized fish weight about 3-4lb. Now the average sized fish is about 12oz.  Perhaps its due to natural population cycles in the lake or just a few good breading seasons with the right water temperatures. I guess its all just speculation and I will never know why there are so many small fish.  Attached are a few photos of the fish caught, its quite hard to get a good shot on a self timer!                                                                                                                
Over the weekend my missus treated me to a trip to Norfolk and I even managed a quick fishing trip. We went to Taverham mill - a fishery owned by Anglian water.  Its not my first visit to this place, and it hopefully will not be my last.  The fishery is located on the river wensum and has a large pit to the rear that is targeted for its carp. I ended up going for a quick spinning session and ended up with one small jack pike.  

The best part however was watching a shoal of large chub in the wensum that with several fish around the 5lb mark. 

Finally I'll finish with a picture of a couple of seals taken on Horsey beach, a well known breading spot for seal.  Was great to see them and I would recommend visiting.