Tench (Tinca tinca)

Specimen weight: 2.7 kg (6 lb).
Record weight: 8.15lb Ballyeighter Lake, 1995.

Tench are found all over the midlands and also in the canals – the Royal, the Grand and the Barrow – which connect Dublin with the Shannon and the Barrow systems respectively. The stretches of the Shannon at Lanesborough and Shannonbridge which are artificially heated by water from power station outflows, have produced several Irish record tench and tens of specimen fish. Limestone loughs in County Clare have also recently produced many specimen tench.

Features:

Tench are easily recognised by their minute scales, which give them an almost scale-less appearance. They have a dark olive or blackish colour. The fins are rounded and the tail is almost unforked. It is possible to distinguish the sexes based on the shape of the pelvic fins on the underside of the body. Male fish have very large spoon-shaped fins, while those of the female are longer, more pointed and triangular in shape.

Spawning:

Tench spawn later in the year than most of the other Irish cyprinidae species and require temperatures of between 18-20°C to spawn. Spawning therefore is normally restricted to late June and July. Egg size is 1.3 – 1.4 mm.

Fecundity:

Tench produce 125,000 eggs/kg.

Longevity (age):

They have a maximum life-span of 12 to 15 years.

Diet:

Tench are a bottom feeding fish and the presence of a trail of small bubbles on the water surface is often an indication of tench feeding below. Food consists of insect larvae and molluscs.

Best Angling Methods:

Float fishing with waggler floats and ledgering with arseley bomb or swimfeeder.

Best Baits:

Maggots, sweetcorn, bread, worms, casters etc. with groundbait of brown crumb and a range of continental groundbaits and additives.

Best Times to Fish Tench
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
			★	★	★★	★★	★★	★	★
Note: ★ Good time to fish Tench      ★ ★Very good time to fish Tench

Top 25 specimen tench from Irish waters 1955 to 2003

No	Weight (lbs ozs)	Weight (kg)	Location	Date of Capture	Angler	Method
1	8.15 lbs	3.697 kgs	Ballyeighter Lake, Clare	20/06/1995	Nick Parry	Corn/Maggots
2	8 lbs 1 ozs	3.657 kgs	Lakyle Lake	28/06/1998	David Grimes	Boilie
3	8 lbs	3.629 kgs	Lakyle Lake	05/07/1998	David Grimes	Boilie
4	-	3.615 kgs	Ballyeighter Lake, Clare	08/08/1994	Nick Parry	Sweetcorn
5	7 lbs 13 ozs	3.551 kgs	R. Shannon, Lanesboro	25/05/1971	Raymond Webb	Bread Flake
6	7 lbs 13 ozs	3.544 kgs	Lakyle Lake	05/06/1998	Mark Healy	Sweetcorn
7	7 lbs 13 ozs	3.544 kgs	R. Shannon, Lanesboro	31/05/1974	Leonard J. Gooding	Bread Flake
8	7 lbs 12 ozs	3.515 kgs	Black Lake	25/05/1998	Tom Sneyd	Corn/Maggots
9	7 lbs 12 ozs	3.515 kgs	R. Shannon, Clondra	04/06/1966	Edmund Hawksworth	Lobworm
10	7 lbs 11.5 ozs	3.501 kgs	Carnadoe Lough	20/06/1978	E. Kershaw	Lobworm
11	7 lbs 11 ozs	3.487 kgs	Lakyle Lake	02/06/2001	Mark Jones	Maggots
12	7.68 lbs	3.484 kgs	Ballyeighter Lake, Clare	16/08/1994	Nick Parry	Sweetcorn/ Maggots
13	7 lbs 9.5 ozs	3.445 kgs	Lakyle Lake	06/09/1998	Master Bill Brazier	Lobworm
14	7 lbs 9 ozs	3.430 kgs	Lakyle Lake	15/07/1998	Mark Healy	Maggots
15	7.53 lbs	3.416 kgs	R. Shannon, Lanesboro	11/06/1983	John Mills	Bread Flake
16	7.5 lbs	3.402 kgs	Holly Island Lake, Co. Clare	16/06/1999	Nick Parry	Corn/Maggots
17	7 lbs 8 ozs	3.402 kgs	Shannon System	01/07/1990	Philip Arthur	Worms/Corn
18	7 lbs 8 ozs	3.402 kgs	Holly Island Lake, Co. Clare	26/05/1997	Nick Parry	Sweetcorn
19	7 lbs 8 ozs	3.402 kgs	Reynella Lake	19/05/1969	Albert Trace	Maggots
20	7 lbs 7.75 ozs	3.395 kgs	R. Shannon, Lanesboro	23/05/1971	Paul Sullivan	Bread
21	7 lbs 7.5 ozs	3.388 kgs	R. Shannon, Lanesboro	22/06/1972	Charles Murray	Bread Flake
22	7 lbs 7 ozs	3.374 kgs	R. Shannon, Lanesboro	01/06/1983	A. J. Hall	Bread Flake
23	7 lbs 7 ozs	3.374 kgs	Black Lake	07/07/1996	Nick Parry	Paste
24	7 lbs 6.5 ozs	3.359 kgs	R. Shannon, Lanesboro	26/05/1974	Alastair Lawson	Bread Flake
25	7 lbs 6 ozs	3.345 kgs	Lakyle Lake	06/10/1999	Robin Brazier	Sweetcorn