Fishing for Tench with maggot feeders is the ideal way to really get them on the feed in the Autumn. Once you have their attention you can be in for a good catch rate.

With a few hours to spare I decided to get a quick session in, so armed with a pint of maggots I headed to my local lake. I arrived to find that I had the whole lake to myself and the pick of swims, so I spent the first 10 minutes looking for bubbles rising from any feeding Tench and soon found a little spot in the corner. I decided to fish with two feeder rods to increase my chances due to limited time and was soon casting my feeders into about 5 feet of water about 40 feet out.

The rig I use is very simple but still very effective so I have never needed to change it. I start by sliding my feeder onto the 5lb main line which has a link swivel on it to allow an easy change of feeders and weights, then slide on a small black bead to spot the feeder from hitting the shot, which I add on next. I then tie on a hook length consisting of a piece of 3lb line around 10 inches long with a size 16-12 hook attached. Very simple and very effective.

I usually buy mixed maggots and fish with red on the hook. The jury is out on this, but I find that red on the hook seems to work better.

After about 30 minutes of watching a very still tip it suddenly started to twitch a little and then my first wrap around bite from a Tench. It was a nice Tench around 3lb in weight and evidence that the bubbles I had spotted earlier were Tench feeding. Things went a little quiet then for about a hour but I kept filling up the feeder and casting in to the same spot every 10 minutes or so and was soon rewarded. An action-packed couple of minutes followed, resulting in two lovely Tench. The biggest being a new PB for me at bang on 5lb – not a British record breaker by any means, but always a result breaking your own records.

I managed to get one more Tench weighing in at around 3lb, and handful of small Perch before it was time to pack up. A short session but great results. Maggots have to be one of the best baits for Tench fishing!! Plus it’s a great way of fishing for them. If you’re not catching with your boilies consider trying maggots!