hi guys

do you know any information regarding the tench in hamilton lake eg. what is the best way to get them and are there many. by the way i caught a 1.5 kg rudd in turtle lake in the hamilton gardens the other day. I caught a few perch and saw a monster koi carp. my guess would be around 10kg he was orange with bits of black. i live in te awamutu which is about 20 mins south of hamiltonso does anyone also know any good carp and perch and tench hot spotz in the areas

cheers, cameron

Tench are slimy bottom feeders, so what ever bait you use, you wanna have it on bottom. Dunno about Hamilton, but in the UK we used to fish for tench with either nice juicy maggotts, bread or a great one was sweetcorn, straight outta the tin. Might be worth a try :)

snap bender, apparently grenades are good too.

yes you need a licence for all coarse and sport freshwater fishing, only exception is eeling.

Licence requirements

A licence is not required for all coarse fishing. However coarse fish marked below with an asterix* do require a licence and these can be purchased from Fish and Game offices and most sports shops. Children under the age of 12 can fish for free but are still required to carry a licence.

Species

Rudd* - Rudd have been present in New Zealand since 1962 and are a favourite among young people because they are easy to catch. Children as young as five can catch small rudd but adult anglers may target larger fish of 2kg or more by fishing deeper.

Perch* - Perch were introduced into New Zealand in 1868 and can be caught on either a floated worm or a spinner such as a red veltic. Lifting the rod tip creates movement and ensures the Perch sees the bait or spinner.

Tench* - Tench were first introduced into New Zealand in 1867 but have only been present in the North Island since 1965. They look similar to trout but are a bronze colour and are best fished for in the warmer months.

Carp - Koi carp in New Zealand are a Japanese bred variety of the common European carp. Carp are generally orange and black coloured but some are white. They are legally classified as a �pest� because their feeding action turns clear water muddy. Carp can grow to a large size and are a considered by many to be �trophy fish�.

Catfish - Catfish or Brown Bullheads were introduced throughout New Zealand from the United States in 1877. They tend to seek the deeper parts of the lakes and streams and can be caught on sweetcorn or worms.

Other species - New Zealand has a number of other coarse fish species including eels, while golden tench and golden orfe are present in very low numbers.

Double check with DOC about carp as I have a feeling in certain areas you need a permit. Koi carp have one extra scale
on their girth whereas european carp have 12.

Normally tench don't naturally have big populations such as Rudd, Perch and carp etc. Maybe due to competition for food or territory I dunno but if you have caught one there tends to be more as they hang out in small schools, they seem unusually a very family orientated fish. I used to watch them back home in britain and I swear every year in the summer they would hang around in exactly the same schools as the year before patrolling the same area. Catching them too can be a fickle buisness but your best bet is a flake of bread, sweetcorn or a worm under a float with bits of sweetcorn thrown out as an attractant. Good luck.

Cameron, try the waipa river downstream of Pirongia. Had a few koi out of the river myself. You are pretty close to the river so baiting up will not be a problem get yourself a  big bucket stick a couple of kilos of maize on soak for 24 hours once soaked. Put in a saucepan bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. I have had some decent fish out of the river but all the driving got to me in the end 5 hours each way.

For the tench try pigeon corn (maple peas in the uk) same preperation as the maize but once boiled leave for a further 24 hours it ferments and releases a lot of sugar tench love it!!

 

stew

Hi CDog

I was walking around Hamilton Lake, looking for some suitable fishing spots (of which there are plenty - platforms next to lillies) and I saw several cormorants, one of which was eating a fish that, if I had to guess, I would say was a tench.

I have been meaning to try it out for ages - I am in Tauranga, so it is not too far. If you are interested, perhaps we can get together. Just send me a PM.

By the way, for those of you that have never hooked a tench, you don't know what you are missing. It is my favourite fish, with a tail like a paintbrush it pulls hell of a hard. And it is beautiful.

Regards

 I'll leave you to guess my heritage Lizard, but your point is a good one.

If you follow the Carp forum you will see that I started a good discussion on the fun in catching Carp and then one after another I got smart comments throwing insults and saying negative things continually. That wasn't the point of the forum which was to discuss and learn how to catch 'em

Where it got heated was when I didn't roll over and gave some stick back and then those people took exception and got all up themselves.

I repeatedly said it wasn't me........I didn't do it.......don't blame me  but they kept coming back for seconds.........but I saw most of them off

The fact that this Tench forum is attracting attention and the Carp forum is still going shows the interest in coarse fish (and arguing)....don't you think ??..plus the Carp wingers have finally stopped...........I think ??

 

Hey good on you Lizard Im with you on this one, however don't let Jo see you say that cos  she'll hang you !!........and then me!!!