Andy Burnett is a well-known match angler on the coarse angling scene, but he also likes to get out and fish for pleasure too. Last week he brought me to a couple of local waters in Co. Roscommon to record some video on coarse fishing. The target species was tench, possibly the hardest-fighting of the coarse fish species, and he certainly produced the goods on camera!
Venue No. 1
Fishing a feeder from shortly after dawn, Andy was soon into fish, and the change from hot sunshine to cool, breezy weather certainly seemed to have got the fish feeding. The fish were of a very impressive size – averaging 5lbs – with at least 5 or 6 fish over the specimen size of 6lbs.
What a Catch!
The fish kept coming all morning, and it was an impressive display of angling skill. Andy was rewarded with his biggest ever bag of wild Irish tench – 24 tench estimated to average 5lbs each, so a total catch of ~120lbs! That’s some fishing!!
I had to get on the road again, having been up since 3.30am, but Andy stayed on and had another 4 good tench, bringing his total to over 140lbs for the day.
Venue No. 2
The following morning we fished another water, with much nicer conditions prevailing. A cacophony of birdsong greeted the sunrise as Andy landed his first fish. Fishing the waggler float, the first half dozen or so fish were small rudd and hybrids, but a switch of tactics to a method feeder soon saw him land the first tench of the day. This was followed over the next few hours with a further 7 fish, averaging 4lbs or so, as well as a nice bream, the first bream Andy has ever seen here.
It was a fantastic two day session that showcased what Co. Roscommon, and the Hidden Heartlands region can offer the coarse angler. Look out for the video, coming soon!
