I once described Tench as the ugliest fish in the pond, this was probably because at the time I was not catching many. As My catch rate has improved so to has my appreciation for these green sumo wrestlers that lurk at the bottom summer ponds. But more importantly is the discovery that pursuing them on a sunny morning by a quiet pond is as close to heaven as some of us mortals are likely to get.
Vinny also know as the Northwest Fisherman as he is based in the Northwest of England has found a little time between float making and work to make this very beautiful film about summer tench fishing. I know when summer is over and the tench have all buggered off to Tench land for the winter I will be putting my feet up, finding a wee dram of something and reliving morning glories by watching this probably too many times. Also check out his blog The Northwest Fisherman, his writing aint half bad either and he takes some great photos and there is always his Facebook Page
Not all test tanks are made equal, I personally have the bath or a shallow stretch of pond but there are some of us who dream a little bigger. This is Vodkaman's set up and when he is not using it to test his own lures he rents it out to the French navy so they can test half size models of their latest frigates. As someone who has spent a lot of time dragging things through water watching these baits in close up is both mesmeric and an education without a fat ugly teacher asking you where your homework is (you know who your are).
Vodkaman (Tackleunderground user name) despite the name is not made of fermented and distilled potatoes, his alter ego Dave has day job, background in automotive engineering and aerodynamics and when he is not working for the man in his spare time he builds and tests baits. But rather than just throwing them in a bag after testing and going fishing he is really interested in studying why they move as they do and that murky world of hydrodynamics that some of us have nightmares about.
By his own admission other activities have taken him a way from serious bait making for a couple of years but he is soon to be back in the saddle with new ideas and possibly a bit of enterprise. He just needs to get the tank back from the local school who have been using for diving lessons. Also check out Tacklunderground.com which I suppose for a lot of us is this on-line home of lure crafting and you may see Dave, I mean Vodkaman there.
