The previous week my wife and I had gone to Barnwell Country Park as I wanted to check out a couple of Nene back channels on the Wellingborough club ticket. Unfortunately I couldn't gain access to the back channels but found the lakes in the park quite interesting, particularly as there were reports of good tench fishing. So I returned to buy a season ticket and have a go fishing the lakes. It ended up involving a few changes of swim but in the last spot I took a PB tench.

I first went to the smaller Mill Lake as it had many features that appealed to me, although the park ranger had told me the the larger North Lake was more popular. In the event the Mill Lake was quite weedy and I was pestered by tiny rudd. As I was getting ready to move over to the North Lake the ranger walked past and told me that a number had tench had been caught on the North Lake. This reinforced my decision to move over there.

It was a bigger lake and the swim I first settled in, although nicely secluded by trees, had no features in the water, such as lilies or reeds. It was very deep even close to the bank. I tried for an hour or so but didn't get a touch on either maggots or sweetcorn.

I decided to walk further around the lake and met a local chap who was packing up. It turned out that he had caught a 6½lb tench earlier in the morning and had caught many tench from the swim. It was a good looking spot with water lilies a short distance out and he confirmed that, although he was fishing method feeders, he hadn't been casting far beyond the lilies.

As he was packing up he suggested that I move into the swim, which I was more than pleased to do. We had quite a long chat and he left me the remains of his groundbait, a mix of crumbed bread, hemp and sweetcorn with added flavouring. So my stroll had been quite fortuitous.

I plumbed up and as expected it was less deep by the lilies than my previous swim. I put on a couple of grains of sweetcorn and sat back to see if anything was doing. I didn't have to wait too long before the float disappeared and I was into something big. I was sure it was a tench and it repeatedly tried for the lilies and other snags. I was praying that the 3.8lb Supplex hook length would hold!

But all came good as I slipped the net under a fine male tench that weighed 5lb 10oz. A new PB and a surprise catch on what was a new water for me. All credit though to the local guy who offered me the swim and gave me quite a bit of information. I was pleased that the float had worked since it seemed most of the other anglers were feeder fishing.

I continued to fish on, battling a freshening wind with troublesome gusts that made float fishing difficult. There were to be no more tench but I did take a couple of rudd when I switched to maggots for a while.

So it turned out to be quite a surprise introduction to Barnwell although I doubt I would be able to get that swim again. The local chap had turned up at 5am ! But I noticed that there were swims on the other side of the lake that perhaps weren't so popular because of the longer walk involved.