tench?As temperatures continue to hover around freezing and my local river cranking well above a fishable level, I have nothing left but to pretend to tie flies and look back on warmer times. I found this photo of one of my first fish caught on a dry fly. This guy, and many others, are the only things besides red eared slider turtles that inhabit my buddy's backyard pond on the east side. Funnily enough, they take elk hair caddis April-October, and were integral in helping me hone my dry fly presentation. Any guesses?
View attachment 134680
Fish Id
As temperatures continue to hover around freezing and my local river cranking well above a fishable level, I have nothing left but to pretend to tie flies and look back on warmer times. I found this photo of one of my first fish caught on a dry fly. This guy, and many others, are the only things besides red eared slider turtles that inhabit my buddy's backyard pond on the east side. Funnily enough, they take elk hair caddis April-October, and were integral in helping me hone my dry fly presentation. Any guesses?
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How in the world did tench end up in your buddies pond? He may want to contact WDFW and let them know they are in there. The agency doesn't really want them around. I've been instructed to kill any and every single one I catch in the Columbia.
They get about six pounds, and not much bigger unless you get a pregnant one. Very, very odd fish. This is the first year I didn't encounter any on the Columbia in about ten years, though I'm sure they are still around.
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They get about six pounds, and not much bigger unless you get a pregnant one. Very, very odd fish. This is the first year I didn't encounter any on the Columbia in about ten years, though I'm sure they are still around.
found info here:
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=652
Means of Introduction: This species was imported into North America from Germany by the U.S. Fish Commission in 1877 apparently for use as a food and sport fish (Baird 1879). The Commission apparently spent several years learning to culture tench, for it was not until well into the 1880s that the agency started to seriously distribute the species in the United States. According to Baughman (1947), the Commission planted more than 138,000 tench across North America during the period 1886 to 1896. By the end of that period, the Commission had provided tench to at least 36 different states. Shortly thereafter, the agency discontinued working with tench and turned over their hatchery ponds to the rearing of bass (Baughman 1947). The U.S. Fish Commission stocked tench into lakes and ponds in the Pacific states, including Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, in 1895 (Smith 1896). Additional introductions occurred in Washington when tench exhibited at the 1909 Worlds Fair, held in Seattle, were dumped into a large pond on the University of Washington campus. Some of these fish later were transferred to Lake Washington; the population eventually spread to Lake Union (Wydoski and Whitney 2003).
widespread in the inland northwest:
Or try this historic recipe:
Tench
Fish
Historic
Tench stewed with lemon-peel, horseradish, herbs, cloves, white wine, anchovy, thickened liquor as sauce with shrimps. Garnish of fried bread soldiers, grated lemon and horseradish, mushrooms (Bradley 1728)
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Original Receipt in 'The Country Housewife and Lady's Director' by Prof. R Bradley, 1728 (Bradley 1728)
To bake Tench. From Lady G.
Take your Tench, fresh from the Pond, gut them, and clean them from the Scales; then kill them, by giving them an hard stroke on the back of the Head, or else they will live for many Hours, and even jump out of the Pan in the Oven, when they are half enough. Then lay them in a Pan, with some Mushroom Katchep, some strong Gravey, half a Pint of pickled Mushrooms, as much White-Wine as Gravey, three or four large Shallots, an Anchovy or two, two or three slices of fat Bacon, some Pepper, Cloves, and Nutmeg, at pleasure, a little Salt, some Lemon-Peel, and a bunch of sweet Herbs; then break some bits of Butter, and lay them on your Fish, then cover all as close as you can, and give them an Hour's baking.
When they are enough, lay them in a hot Dish, and pour off the Liquor, and strain it, only preserving the Mushrooms; then add to it a spoonful of Lemon-Juice, and thicken your Sauce with the Yolks of four Eggs, beaten with Cream, and mix'd, by degrees, with the Sauce. Pour this over your Fish, and serve it hot with a Garnish of BeetRoots sliced, some slices of Lemon-Peel, and some Horse-Radish scraped.
Tench
Fish
Historic
Tench stewed with lemon-peel, horseradish, herbs, cloves, white wine, anchovy, thickened liquor as sauce with shrimps. Garnish of fried bread soldiers, grated lemon and horseradish, mushrooms (Bradley 1728)
To bake Tench. From Lady G.
Take your Tench, fresh from the Pond, gut them, and clean them from the Scales; then kill them, by giving them an hard stroke on the back of the Head, or else they will live for many Hours, and even jump out of the Pan in the Oven, when they are half enough. Then lay them in a Pan, with some Mushroom Katchep, some strong Gravey, half a Pint of pickled Mushrooms, as much White-Wine as Gravey, three or four large Shallots, an Anchovy or two, two or three slices of fat Bacon, some Pepper, Cloves, and Nutmeg, at pleasure, a little Salt, some Lemon-Peel, and a bunch of sweet Herbs; then break some bits of Butter, and lay them on your Fish, then cover all as close as you can, and give them an Hour's baking.
When they are enough, lay them in a hot Dish, and pour off the Liquor, and strain it, only preserving the Mushrooms; then add to it a spoonful of Lemon-Juice, and thicken your Sauce with the Yolks of four Eggs, beaten with Cream, and mix'd, by degrees, with the Sauce. Pour this over your Fish, and serve it hot with a Garnish of BeetRoots sliced, some slices of Lemon-Peel, and some Horse-Radish scraped.
I think I just heard Sanjay Gupta gasp for airOr try this historic recipe:
Tench
Fish
Historic
Tench stewed with lemon-peel, horseradish, herbs, cloves, white wine, anchovy, thickened liquor as sauce with shrimps. Garnish of fried bread soldiers, grated lemon and horseradish, mushrooms (Bradley 1728)
Original Receipt in 'The Country Housewife and Lady's Director' by Prof. R Bradley, 1728 (Bradley 1728)![]()
To bake Tench. From Lady G.
Take your Tench, fresh from the Pond, gut them, and clean them from the Scales; then kill them, by giving them an hard stroke on the back of the Head, or else they will live for many Hours, and even jump out of the Pan in the Oven, when they are half enough. Then lay them in a Pan, with some Mushroom Katchep, some strong Gravey, half a Pint of pickled Mushrooms, as much White-Wine as Gravey, three or four large Shallots, an Anchovy or two, two or three slices of fat Bacon, some Pepper, Cloves, and Nutmeg, at pleasure, a little Salt, some Lemon-Peel, and a bunch of sweet Herbs; then break some bits of Butter, and lay them on your Fish, then cover all as close as you can, and give them an Hour's baking.
When they are enough, lay them in a hot Dish, and pour off the Liquor, and strain it, only preserving the Mushrooms; then add to it a spoonful of Lemon-Juice, and thicken your Sauce with the Yolks of four Eggs, beaten with Cream, and mix'd, by degrees, with the Sauce. Pour this over your Fish, and serve it hot with a Garnish of BeetRoots sliced, some slices of Lemon-Peel, and some Horse-Radish scraped.
. When you have to add another stinking fish to a fish recipe, I'd say you're stretching the edible category.1 - 20 of 20 Posts
