Fishing.news - Fishermen's magazine

The tenya is a fishing technique that combines the ease of use of a lure with the effectiveness of bait fishing. This technique can be used to target different species, and works in all seasons.

Antonin Perrotte-Duclos Published on July 14, 2023

The different species to target

The two most emblematic species for tenya fishing in the Mediterranean are pike-perch and sea bream. These fish, normally difficult to catch with lures, are very easy to catch with tenya. Their aggressiveness and appetite make them excellent playmates. Fortunately for us anglers, these aren't the only fish you can catch with a tenya. Other sparids such as gilthead bream, bream and dentex are frequently encountered in certain seasons. More rarely, benthic species such as grouper or capon will pay you a visit to offer you some magnificent battles.

Une daurade grise hivernale — A winter bream

Adapting your bait

The most classic bait for tenya fishing is, of course, shrimp. Although very effective for bream, it is not suitable for all fishing conditions. It's a very fragile bait, not very resistant to sparid bites, whose jaws are capable of shredding in a fraction of a second, leaving the tenya totally empty and therefore ineffective. Some fish, such as denti or pagre, often lie in wait under schools of gilthead bream. The aim is to get through these shoals while keeping the bait in order to get larger sparids to bite. Using small squid doesn't reduce the number of bites, but it's still stronger than shrimp. Squid are also very effective in winter, when predators feed abundantly on them. Sardines also tend to be brittle baits, but their strong scent attracts fish from a greater distance. It also works extremely well if you want to stay on the same spot for a long time, acting as a grazer.

Une espÃ¨ce magnifique, la vieille coquette — A magnificent species, the old coquette

Choosing the right spots

Each fish likely to bite tenya lives in particular areas. To target a particular species, you need to know the type of biotope it thrives in. Sparids such as sar and denti are particularly present on rocky bottoms. Pagres, on the other hand, tend to prefer sandy-muddy bottoms, where small shells can be found. In my opinion, the best season for tenya is spring. At this time of year, sea breams gather in large groups over rocky bottoms in depths of around 35 meters. It's not uncommon to come across individuals in excess of a kilo, which is a very large fish for the Mediterranean. In winter, pager fishing is very productive if you use squid as bait, a period when squid are present at depths of up to 60 meters.