tench
Tinca tinca
Thick, dark fish native to Eurasia, popular among amateur anglers. It reaches 70 cm and was introduced to Chile.
Also called: tenca, tench
- maximum
- 70 cm
- record/max.
- 7.5 kg
who is the tench
Fish of the family Tincidae (tench), freshwater and sometimes brackish, reaching 70 cm and weighing up to 7.5 kg. It lives in shallow lakes and ponds with abundant vegetation and a mud bottom, and also in still-water rivers. It tolerates low oxygen and usually spends the winter buried in the mud. It eats detritus, bottom animals and plants, and adults eat many mollusks. It is popular with amateur anglers. It was introduced to Chile, where it is exotic, and is highly prized as food.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the tench.
fun facts
- It serves as food for predatory fish, and that is why it is used as forage.
identification
Thick, heavy fish, laterally compressed, with a short, deep caudal peduncle. The skin is thick and slimy, and the scales are small and embedded. The color is olive green, sometimes dark green or nearly black, with golden reflections on the belly. It has a triangular head, a small reddish-orange eye, and a pair of well-developed barbels, one at each corner of the mouth.
Loading the next 7 days…
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
where found
Native to Eurasia and introduced to Chile, where it is exotic. Not recorded in Brazil.
Habitat: Shallow lakes and ponds with abundant vegetation and mud bottoms, and still-water rivers.
rules for the tench
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Harmless fish, but its skin is slippery: hold it firmly by the body, with a wet hand, and return it to the water quickly.
in the kitchen
It is highly prized as food, and the flesh is eaten fried, grilled, baked or frozen.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01122, b = 3.02; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Tinca tinca (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Tinca tincaNames by country and language.