THE ROACH, commonly known as the ‘redfin’ due to the orange/red fins which stand out beneath its sparkling silver flanks, is perhaps the best-loved coarse fish of all.It may be a relative minnow when placed alongside freshwater giants such as pike and carp, yet there are many thousands of anglers who value a specimen roach above any other species. Small roach can be quite suicidal, grabbing at any bait placed in front of them. But once a roach reaches about 8oz (227g) in weight, it has been caught and returned several times and has learnt plenty. It becomes a wily old fox, which will turn its nose up at any suspicious looking offering. To catch big roach you must combine skill with fine tackle and watercraft, and if you do fool a fish over the 1lb (0.45kg) mark, you can be proud in the knowledge that you have succeeded where hundreds of fellow anglers have failed. Catch a two-pounder (0.9kg) and it’s time to take the camera out of the bag. And if you are ever lucky enough to slip the landing net under a magical 3lb plus (1.36kg) roach, savour every moment. This is a fish of a lifetime. Tactics
Roach are fast-biting fish which arc difficult to catch on the leger, so float fishing either with a stick float, waggler float or pole is the best approach. When targeting river roach for instance, the pole offers the best presentation when the river is flowing slowly. A stick float is better when there is a medium to strong flow and a waggler should be used in medium to slow-flowing conditions when you need to fish beyond the range of your pole. | TACKLING UP
Roach are finicky feeders and terminal tackle should be as fine as possible. Use size 20 and 22 fine wire hooks with maggot, and 18s and 16s with caster, making sure the whole of the hook is buried inside the shell of the caster. The force of your strike is enough to pull the point of the hook through the shell and set the hook. A good choice for mainline for stick, waggler and pole fishing is 2lb (0.9kg) and hooklengths should be no stronger than 1.5lb (0.08mm) and finer if pole fishing, using a number 3 elastic. |
The correct tactics for roach do not just vary from one venue to another, they can also vary from day to day, so choosing the right method can be tricky indeed. Luckily there are some rules which you can follow to point you in the right direction.The first thing to look at is the ‘colour’ of the river, stillwater or canal. If the water is crystal clear, you can rule out the use of groundbait and stick to a loosefeed approach. Bronze maggots will get you the most bites, but casters will pick out the bigger fish. Hemp is another good loosefeed, particularly on rivers when the water is running fast. If there is colour in the water, either washed in from a recent flood or by boat traffic or fish activity, then
groundbaiting is a good idea. My favourite groundbait for roach is Van den Eynde Supercup and I will mix in some of my hookbait for the day with an initial feed of about four balls and then loosefeed over the top. |
