Big river roach Brace of 2lb fish out

Pellet hookbait and feed tempts a brace of two-pounders

SHORT sessions are often the key to catching big summer fish, and Stewart Barnes proved exactly that when he banked a string of huge specimens topped by two 2lb roach.

The specialist from Hemel Hempstead set his sights on a tributary of the River Ouse after spotting big roach back in the winter, and a series of short sessions before and after work saw him net his biggest-ever roach along with 10 other fish to a best of 1lb 10oz.

But his river success didn’t end there. The Big Fish Gear team member became the envy of countless big-fish hunters when he also netted several barbel to double figures and a huge chub weighing 6lb 4oz.

“Sometimes I’ll get down to the river in my lunch hour and only get 30 minutes’ fishing, but it’s well worth it, as these fish prove,” enthused Stewart.

“To catch one 2lb river roach at this time of the year is incredible, but to land two is an unbelievable achievement.”

In order to create a feeding frenzy in his swim, Stewart cast out a simple leger rig with a single 10mm halibut pellet hookbait and then fed 3mm pellets constantly over the top.

He also fished his hookbait as tight as possible to the back of his size 10 hook with a short hair rig.

“Lots of anglers just cast out a lead with a PVA bag and then wait,” he said. “But feeding by hand over the top really creates competition in the swim and the fish soon become preoccupied with the free offerings.

“This makes them much easier to catch.”