Martin Bowler takes us in search of big roach...and lands a giant on the pole!

It looks crude, but it really works

ANGLING is viewed by those who don’t fish as a simple pastime. But consider the number of species to go at, the diversity of venues, the changing seasons and the choice of tactics and you’ll soon realise it’s nothing of the sort!

I have dedicated my life to giving fishing a good go, but I still have lots to learn. And this is why I was heading to the Midlands as fast as I could – to check out a rather unusual way my friend Paul Oughton was catching big roach.

He’d had to contend with a bitter north wind, an overnight frost and the chance of snow and hail mixed in for good measure – surely not the time to be taking fish from just below the surface! As I made my way to the pool I only hoped Paul’s wonder technique was as good as he claimed it to be…

The pole isn’t a tool often associated with big fish, but this is largely due to the average specimen hunter’s inability to master such a long length of carbon, rather than any inherent drawbacks. Those who do give it a go soon become converts, impressed by the accuracy they can achieve.

My friend is one of that rare breed, and he’s bust the myth that a reasonable pole has to cost a fortune. I found Paul sitting on a seat-box harking back to the 1970s and using a second-hand pole that set him back just £100.

It was good to see him again with the ever-present roll-up resting on his bottom lip and big smile across his face. I couldn’t help but notice the keepnet was already wet. Had he caught something already?

Paul told me that it had been tricky to get them going, but they were coming now – and to confirm this the pole-tip smashed downwards to the most positive bite I have ever seen from a roach.

“This is a better one,” said Paul, as a 1lb specimen joined its friends in the net at his feet. I felt my lesson was long overdue!

Paul’s rig consisted of a 14-16 elastic (staggeringly strong for the pursuit of roach), 3ft of 2.6lb Drennan Fluorocarbon Supplex, three No6 shot and a size 16 Drennan Wide Gape spade end hook. What’s more, there wasn’t a float in sight.

At first glance this was a set-up you’d associate with a child or a beginner. Add to that Paul’s ancient tackle and most people would walk past him without a second glance.

I had to laugh when he told me that he wasn’t even holding the pole – a crook and a roller on a front rest supported it instead.

Before I could say anything, Paul read my mind. “I know what you’re thinking, but everything I do is done for a reason,” he said.

“The tip is set 2ft clear of the surface with the No6 shot above the water used to keep the line taut and stationary. This leaves a foot of line, at most, below the waterline, and at times I will reduce this to a few inches. There are no shot below the surface”

This approach seemed worlds away from the finesse I normally associate with roach fishing.

In between netting quality silver fish while everyone else around

“The pole-tip smashed downwards to the most positive bite I have ever seen from a roach”

the pool failed to register a bite, I gave Paul more time to explain what he was doing.

“My hookbait is a single maggot. I make sure there’s lots of metal showing and then I feed to the tried and tested mantra of littleand-often,” he continued.

I couldn’t argue with Paul’s results, but still I was puzzled by the technique. Why was it working in such a deadly fashion?

I was aware of the carp match scene banning a similar tactic with pellets, insisting that a float be used, but was it this that was making all the difference? It might be playing a part, but I doubted it could be the only factor.

“Here’s a line and a hook, give it a go,” said Paul, and I realised that the only way I would ever understand what was happening was to fish in the same manner.

So it was out with the Drennan seatbox and Acolyte pole as I combined some of the finest fishing tackle ever made with the simplest rig I had ever dangled below 11 metres of carbon!

To be quite honest it felt ridiculous, but I followed Paul’s instructions and soon a roach pulled so hard, the tip hit the water. There was no need to strike as it was already on! A fluke?

Well, it continued to happen time after time. Every fish was hooked in the top lip and not one was lost – this despite the very strong elastic which, under any other circumstances, would have ripped the hook straight out of the fish’s mouths.

The hookbait was never damaged, nor needed replacing, and not once did I ship in a sucked maggot. The key was to ignore the bangs while feeding and wait for a roach to try and break the pole in two – the result was a 100 per cent hook-up success rate.

So what was going on? In my opinion, the absence of a float played its part because there was no need for shot below the water, where it would normally be. That led to a very natural fall of the bait, resulting in very quick bites from the small fish – hence the bangs on the tip. Unfortunately for these tiddlers, the short line and strong elastic meant the maggot could never get past their lips and was catapulted out of their mouth and back up to the surface, from where it fell naturally once again.

This process was repeated until a mouth big enough to envelop the whole grub came along. At this point the strong elastic would catapult the hook into the top lip.

All in all, Paul’s ‘simplistic’ rig was nothing of the kind – in fact it was pure genius!

I’m sure there are others like my friend who have independently worked out this tactic, and each one deserves credit for thinking out of the box. There are bound to be anglers who say it lacks skill and is nothing more than a bolt rig for fools – but how, I ask, is this any different from fishing a Method feeder and waiting for the tip to be dragged round?

For my part I’m always happy to add to my portfolio of techniques, especially when it affords me a good stamp of fish. I put Paul’s ingenuity to the test on another venue a week later, where shoals of tiny silver blades normally make catching a big roach on maggots near-impossible.

However, thanks to Paul this is no longer the case – as I proved with a 2lb 6oz redfin. Yes, the pole can most definitely sort out the biggest fish!

A 2lb 6oz roach was proof this tactic worked.

My friend Paul Oughton with a net of roach taken on his unconventional pole tactics. Dead simple, but the set-up worked a treat. Strong line, big hook, but they worked.