RIVER ROACH POLE

FISH LONG LINES

176To find roach at various spots down your peg, fish with a decent length of line between float and pole. Around 2m-3m will be ample to cover the swim. In windy weather this will help stop the pole being knocked around.

USE LIGHT HOOKLINKS

177Even in coloured water, heavy lines can drastically affect the number of bites you get. Balanced tackle is the key to catching roach and landing bonus fish such as chub and perch. With a No3 or No4 elastic in the pole, go for a mainline of around 3lb and a hooklink of 2lb with a size 20 or 18 fine-wire hook.

SLOW THE FLOAT DOWN

178Roach won’t always take the hookbait at the speed of the current, so try holding the line tight to the float and inching it down the peg at around half the speed of the flow – the key is to keep a tight line at all times.

TRY OVERDEPTH

179Begin by fishing with the hookbait just touching bottom. This will present it naturally to the fish. However, as the day goes on you will find a spot in the peg where the feed lands and where most of the fish are gathered. Presenting the bait overdepth (laying it on the riverbed) by a few inches gives a totally different, much slower presentation that has the uncanny knack of catching the bigger roach that won’t necessarily take a moving hookbait.

DON’T IGNORE HEMP

180Hemp is not only a great feed for river roach – it can also be brilliant on the hook. Although it is fiddly to get on the hook, hemp is loved by roach, especially big ones. It works when bleak, dace and minnows are proving to be a nuisance when maggots are being fished. Feed a dozen grains every run through with the rig and keep trying a grain on the hook from around two hours into the session.