TOP 10 ROACH TIPS

1 For a bigger stamp of roach, feed hempseed and fish tares on the hook. Many anglers make the mistake of using too small a hook. A size 16 or 14 is perfect. I like a Kamasan B512. 2 For fishing a slow-moving river, an inverted pear-shaped pole float is my first choice. This will give you a great presentation. If you’ve got depths of 6ft-8ft I’d say a 1g float would be the one to go for. 3 If I had to be restricted to just one groundbait mix for catching roach it would have to be Van den Eynde Super Crack Roach and Van den Eynde Secret, mixed in equal parts. 4 It sounds simple, but so many anglers feed groundbait without shipping their pole out. Always feed accurately on the line of your float or your catch rate will suffer drastically. 5 Don’t leave home without casters. I use these both as a hookbait and mixed in a wettish groundbait mix. 6 Dot your float right down and strike at every movement of the float. 7 If you’re on a pleasure session contact the fishery owner, match secretary or controlling club so that they can put you on the best pegs. . 8 If your venue is running clear then try breadpunch. It can transform a poor day’s roach fishing into a day to remember. 9 The best elastic to use for this species is a solid variety, and my favourite is a No2. I fish this in conjunction with a fine tip and the smallest PTFE bush I can find. 10 Feed small balls of hard groundbait slightly upstream if you’re fishing a river that’s carrying extra water with an increased flow.