7 SECRETS TO CATCHING ROACH ON THE TIP
1 GET THE MIX RIGHT
When fishing a feeder for roach, the groundbait has to be just right. The key is having a mix that you can make nice and wet, but that doesn’t become too sticky. You’ll be casting regularly, so the groundbait needs to stay down in the flow, but come out of the feeder quickly.
My mix on both days was Sonubaits Black Roach with Toasty Brown Crumb in a ratio of 70/30. The coarse brown crumb barely binds at all so, combined with the hemp-based roach mix, it makes the ultimate combo.
2 LOAD AS YOU GO
A big secret is to ‘manage’ your feed – in this sense, it is no different to loose-feeding on the pole or waggler. You should always adjust your feed to suit the bites, and on a river Preston Innovations Plug It feeders are a must. The solid middle of these feeders means that I can load in chopped worms, casters, hemp and corn, depending on how I feel the fish are responding.
The cage effect at either end of the feeder means that the water can quickly release the groundbait on the bottom.
3 DON’T FORGET WORMS
Dendras are a bait that roach just can’t get enough of, so they make a great feed too. If you are lucky enough to draw on a few bream, they will work for them as well! I chop the worms nice and fine and then look to use a small piece on the hook.
4 HOOK CHOICES
I’m a big fan of big hooks for roach on the feeder, but going large is not always the answer. Sometimes, small roach just can’t get big hooks in their mouths.
On the Yare, a size 16 Preston Innovations N30 seemed to strike the perfect balance. I could still use thick line, in this case 0.16mm Accu Power, but an experiment with hook sizes to suit the fishing on the day is always best.
5 KEEP IT REGULAR
Fishing for roach is all about being busy, and there’s no place for sitting and waiting as you may when after bream. A maximum wait of two minutes between casts is essential to create competition in the peg. Often, bites come within the first 10 seconds of the feeder hitting the bottom, so be on your toes!
6 RIVERS MEAN MONO
Braid has become a bit of an obsession for feeder anglers, but a mono mainline will always be king on fast-flowing rivers.
The flow tightens the mono, and the stretch allows the fish to take the bait and hook themselves against the bow in the line.
Braid is almost too good for seeing bites, and the fish simply bump themselves off the hook. The lack of ‘give’ in braid also means you need more weight on your feeder to hold bottom.
7 BALANCE THE FEEDER
A golden rule of river feeder fishing is to find the critical weight to balance your feeder. I carry feeders in various sizes and a selection of tyre leads so I can add 5g or 10g to a feeder to get a grip. On the weekend, a 28g feeder plus 10g of extra lead was the best combination.