MATCHMAN TURNS HAND TO BIG ROACH IN FINE STYLE
3lb 7oz specimen from Cambs stillwater
AMATCH angler trying his hand at specimen fishing has hit the jackpot with the capture of a huge 3lb 7oz roach.
Tim Dabrowa (35) had his mind set on catching a huge redfin from his home county of Cambridgeshire, and believed a local carp syndicate would give him the best chance of achieving his goal.
He told Angling Times: “I joined a club with a carp water under its control which I thought could hold some big roach.
“I’d fished it on and off since August and managed to catch them to 1lb 14oz, but I’d always knew there’d be a bigger fish.
“On my latest session I arrived at the lake at 7.30am but it was freezing cold, so it was little wonder that I’d not had a bite after two hours!”
Tim was close to calling it a day when he saw a big roach top 40 yards out and quickly positioned his helicopter maggot feeder rigs over the spot.
He didn’t have long to wait for the move to pay off
“The bobbin inched upwards and I struck into what I knew was a big roach from the classic headshakes,” Tim added.
“My heart started thumping as this giant fish made its way into my net. I quickly cast back out and added a 1lb 12oz fish before losing another on the next cast – it was a mental half-hour of fishing! I want to go back and target a bigger one. I feel that I’ve only scratched the surface on this lake.”
Tim’s new personal best fell to red and white maggots dipped in Geranium oil.
Elsewhere this week, Robin Cave proved slipped his net under one of the biggest chub of the year weighing 8lb 1oz.
The specimen ace was itching to get back on his favourite stretch of the River Thames after recent floodwater rendered it unfishable, but couldn’t have envisaged his first outing would yield a new personal best.
He said: “I knew there were some big chub in the stretch, so to draw them in I baited up with a small quantity of pellets and crushed boilies, before fishing an Oxford Carp Baits GS Crab boilie over the top.
“As the light faded my tip shot over and after a scrappy 10-minute fight I finally landed my prize – a chub weighing 3oz bigger than my previous pb!”