“A NEW APPROACH HELPED ME CATCH THE ROACH OF A LIFETIME!”
DAN BOUSKILA – 2LB 15OZ ROACH
“I’M AN engineer by trade, and have found that by trying different things I continue to learn and improve – even when I think I’ve mastered something! I apply this mindset to my fishing, too, and recently had a great result by thinking a little bit outside the box, as the saying goes.
“Trotting is my favourite way to fish – you can’t beat running a float downstream – but when it comes to targeting the largest roach, I’ve been told that stillwaters are the place to go, with the devastatingly effective maggot feeder approach ruling the roost. I’ve been splitting my time between both types of venue lately and have been able to do the fishing I enjoy most, as well as catching the fish of a lifetime.
“I started on the Hampshire Avon, where I managed a cracking couple of redfins weighing 1lb 9oz and 1lb 8oz, plus a few more around the pound mark.
“I arrived just before dawn and spent 30 minutes feeding small amounts of maggots with a bait dropper to ensure they were hitting bottom in the area I wanted. These were dusted with some dark, hemp-based groundbait, which I like to add for a bit of exra attraction. This certainly seemed to work, as on my first trot down using my JW Young centrepin reel, I landed the 1lb 8oz specimen.
“The sport continued until lunchtime, when the action slowed, but after switching to a finer wire hook and lighter hooklink, I managed a few more roach before the session ended, including the best for the trip at 1lb 9oz.
“I think the lightness of your hook makes all the difference for crafty roach, as it helps your hookbait fall through the water in a more natural manner. Another little trick that I employed was using a watersoaked maggot on the hook. Doing this adds buoyancy and, again, leads to a more natural fall of the hookbait, which I’m convinced helped to fool a few bonus fish.
“It was soon time to head to the local pub for a few beers, where I vowed to return to the Avon before the end of the season to enjoy a few final trots before the shutdown. But first, I had a trip planned to Norfolk roach hotspot Homersfield Lake, where I hoped to tangle with one of its huge residents!
“The maggot feeder is king on these big stillwaters, and while
I’ll admit I don’t fish the feeder very often, they are near enough unbeatable, particularly when rigged heli-style, with a sort, stiff, fluorocarbon hooklink. Although this tactic doesn’t have the finesse of trotting a float, sometimes you have to put the romantic side of fishing aside to catch the fish of your dreams, and on this trip, I certainly did that.
“Again, I arrived at first light, and set about casting my two feeders about 12 wraps out, keeping them going in every 10 minutes for the first hour before slowing to 20-minute casts afterwards. It wasn’t long before I started getting bites from decent roach, landing one of 1lb 7oz. But around 10am, the swim went stone dead, and as the hours passed, doubts crept in.
“However, when darkness came, so did the roach, and I was having double takes, landing plenty of fish around the 1lb mark. I had just recast one of the feeders when something hit the bait on the drop. Picking up the rod, I wound down to something much more substantial. I thought it might’ve been a bream or a small carp, but shining my headtorch into the blackness I could just make out a big, silvery fish below the surface!
“As it neared the bank, it made three strong runs, trying to snag me, but eventually I persuaded it safely into the net. I stood in utter shock at the size of the fish and shouted over my friend, Phil Spinks, who helped me to weigh the fish. It tipped the scales a hair under the 3lb mark, but I was more than happy to call it 2lb 15oz and a few drams!”