Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Whip out a roach a chuck – Josh Newman
Small rivers in built-up areas offer the best chance of winter redfins, says rising star John Newman
WE’VE all been brainwashed to believe that winter fishing will inevitably be much tougher than what is on offer during summer. In most instances, it is hard to disagree with that theory. Commercial carp slip into a slumber once the water chills, bream shoals push out of range on many giant reservoirs and you can forget about getting a single bite from tench and crucians. But roach are a completely different proposition, especially the shoals that are present in our river systems. Often living in waterways where cover is at a premium, the fish stocks huddle together in giant balls to give themselves protection from the elements. Like clockwork, the fish head en masse for the same spots every year and, unlike other species, they will still be on the lookout for food once they have reached their winter quarters. You might think that a shoal would be made up of hundreds of fish, but more often not they congregate in the thousands, maybe even the tens of thousands in the most impressive cases. If you’ve done your homework and locate where they have taken up residence, the results can be simply incredible. The vast majority of juniors in our sport are addicted to commercials but rising star Josh Newman is the odd one out, preferring to target the rivers, with winter roach fishing his favourite arm of the sport.
Capped by England at youth level, the Lincolnshire-based 15-year-old must snigger at the thought of other youngsters huddled in a bivvy and staring at a motionless set of carp rods as he bags a roach every chuck of his session. “The roach are well spread out on rivers in the warmer months and it can be hard to bag up at that time of year,” explained Josh. “It is completely different now because all the fish are packed tight in certain areas and, if you find them, you can put a massive net together. “I’ve had catches over 40lb and one of my favourite venues where catches like this are possible is the River Glen close to Spalding.”
Silver delights
Take a glance at an overhead image of the River Glen and close inspection will reveal that large parts of it are fairly barren. Anywhere between 10m-20m wide in most parts with very little vegetation, the fish will go on long journeys in order to locate a spot that offers the comforts they need during the cold. “Almost all of the big shoals of roach in small rivers are found in built-up areas. The infrastructure creates a barrier from cold winds and rain and that makes the water that tiny bit warmer than it would be in a more rural spot. “Town centres are particular hotspots but my particular favourite is a bit of a unique gem.” Located in the tiny village of Surfleet Seas End, a small cluster of properties have been built on both banks of the waterway. Add to that the fact that depths drop to more than 15ft in places and it is easy to see why it is such a haven for the migrating redfins. “Every winter the fish pack into this little stretch and from the first minute to the last you can get bites. If that isn’t enough, it is free fishing too!” When it comes to picking the right tactic, keeping it simple pays off and Josh relies on two different approaches to vary the presentation and maintain top gear action throughout.
Choosing whip or pole
When roach are the target, floatfishing dominates because of the sensitive presentation
“Every winter the fish pack into this little stretch”
required to catch them in large numbers. Josh will start any session on the pole down the middle but will make a switch if he thinks he can catch at an even faster pace. “I can catch fish from the off on the pole but each time you hook one you have to ship back, unhook it and then repeat the process. “That might not seem like a particularly rigorous process, but when you are catching hundreds of roach it can soon become tiring! “If the fish are feeding confidently and I am getting one a chuck I will switch to a long flick tip whip that is around 7m long. “This enables you to swing in more fish which saves a lot of time and ultimately leads to more roach going into your keepnet.” Most anglers have fished a whip at, say, 3m but using it at a longer distance is no more difficult, but using the right kit with it is important. A heavy float that requires a large olivette is required as this gives you the casting weight to get the rig out into the desired position. When there isn’t much flow on the river Josh uses a slimline 3g float that is shotted with an olivette and several small shot below. This enables him to string out those shot in different patterns to alter how the hookbait falls. The olivette itself is located around 18in from the hook as this gets it into the area where the fish are feeding before slowing the fall as it comes into contact with the shoals. A round 2g pattern is used if the flow picks up to help aid stability.
Feeding frenzy
Although there were guaranteed to be stacks of roach in Josh’s swim when he turned out to show just how good the Glen was for the IYCF cameras, he wanted to concentrate them tightly. A bed of groundbait would do just that and several balls were cupped in at the beginning to give them something to home in on. “I use several different types of groundbait in my mix and they all add something different. “Sensas Noire darkens off the mix, Gros Gardons is full of food such as hemp that roach love, Terre de riviere is heavy so it will get the balls to the bottom in deep water before
breaking up while Lake is sweet to attract any bonus skimmers in the area.” Extra groundbait is added to the swim throughout the session when bites dry up, with hemp the only bait introduced via a catapult. Other baits such as maggots and pinkies are too light and will drift away in any current if fed from the pouch. Starting on the pole line – which was around 12ft deep – Josh shipped out his maggot hookbait and lowered on the rig. It had barely settled when the tip vanished and a firm strike was met with a 2oz roach. The next ten drops produced a similar result and that convinced Josh to make the change to the whip. “It’s calm today and this is when the whip works best. If there was a stiff wind you wouldn’t be able to present the bait properly and the pole would be a better option.” The move was a success and the bagging pace stepped up several notches, with two roach a minute coming to hand at the peak. They weren’t all ‘swingers’ though, with plenty of redfins between 4oz and 10oz thrown into the mix. The odd bonus perch also showed up, the best hovering just under 2lb. “There was snow and ice in the area leading up to today yet here we are getting a fish every chuck, with around 30lb in the net in four hours. “Fishing is all about getting bites and small river roach will make sure you get plenty of them when everybody else is struggling for action.”