RAY CLARKE’S RIVER RECORD ROACH - 1990

THERE’S always something special about a UK record being caught from a river, and no species is more evocative in this respect than the roach.

So Ray Clarke’s 4lb 3oz new best, caught in October 1990, was one that really struck a chord with anglers around the country.

He took it from the Dorset Stour, a venue famed for big roach and chub, using trotting tactics with double caster – that most classic of roach approaches.

Ray had visited the southern river in the hope of chalking up his first 2lb roach. That would have been a fine achievement in itself, but to catch a fish double that size and a record to boot staggered the Hertfordshire angler and the fishing world as a whole.