Dave Harrell’s Top 10 tricks for baging up on river roach this weekend
Follow my best tips and put more red fins in the net this week!
IF I had to choose just one species to fish for from now until the end of the river season, it would definitely be the roach.
It’s a species that intrigues me, excites me and often frustrates me but I never tire of that tell-tale ‘thump, thump’ of a big roach attached to the end of my line.
I’ve been catching a lot of big roach recently from swims that were seemingly devoid of them a year ago. Where were they?
I haven’t got a clue, to be honest, but it’s great to see them back again. I suspect water temperature and clarity played a big part in their disappearance but whatever the reason, they most certainly hadn’t just ‘died off’ as some people had previously suggested.
This week I’ll take you through the tactics I’ve been using to good effect to catch roach up to 2lb over the past few weeks…
1 BAIT
My favourite baits for roach at this time of year are maggots and casters, used with hemp. All my big catches of roach have fallen to these baits.
Other baits worth considering are bread and lobworm tails if the river is coloured. A couple of years ago I had a 2lb 3oz roach on the Wye using this when the river was the colour of chocolate!
2 GROUNDBAIT & SOIL
If the river is pulling through fast, it can pay to introduce loosefeed in balls of groundbait and soil. I use two bags of Bait-Tech original Pro Natural to four pints of molehill soil, riddled through a groundbait sieve.
3 BAIT DROPPERS
Another way to introduce feed is via a bait dropper. This will ensure your loosefeed is exactly where you want it and you can control your rig over the top.
4 STICK FLOAT RIGS
Shouldered and dome top sticks are essentials tools for roach fishing. Use strung-out shot and carry floats between 6xNo4 and 16xNo4 to cover depths and flow.
5 BOLO RIGS
For fishing out in clear rivers I use a 3g-6g Bolo float. An On-Line olivette forms the bulk weight with a single No4 dropper.
6 AVON RIGS
When there is a lot of flow, use an Avon float, fished tight to the nearside ledge if there is one. Shot the float the same as the Bolo rig with just one dropper.
7 LEGERING RIGS
On cold days, a simple paternoster rig with SSG or AAA shot on the link can be a deadly way to catch big roach. Use a tail 3ft to 4ft long and fish maggots or bread on the hook.
8 FEEDER RIGS
If you have cover well away from you, it can pay to use a feeder with either bread flake or maggots on the hook. By using just enough weight to hold the feeder in place, you’ll find many of your bites will be drop-backs.
9 SLOW BAITS DOWN
On some days you will need to slow the hookbait right down in order to tempt big roach. This can be done with a centre pin or by back winding the reel. Both ways can produce specimen red fins!
10 LAST HOUR BAG-UP!
The days are very short now and the best hours are the two before dark. If you’re pleasure fishing, make sure you’re on the bank at this time as you are likely to catch your biggest fish then!