GAME CHANGER
How ‘sticking it out’ among boaters and bathers paid off for a big roach
I learned just how incredibly tolerant they can be.
“The stretch is a public water close to my home in Southampton that contains some huge roach. I’d popped down at the start of the season and found a group of good fish, some looking close to 3lb. I had just got them feeding when a load of kids jumped into the river. I was sure this would kill the swim, so I packed up and went on my way. Returning a few days later, though, I realised that this may have been a mistake.
“The roach live in small clear areas amid the heavy weed, so in preparation for my session I prebaited a few of these with hemp and maggots. Arriving the next day, I noticed a group of good roach feeding well over one of the spots… but then it all started to kick off!
“Dogs began jumping in, and swimmers were ploughing right through the swim, so I decided to pack up again. But then I noticed something beneath the surface… big roach! Incredibly, they were still in situ after all that commotion!
“I ran the float back over the spot and straight away it darted under. My rod hooped over under the strain of what was clearly a decent fish, but at that moment a group of kids came cruising past in a dinghy!
“I shouted for them to watch out, as I carried on playing the fish, at which point a big pike grabbed the roach! By some miracle it soon let go, but then, just as the fish came within reach, I saw that my net was drifting downstream! I wasn’t going to give up after all that, so I jumped in and grabbed it before finally slipping it under the fish. It weighed 2lb 12oz and is a new PB.
“I learned a lot from the catch, namely not to be too put off by disturbances on rivers where the fish are used to seeing them. It doesn’t impact the fish as much as we might think. One thing for sure – I won’t be throwing in the towel next time a swimmer crashes through my peg!”
“It all started to kick off. Dogs began jumping in, and swimmers ploughed right through the swim”