Specimen Fishing Tips | The rig for roach on coloured rivers - Phil Taylor

The float is unbeatable for river roach, but only in the right conditions. The rapid pace of the water after a deluge of rain often rules this out. The beauty of the float is its sensitivity for shy-biting species like roach. A feeder is a little too clumsy for my tastes.

The answer lies in the old-fashioned link-leger, the resistance of which the fish will struggle to detect when picking the bait up. 

I clip several SSG shot on to a length of line that is tied to the mainline, using just enough shot to hold bottom. The link itself is around 6ins long. This means that when a fish picks up the bait the shot will remain on the deck and the first bit of resistance it will feel is the rod tip. By that point I’ll have seen the bite, struck and hooked the fish.

Try a link-leger for roach when floodwater makes a float too difficult to control

Specimen Fishing Tips | The best Stillwater roach rig - Phil Spinks

Without doubt the helicopter bolt rig is the best stillwater roach set-up.

The helicopter bolt rig is deadly for big roach

The question really is, what bait do you want fish with it – maggots or mini boilies?

Maggots rule in the depths of winter when the fish are far less active, but small roach become almost suicidal on these natural baits once we get to summer.

Mini boilies will select the bigger roach

Switching over to mini boiles and swapping the maggot feeder to a groundbait feeder will be much more selective for the bigger roach.

Phil Spinks knows a bit about catching big roach from stillwaters