3lb 1oz River Thames roach

The River Thames has produced one of the biggest roach of 2012 in the shape of this huge 3lb 1oz specimen.

It had been Matt Davies’ ambition to catch a redfin over the 2lb mark from his local stretch of the waterway around Oxford since he first picked up a rod at the age of two, and he set about making his dream a reality by baiting one of his favourite swims with a bed of hemp and mixed particles with the help of a bait dropper.

The tactic proved to be a big hit with the resident roach population and his simple groundbait feeder rig, that featured a banded pellet on a size 18 hook, was soon fooling fish up to 1lb 8oz.
But the 29-year-old had to wait until towards the end of his session for the all-important bite which saw him smash his previous personal best for the species by 1lb 7oz and come within 4oz of breaking the current river record.

“I don’t need to tell anyone how rare a 3lb roach is, so as soon as I realised what I was attached to it was hard not to rush things and try to get it in the net as quickly as possible,” Matt told Angling Times.

“There’s no doubt that this fish will be close to the record in a few months time. This is a great sign for the river and on my last short session I caught six roach and not one of them was less than 1lb,” he added.

The Thames is just one of a string UK running water venues, including the rivers Trent and Avon, in which roach are making a comeback.

Drennan International’s assistant director, Gary Barclay, has fished the Thames all of his life and says that the roach sport in 2012 is as good as it has ever been.
 
“Both specimen and competition anglers have been spoilt on the river so far this season as the extra flow and colour in the water has seen the roach fishing surpass all expectations,” he said.
“I caught 19lb of roach in a match the other day and the number of weights taken over the 20lb barrier has been phenomenal. There are so many big fish coming through that there’s never been a better time to be on the river.” 

40 year wait for pb roach comes to an end

A 40-year campaign to break his roach personal best ended with Peter Kelly slipping the net under this 3lb roach from the River Frome.

The Wimbourne-rod had made the journey to Purbeck Angling to pick up his Wareham DAS season ticket and after making his purchase decided to wet a line on the club stretch for half an hour.
Within minutes of making his first cast, a small trout had fallen for his legered breadflake hookbait, but shortly afterwards he received another fast take that resulted in the memorable catch.

“I had barely any time to fish but I had a rod, a few slices of bread and a landing net and couldn’t resist a couple of casts.”

“I’ve spent countless sessions over four decades trying to beat my previous best of 1lb 15oz and it finally happens when I’m least expecting it,” explained Peter, who was using a 3lb hooklink and a size 12 hook.

Huge roach brace from River Frome

Keen all-rounder John Gates kicked the season off with a bang when he netted two huge roach for a combined total of almost 6lb from the River Frome.

The Wareham AC member decided to visit a tidal stretch of the waterway and within less than an hour of casting his maggot feeder rig baited with four red grubs he received a vicious wrap round which resulted in a 3lb redfin sliding over the net.

A few small fish made an appearance before the tip arched over from another enormous roach which tipped the scales round to 2lb 15oz.

Big roach brace falls to rubber casters

Patience proved key to Alex Maydew during his latest session when he landed a brace of roach weighing 2lb 9oz and 2lb 1oz following several hours of inactivity.

The keen specimen angler spent the night at Norfolk gravel pit without a single bleep on his alarms but he was awoken just after 5am when a big redfin picked up his rubber casters presented on a bolt rig set-up intended for the waters silvers.

A spirited battle then ensued before  the biggest fish – which was a personal best – slipped over the net and shortly afterwards another ‘two’ was fooled.

Trio of roach bests from Lochnaw

Scottish roach haven Lochnaw Castle produced the goods for visiting anglers yet again last week, with Scott Ashworth smashing his personal best three times in a single session, capped by this 3lb 4oz specimen.

The National Anguilla Club official decided to target the venue’s eel population, but when they refused to play ball, switched his attention to the roach.

After laying down a carpet of groundbait laced with various particles, he presented a maggot feeder on a helicopter rig over the top and before long received a savage take from the big redfin.

“My previous roach best was 1lb 15oz and after a fantastic battle this huge roach slipped over the net,” explained Scott, who also took fish of 2lb 10oz and 2lb 5oz during the session.

“My dad’s personal best of 2lb 4oz had stood for 45 years and he also smashed that with a 2lb 8oz specimen – Lochnaw really is roach fishing heaven,” he added.

Waggler tactics trick 3lb 1oz roach

A cleverly-adapted waggler set-up helped Ross Lawson fool this 3lb 1oz personal best roach during his latest session at Sway Lakes.

The Hampshire-rod decided to visit his local complex in search of his first redfin over the magical 3lb barrier and achieved his goal when the specimen fell for an 8mm pellet presented over a bed of freebies.

After finding an attractive peg with willows and reed beds lining the far bank, the air traffic controller decided to make an alteration to his standard loaded waggler, a ‘tweak’ that turned out to be key.

“I glued the tip of a pole float to the top so I could cast tight to the features and also have delicate bite indication. The presentation was fine-tuned by using a tiny piece of lead putty at half depth so the amount of tip showing could be adjusted depending on how much ripple there was on the water,” explained Ross, who used an 0.09mm hooklink and a size 18 hook.

Big roach make journey worthwhile

Northern specimen hunter Mike Townsend thinks nothing of clocking up hundreds of miles in search of his quarry, as he’s been proving this spring in his frequent visits to Sway Lakes in Hampshire where he has managed to get among the venue’s famous big roach.

In his last few visits the Doncaster-based rod alternated between the waggler and swimfeeder to present his maggot hookbaits, and has managed to bank more than a dozen big redfins, including a number of ‘twos’ to a best of 2lb 10oz.

“The fishing’s not been easy so far this year, but by using little tweaks in my presentation I’ve thankfully been managing to fool the odd fish”, Mike told Angling Times.

Change in tactics results in 3lb-plus roach

After many years of trying, Phil Spinks has achieved his target of catching a 3lb-plus roach with this 3lb 1oz specimen from a gravel pit in Norfolk.

Over the last couple of seasons, the Suffolk-based Korum consultant had caught a string of ‘twos’ from the venue before a slight change in tactics saw him land what he classes as the ‘holy grail of specimen fish.’

“I switched from my usual short helicopter rigs and maggot feeders to a small 1oz inline lead and two fake casters hair-rigged to a size 14 hook and an 0.15mm Preston Power Line hooklink,” he told AT.

“On to this I hooked a small PVA bag of casters and Sonubaits 2mm pellets. It was very nerve wracking playing it, as big roach have a tendency to bump hooks.”

Phil cast his hookbait to a spot at 65yds range and used a Mini Spomb to bait it with a mixture of casters, maggots, hemp and pellets.

Specimen roach and rudd taken on maggots

Adam Perna had every reason to smile after he caught a brace of fish to remember featuring a roach of 3lb 5oz and a rudd that tipped the scales at 2lb 11oz.

The specialist has spent all winter targeting the big redfins residing in Willow Pool, which is part of the Lynch Hill complex in Oxon, with little success, but his determination paid off when he put his faith in maggot feeder rigs with two red grubs on the hook.

He put himself in with a chance of landing the huge fish by moving into a carp anglers swim after seeing some big silverfish showing on the surface .

“I started off fishing as a lad catching roach with my dad and never dreamed that I’d catch anything like this in my lifetime,” said Adam.

“It just shows that with a lot of effort and a good slice of luck, incredible fish can come your way.”

Maggot feeder rig fools 3lb 6oz roach

A four-year quest to catch a roach over the magical 3lb barrier came to a successful conclusion for Chris Ebden when he slipped the net under this superb 3lb 6oz fish.  

The 58-year-old specialist, from Rushden in Northamptonshire, was targeting a gravel pit in Oxfordshire, and finally reached the landmark after presenting his double maggot hookbait, flavoured with Geranium Oil, on a simple helicopter swimfeeder rig with a 2.5in long hooklink of 4lb fluorocarbon and a size 16 hook.

“I've been fishing this water for so long was really starting to think it would never happen. This winter has been particularly difficult as the water has been exceptionally weedy and I had only caught one roach previously, a 2lb 9oz fish in November, despite a number of trips. When I initially weighed the fish with shaking hands, I couldn't believe the I had cracked the 3lb barrier,” said Chris, who beat his old personal best for the species by 10oz.

Brace of 3lb-plus roach on maggot feeder tactics

A couple of bites can be all it takes to turn a blank session into a truly memorable one – just ask Vince Williams, who took a fine brace of huge roach weighing 3lb 1oz and 3lb 4oz just five minutes apart after many hours of watching motionless bobbins.

The 39-year-old all rounder, from Carterton in Oxfordshire, had been targeting a southern stillwater over the winter, and after completing 12 day sessions and five ‘overnighters’, had just one specimen rudd weighing 2lb 11oz to show for his considerable efforts.

However, his luck changed in dramatic fashion one evening last week when his feederfished maggot hookbaits were picked up by the memorable brace just as dusk was falling.

Vince, the secretary of the RAF Football Association, told Angling Times: “I arrived on the Sunday at dawn and apart from bumping a fish off early on, hadn’t had a bite all day until my alarm sounded just before 6pm. I lifted into the fish and could tell it was a decent one, a fact which was confirmed when it slid over the net cord. I could see it was easily a new personal best.”

“Then, just as I was unhooking I received a bite on my other rod, and before I knew it I was staring down at my second huge roach – it was an incredible five minutes!”

Both heavyweight redfins fell double maggot hookbaits, presented helicopter-style alongside a swimfeeder on short 3lb hooklinks, size 18 hooks and 5lb Maxima mainline. These were recast every two hours to a clear area in about 8ft of water just beyond a weedbed at 55yds range.

“It’s been hard work on the venue this winter, not least because of the amount of weed present - like many waters, it hasn’t died off due to the mild winter, and it has made presentation a little tricky at times. I’m just delighted to have finally got among the bigger fish,” added Vince. 

Hatrick of 3lb-plus roach in two memorable sessions for specialist angler

A specimen angler had not one but two sessions of a lifetime, when he banked a 3lb-plus roach in each. In fact over the course of the two three day sessions Rob Thompson recorded redfins of 3lb 6oz, 3lb 4oz and 3lb 2oz, plus rudd of 2lb 12oz, 2lb 11oz and 2lb 8oz.

The Shepshed, Leicestershire angler was targeting the prolific Linch Hill fishery in Oxfordshire, and took most of his fish in the hours of darkness.

To read the full story and to discover Rob’s successful feeder rig, see this week’s Angling Times.

Massive River Ebro roach

This massive roach, which tipped the scales at 4lb 2oz, was just one of 150 big redfins caught by pioneering anglers Dan Sales and Paul Goldsmith when they targeted Spain’s mighty River Ebro.

The venue is best known for its huge stock of specimen catfish and carp, but the Herts-based duo proved that the river has so much more to offer when they shared the impressive haul, which also featured fish weighing 3lb 8oz and 3lb 6oz.

Simple swimfeeder tactics with sweetcorn hookbaits proved the winning tactics for the two friends, who took all their fish at close range.

“Over 90 per cent of the fish we caught were between 1lb and 3lb. The quality of the roach fishing on the Ebro simply can’t be beaten - the sheer number of fish is something to behold,” Dan told Angling Times.

To read the full story and see more pictures of their trip, read the feature in next week’s edition of Angling Times. 

Commercial produces shock huge roach hauls

A venue that is renowned for producing 100lb plus carp bags on a daily basis has shown a different side to it by throwing up huge nets of fin perfect roach.

The Midlands complex has become a popular haunt with anglers from all over the nation in recent years but a handful have dared to try and exploit the silverfish populations and have been rewarded with massive hauls of redfins to almost 2lb.

“The carp have been the number one target for a long time but that could soon change as these roach are in absolutely pristine condition and a bite a chuck can be taken from any peg from specimen sized roach,” explained one local angler.

For more details on the venue, pick up a copy of next week’s Angling Times, on the shelves from Tuesday February 28.

Venue holding roach to 3lb 8oz opened!

A stillwater that experts claim could be home to potential record fish is set to open to coarse anglers for the first time in it’s history.

The huge venue has only been fished by a handful of game fishermen in the past but while chasing the vast shoals of trout they have accidentally landed roach to 3lb 8oz and perch nudging the 5lb mark.

Fully aware the venue could hold even bigger monsters, managers have now decided to allow coarse anglers access in a bid to reveal the true potential.

For more details on the unique fishery, pick up a copy of this week’s Angling Times, on the shelves NOW!

Hot silverfish action at Gold Valley

The silverfish shoals in Gold Valley Lakes appear to be oblivious to the cold snap with a number of big roach and skimmer bags being taken in the past few days.

A simple pole and maggot attack helped matchangler.com rod Dave Johnson tempt 30lb 10oz of redfins during the midweek open at the Hampshire complex, with second place Will Raison netting 20lb 15oz.

Just days later sport got even better with Daiwa Dorking’s Mark Goddard landing the spoils thanks to a 35lb haul of roach, perch and bream.