Best-ever roach for Andrew Childs of 2lb 3oz on bread

Andrew Childs used trotting tactics to catch this personal best roach of 2lb 3oz from the River Itchen.

The 65-year-old made the journey from his home in Essex to the Hampshire waterway and after walking along a stretch he’d fished in the past he settled on a ‘classic looking’ roach swim.

Offering a piece of breadflake on a size 12 hook and a 3lb hooklink in a crease next to the main flow he caught several chub to just over 4lb before connecting with the specimen redfin.

“It had rained a couple of days earlier and there was a tinge of colour in the water,” said Andrew. “The fish beat my previous best for the species of 2lb 1oz, which I caught from the same river two years ago.”