"My greatest-ever Itchen roach haul" - Simon Daley

“At this time of year the big roach in the River Itchen tend to shoal up in a few pockets, so I decided to head to my local stretch after dark to see if I could find one. 

“In the past I’ve had success fishing a simple free-running maggot feeder, so I stuck with the same approach and targeted an area of slack water on the far bank. Bites were slow and hard to come by, but by regularly casting I managed to keep the tip going round and enjoy my greatest-ever haul of Itchen roach – with five fish weighing 1lb 10oz, 1lb 12oz, 2lb, 2lb 1oz and 2lb 2oz!”

Simon Daley with his haul of Itchen roach to 2lb 2oz