Sorting out bigger roach.

[markhib]

I'm roach fishing in an estate lake supposedly containing 1 lb plus fish. My problem is there are an awful lot of 3 oz and below fish.
Bigger hooks and baits don't seem to deter the nippers, would fake baits be viable?
Any advice gratefully received.
Mark

 

[rubio]

Caster, little and often, maybe with a bit of hemp, and definitely with a lot of patience.
Catch fewer, catch bigger

 

[benny samways]

Fake baits inconjunction with bolt-rigged feeder. Large piece of fake corn-size (14 pallatrax the hook or size 10 drennan ss). Heli or running. Leave it untill its nearly getting dragged in! Even 8oz roch will hook them selves on this.

I use this rig when fishing a reservior similar to what you mentioned. I bash fish out constantly on the float and wait for the feeder to rip off, float produces roach from 1oz to 12oz whereas all the roach to the4 feeder are over 8oz.

 

[barbelboi]

Caster, little and often, maybe with a bit of hemp, and definitely with a lot of patience.
Catch fewer, catch bigger

If float fishing then caster over hemp for me too. If you're catching fish less than say 12oz, and you know there are larger ones, cast your float a couple of meters away (past/sideways) from the feeding fish to try and mug the odd bonus large fish that are often at the edges. Remember that the larger fish (1 1/2 - 2lb+) will be in much smaller shoals, maybe only two or three in number, and not so 'oblidging' so it's unlikely that you'll take more than the odd one or two in a good session.

 

[markhib]

Thankyou all very much, two more things to try along with Jeff Hatt's way with bread.
Mark

 

[trotter2]

I would go with feeding hemp and fishing corn on the hook maybe even double corn on the hook. Let us know how you get on

 

[aebitim]

Just to ring the changes, feed 4 mm meat cubes and use 6mm on the hook. Squeezing a little bread flake around the meat can help for the big ones.

 

[markhib]

Will do, next chance I have to fish is Saturday, forecast sunny, high pressure with a cold start. The little ones feed in virtually any conditions, is it the same for the larger ones?
Mark

 

[David Dalton]

Small fruit flavoured boilies may also be worth a try. A traditional bait for roach that's good for the big ones is a lobworm tail.

 

[benh]

I find a diversion tactic works well.
Throw a few pieces of meat out, decent size chunks, 12mm or so cubes, on a quiver tip, and feed over the top with loose maggots, little and often. I find this tends to bring all the little roach up in the water, with the big boys skulking around on the bottom, which take the meat.
Has worked a few times for me, anyway.

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

Combine a couple of the above, use a larger bait on the perimeter of the area where you feed a smaller one, i.e. bread outside corn, corn outside hemp or meat (I'd go half inch cubes (12mm in fake money) outside maggot or castor.
Dusk and dawn are often the best times to attract the larger fish.

 

[markhib]

No boilies, I'm afraid, lots of rules on said lake. I've had one of about 8 oz on luncheon meat when hair rigging for carp, which may be a problem, as the nuisance fish go to about 20 lb.
Mark

 

[sampras43]

If float fishing then caster over hemp for me too. If you're catching fish less than say 12oz, and you know there are larger ones, cast your float a couple of meters away (past/sideways) from the feeding fish to try and mug the odd bonus large fish that are often at the edges. Remember that the larger fish (1 1/2 - 2lb+) will be in much smaller shoals, maybe only two or three in number, and not so 'oblidging' so it's unlikely that you'll take more than the odd one or two in a good session.

Barbelboi gave me this advice not that long ago and it worked a treat.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[john step]

A size 14 hook size gob full of soft cheesepaste is just as good for stillwater roach as it is for chub. Unfortunately the carp like it too.

 

[markhib]

That may be my biggest problem, if I have to play a waiting game. There are a lot more carp than big roach, I believe, and many snags. I may get smashed up once or twice.
Mark

 

[jack sprat]

It's a funny time of year for roach; just about the time they are either spawning or about to spawn and probably best left alone for a month. What I once found though on a water stuffed with small carp and big roach was that waiting till when the CARP spawned - in a few weeks time - I had my best bag of big roach on that water using hemp and tares. Normally such tactics, whilst bringing in a few roach, mostly brought in the carp in droves but when the carp were pre-occupied spawning then it was fine.

 

[Tee-Cee]

The caster/hemp 'combo' (see how up-to-date I am!) is great and very consistent, but like all baits they have varying degrees of success on some waters. I would still start out with them but also include spells of using fresh bread flake/crust/punch as I would tares and elderberry, the latter either great or a bomber........

The caster/hemp probably works quicker than most others BUT, that said, I do like bread variations for bigger fish..ON THE RIGHT WATER!!

Baits that important? Yes, of course, but none work well if the tactics/conditions are poor and not thought out IMHO

ps Done okay on one or two occasions with caster used with the hook through the side rather than the end and fished on the drop. (that's a free tip!!)

 

[markhib]

Well, I tried caster over hemp on Saturday and the roach loved it. Unfortunately, just the small ones. One a chuck. I also tried luncheon meat and corn briefly, no bites on the meat and the same 3 ouncers on the corn, I had to wait a little longer for the bites though.
Jack probably right about the spawning, I caught one male that felt like a pin cushion.
Biggest of the day went 5.5oz.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Still think wisps of flake or 5mm cubes of flattened crust on a 14/16 worth a try for the better fish. I do okay (occasionally) with flake pinched on the shank of a size 12, but it must be fresh and very lightly pinched on....You have to rebait every cast otherwise it was squeezed on too tight in the first place.
Punch also worth a go work out!

 

[greenie62]

cast your float a couple of meters away (past/sideways) from the feeding fish to try and mug the odd bonus large fish that are often at the edges.

Sometimes the larger fish act as "minders" and stay back out of the way at the edge of the action - just like parents minding kids at a party.

Also big Roach tend to feed at colder temps than 'nuisance' fish so the dawn/dusk patrol can be more effective because of the lower water temperatures. This may also be reflected in the spawning patterns - so the behavioural patterns suggested above may be worth taking into account.

Tight lines :thumbs: