big roach-lots of roach-you decide.

flightliner · May 27, 2010

A big catch of roach (say mainly up to the twelve ounce mark) is a truly impressive sight, as is a really big one .So whats your preferance and why. Is it more skillful to take a large bag of redfins on say the float on a river or stillwater, or even more so to take the odd big roach. Is too little credance given to the netful of fish and to much to the bigger ones? Whats your opinion?

jcp01 · May 27, 2010

My personal opinion is that anyone who wants to call themselves a roach expert has no choice but to demonstrate that they can catch lots of quality roach under any conditions, in any weather, on a wide variety of baits, and with ease!

I have one full season and a half of proper roach angling under my belt and I have learned in that time that these so called 'easy fish' are on the contrary, the most difficult and most fascinating quarry swimming.

Shoals of river fish can be so hungry on one day that they are quite literally crawling up the line to the keepnet, and the next day, terribly hard work with endless missed bites and bumped off fish.

As for the canal roach up the end of my road, well, they have to be the most ornery critters I have ever had the pleasure to do battle with!

My opinion of roach is that there is no worthier quarry, and a 20lb net of fish including a brace of two's is the mark of an angler who has really arrived!

One day!

preston96 · May 27, 2010

Rufus aint far off in my opinion.

Ray Daywalker Clarke · May 27, 2010

Hard one to call, but if you can catch a 20lb of roach, and catch the big ones also, then you are a Roach angler.

The problem now is, the big bags and big Roach are not around in the numbers they used to be.

peter crabtree · May 27, 2010

Those " they are having it " days are so rare and fickle.

slime monster · May 27, 2010

Spot on Ray , I would not call myself a big Roach angler ..only had them to 2lb

sorry Steve :wh

Dave Burr · May 27, 2010

If you can consistently catch big roach you are truly a good angler.

Steve Spiller · May 27, 2010

That is a really tough question Flightliner!

Hmmm? Would I want to put together a net full of roach or catch the biggest roach in the swim, even if that meant only one fish in a session?

Well, after June 16th I'll be mainly fishing hemp n tares, so the net full of roach is on the cards. Come October the 1st and my tactics will change and one 2lb roach will do. Hope that answers your question mate

My opinion of roach is that there is no worthier quarry, and a 20lb net of fish including a brace of two's is the mark of an angler who has really arrived!

Rufus, I'd settle for 18lb and one 2lber, you're just being greedy

Graham Whatmore · May 27, 2010

I have over the years had some nice bags of roach including a couple of twos and once won a match on the Avon with 24lb of them but 3 oz or 30 oz, 2 or 22 I have enjoyed every last one of them and always will, they are a delight to catch.

Harvey · May 27, 2010

..........

Andrew Macfarlane · May 28, 2010

How does catching big roach make you the better angler?

Surely it depends on the water and the stocks?

I wouldn't class myself as anything close to a great roach angler but I'm jammy enough to have a population of huge stillwater roach close to home and they aren't particularly difficult to catch.

There are small ones too but the 2 generally don't seem to mix much, so you can either spend the day speed fishing for blades or you can spend the day catching little over 20 fish for 30lbs of fish.

Myself and 2 other friends have had a fair amount of fish over the 2lb mark. My biggest 2lb 4oz and my mate Stephen with one at 2lb 12oz.

I couldn't do the same on the canal though. Catch blades all day, yes. Big ones, not really.

To me what makes a good roach angler, is the one that can amass a good bag of roach almost anywhere, be they 2oz or 2lbs and I can't do that anywhere.

jcp01 · May 28, 2010

Andrew Macfarlane said:
I couldn't do the same on the canal though. Catch blades all day, yes. Big ones, not really.

I wish there were more specimen anglers targeting the canal roach and pooling knowledge. They are bloody hard work but the heavyweights are certainly there ~

Derek is talk of the canal after netting 2lb roach; Hook, Line AND SINKER. - Free Online Library

He mentions that they are present all the way from Nuneaton to Atherstone, well I can tell you that they are present all the way to Coventry too. I've had twenty fish from the same canal from a pound to one fifteen on lobworm in the coldest weather of the winter. Can't seem to break the 2lb barrier, but I will!

It seems that you have to use bloodworm and joker to amass any kind of bag weight.

Andrew Macfarlane · May 28, 2010

The main problem I have on the canal is the sheer numbers of small roach. It's not that the big roach aren't there. It's just very difficult to get a bait to them without it being molested by squillions of blades.

I'm not sure how to sort the two out.

Steve Spiller · May 28, 2010

You could try big baits Andrew, lobs, flake, cheese/paste.
With no loose feed!
Or fill it in to feed the blades off?

flightliner · May 29, 2010

Some interesting replies but i'm still curious as to whats prefferred by us as roach anglers in general-- assuming you have had reasonable amounts of roach, both large and small, given the choice would you prefer taking a big bag of smallish fish or taking one big one-- the answers not an easy one, but go on ,shoot from the hip---
Steve Spiller, sit this one out my friend.

jcp01 · May 29, 2010

Andrew Macfarlane said:
The main problem I have on the canal is the sheer numbers of small roach. It's not that the big roach aren't there. It's just very difficult to get a bait to them without it being molested by squillions of blades.

I'm not sure how to sort the two out.

Come across to the Coventry canal, things there are very, very different. There are certainly plenty of blades present, but you wont catch them. It's weird but true that it is harder to catch small roach here than large roach around the pound mark. I think that the sheer numbers of zander present make a huge difference to the roach populations and more importantly for anglers, their behaviour - quite what is going on is not clear but you can fish all day long with maggots and catch four or five roach if you are lucky and yet the swim is packed with them...

So few people actively fish for them that perhaps they don't trust maggots having never seen them before! Bread is ignored, so is corn. They like worms and bloodworm, both of which occur naturally in the cut.

There's no fear of my ever amassing twenty pounds of roach that's for sure!

Beecy · May 29, 2010

for me, roach come in three sizes - bits, decent & dogs,and i dont see the point in this "2lb barrier" stuff, if your after roach leave the scales at home, a dogs a dog and sod what it weighs

to answer the question i would take a matchmans view, quantity over quality every time, id rather have fifty fish for 9lb than four fish for 8lb

roach fishing is just a numbers game anyway, catch enough of them and the dogs will turn up along the way, and id rather get an unexpected one amongst the bits than sit it out targeting the dogs alone

---------- Post added at 21:15 ---------- Previous post was at 21:09 ----------

this coventry canal sounds like an interesting place, might have to give it a go one day

ive often liked the look of the bit you go over on the M42, what area is that ?

flightliner · May 30, 2010

Beecy said:
for me, roach come in three sizes - bits, decent & dogs,and i dont see the point in this "2lb barrier" stuff, if your after roach leave the scales at home, a dogs a dog and sod what it weighs

to answer the question i would take a matchmans view, quantity over quality every time, id rather have fifty fish for 9lb than four fish for 8lb

roach fishing is just a numbers game anyway, catch enough of them and the dogs will turn up along the way, and id rather get an unexpected one amongst the bits than sit it out targeting the dogs alone

Beecy, I think that you and I are sailing pretty much the same boat, A day out chasing redfins is a day where ,if you are catching, you are kept busy, working things out like correct feeding, tackle presentation, alteration of both as and when required, the changing mood of the water and weather thro-out the day all go into making the recipe (for me at least)a more satisfying one, and, as you say every now and then a "dog" pops up as the icing on the cake. I do however take time out from time to time to pursue bigger ones by using a more selective approach.
The float is my preferred method of taking roach be they large or small, and if it is on running water so much the better
Regarding the "two" lb thing yes, you may be right, it's only a particular stage in the life of a fish that as done well on some increasingly rare waters dotted around the country but many anglers use it as a measure of personal attianment and I dont think it will go away. Having taken a "two" it's normal to try for more and more that hopefully are even bigger. One well known angler that I have spoken to from time to time says that the weight thing is B******s and in some ways I agree with the sentiment but when I was chasing my big roach I think (hand on heart) my attitude was very differant.

Ray Daywalker Clarke · May 30, 2010

Bag or Roach or big Roach,

You said shoot from the hip, so here it is for me.

A bag of Big Roach.........................

Blades are good for live or dead bait.

Andrew Macfarlane · May 30, 2010

I prefer going after the bigger ones. That said, I don't mind speed fishing for numbers if it's frantic. Can't pass the time any quicker and it's very rewarding.

(still prefer a few big fattys though)

Steve, I do often fish with corn, bread and caster. I've noticed big roach seem to prefer inanimate baits for some reason an if I can get under the blades, I do get the beter ones off the ressie but the canal is just a pest. Everything gets mauled.

What do you mean by

Or fill it in to feed the blades off?

...??

Never heard the term.

big roach-lots of roach-you decide.

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)

Senior Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member