2lb Roach

Hi guys, I need your help.

After talking to a certain FM member who shall remain anonymous, I have decided my angling future will take a huge change. I've been fishing now for 34 years and I feel I have missed out on a lot that it has to offer.

So, I have set myself a challenge to catch a 2lb roach before the end of the season from my local Bristol Avon. I don't want anyone to name venues or give swims away, I just want to know how you would approach this challenge on a river i.e. bait and tactics.

My first obvious choice will be to use bread flake in conjunction with liquidised bread. I intend to bait several swims and fish them all at some point throughout the day, then settle into one swim and fish it into darkness for a couple of hours.

I would be very interested to know what you would look for in a swim that would indicate to you that it held large roach? Visual sightings of the roach would be almost impossible, the Avon is deep and slow, so it is a case of me learning to read a swim and look for features that might hold the roach.

Cheers guys, I would be very grateful for any advice you can offer me.

Steve.

"I have set myself a challenge to catch a 2lb roach before the end of the season from my local Bristol Avon."


If only it was that easy .........

Some people go a lifetime without catching one ....

I know Ed and that is why it's time I pull me finger out and get on with it!

I work 6am-2pm and 2pm-10pm, so I get a fair bit of time on my hands, it's time for me to put it to good use. The Avon holds the roach, I've just never targetted them, but that is about to change.

you can tip the odds of a 2lb Roach in your favour by..


forgeting how to tell the difference between a Roach and a Chub


setting your scales to weight 8oz heavier

seriously though Steve, why set a fixed target of 2lb, this to me implies that a 1lb 15oz fish would be considered a failure !


just set out to catch a big dog Roach and bugger what it weighs

First find a water that genuinely contains 2 lb Roach..... easier said than done.

It took me 3 full winters on a stillwater near Wigan - in freezing cold weather(really hard frosts) before I had a 2lb'er (2lb 11 ozs Caught on caster on a swing tip ,small open end feeder,- 2.6lb hooklength -- size 16 hook
We caught loads --all between the 1lb 8oz -- 1lb 15 oz mark ...and then had 2 x 2lbers in the same session.
The other one was 2lb 2 ozs

I know what you mean Beecy and it might seem like a trophy, I'm just looking at it as a personal achievement, a goal in my life that I want to score.

1lb 15oz would tell me that I'm doing it right and the next one could be a two, I would never think of it as a failure, just one step nearer.

Hay ho off to work I go ;-(

Steve I?d go for the caster, hemp and the stick float approach, or waggler if you have to fish to far out for the stick.

I?d attempt to get hold of a copy of Roach - the Gentle Giant by John Bailey
Link http://www.angling-travel.com/books.html#Roach
Whilst not a fan of his, you can?t take it away from the man and his pursuit through the early 80s of big roach on the Wensum.

Steve mate, I told you where to go for a reasonably good chance of a two pounder, the ideal roach water is there looking at you and probably the best roach water on the Bristol Avon.

Try the bread flake and mash approach by all means, it is highly probable that this approach will succeed on that water and you will probably have some hefty chub to boot. Now is the ideal time for that stretch but obviously not if its in flood but a bit of colour whilst fining off is ideal. Adopt a mobile approach as its likely you will be the only angler on the stretch and travel light.

It might be a good idea to take along a pint of casters as a back up but I reckon the bread will get you lots of fish and one of them may be a nice surprise. I would love to come with you mate but my old body ain't up to a walk like that just yet.

Do it Steve, don't think about it, do it. and good luck.

a 2lb roach is easy to catch i am onli 12 and i have cought 1 the thing wat i did was just cast my line out and sr8 away i cought 1 lol.

good eh?

was quite hard to reel in like but.. good!
took about 30- 45 seconds to reel in,
id ont really count how many seconds it took me to reel in

Steve,

It is a worthy challenge and one which when fulfiiled will be immensely satisfying.

After having set myself a similar challenge from the Hampshire Avon Steve some 4 years ago, my big tip would be to fish the river hard when the conditions are spot on and forget it when not.When I did succeedd it was on a day when I knew that if I was to get the 2 it would be on day just like that ie mild,overcast and a river with colour in it.

The odds on a big roach when the river is in good trim i.e a bit of colour and warm are still stacked against you but when low and clear perhaps too neglible to warrant the effort.

Keep a couple of days holiday up your sleave and when the warm wet westerlies come in after a cold spell get on the river and fish it for all your worth.In fact give me a shout and I will join you.

Your shift patterns also look ideal for an hour or two late in the afternoon or evening.Have the rods set up and the tackle ready so you can go at the drop of a hat when conditions suit.An hour when the river is clock on is worth a day when not.

Bread flake either trotted or legered would be the traditional approach but feeder fished maggots can also be good.

If you do want to try for them when low and clear wait for the last hour before dusk.My own experience suggests that trying all day is fruitless.In these conditions maggots fished fine on a small hook and a very small feeder would be my tip.Alternate feeder and straight lead.Big baits during the day may not be as effective but possibly better at last knockings.

When legering try and avoid too tight a line between tip and bait as big roach can sense resistance accutuely and will spit out a bait very quickly.If you can fish acrooss with a finely balcnced set up so that you get a drop back that would be ideal.

Location is also vital.Try and find your fish first.The BA does seem to have a good track record.Mark Everard, who wrote "The Book of the Roach", has had a fair few 2's from the river.I would suggest this book over the John Bailey book as it relates more to your river.

Be vary careful though Steve, the capture of a big roach can easily become an obsession!!!!

On the lower river you have got to get an idea where they live! That will be an area of maybe 100 yards and according to conditions they will be in one of several swims in that area. These areas will be known if you ask around enough. They may be deep, they may be shallow but there will be a ledge or drop off as the flow goes downstream.

Next forget bread, maggot beats it in the long term but for it to work you need cold clearish conditions, a tinge is OK. This has the effect of putting the tiddlers down. Next you need to fish a heavier float than you'd think but dotted with fine line small hooks. Feeding is steady. Presentation is the key now - slow steadied presentation, not run at them, not stopped.

The final bit is perseverance. Accept some very hard days. Accept that bread is a better bait sometimes, and don't be afraid to fish it as well, especially in perfect conditions after a big prolonged flood.

If you are getting pound plus fish on a regular basis you are half way there, not a pun but at least there are better roach around.

Mark, would you opt for the leger over a float especially in low and clear conditions?

Nigel,

No!

The reason is that you are looking for subtle bites and good presentation.

I think you need to understand the differences in water between the Hants Avon between Salisbury and Fordingbridge, and the lower Bristol Avon from say Bradford down. One is shallow and fast, the other much deeper and slower. The upper Bristol Avon especially Melksham up is much smaller, mostly shallower and faster, and of course where Mark Everard concentrates his efforts. The methods for that water will be more comparable to those on the Hants Avon. Not sure where Steve intends concentrating his efforts though I bet there are big uncaught roach a lot closer to home than he imagines (same for me too!).

Some of my best roach catches on the Stour at Wimborne have been in very cold (snow on ground) conditions when it's been gin clear. The cold gets rid of the minnows, bleak and tiddler roach leaving the big ones. Mild clear low conditions can be very tough.

This subject is too huge for a forum, though Walker's critical factors come into play as ever, starting with:-
First find your fish. Which is where I struggle on the Stour nowadays not that I worry too much as long as I can catch some roach. Still got 100,000 words on big roach sat in a folder...

Mark and Nigel, the stretch of the Avon that I told Steve about in the Autumn is a noted big roach and chub water and a float fishermans dream. Thats not to say that a feeder wouldn't catch but it really isn't necessary, its slow, smooth and dotted with cabbage patches and weed beds and averaging 4ft in depth. Its one of these rare river stretches that just takes your breath away and screams fish at you. It also contains tench and the odd barbel but its more noted for its roach and chub.

Trevor West told me about it a few years ago and he actually complained on the phone once that in his search for very big chub he was thwarted time and again by big roach up to nearly 3lbs. Just the sort of thwarting I need I said to him.

Its not exclusive either which is the wonderous thing about it. If you are really interested you supply the wink and I will give you the nod but not on here in the open of course. Its not that far down the motorway Nigel, an hour maybe.

Thanks guys, really interesting stuff.

Graham, I haven't forgot your tip, it is one of three venues I will be looking at. I could always be your mule if you did fancy it mate, let me know if you do Graham I will be more than willing to help you.

Nigel I'm up for it if you are, I could take a friday off or maybe a Saturday or Sunday?

good luck with it steve i too have set my challenge for this year and i hope to acheive it... but the roach one has me worried. The tips you guys give out are great. You'll make an angler out of me yet

You aint doing too bad already Wend ;-)

The roach is just one of my personal targets and I should have made the decision years ago. Like I said, I've been fishing since I was six years old and I consider myself to be quite a good angler. I just want to take it one step further, it's a strange feeling, but I feel the time is right to move on. I always keep an open mind and never stop learning and FM is the place to be if you want to learn more about angling.

The friendship and willingness to share information and help others by the members of FM sometimes amazes me, they really are a great bunch of guys.

So next Friday it will begin, my car will be loaded up and when I finish at 11.30am I will be heading to the river to catch my dream. Tomorrow or Sunday will see me catch my first 3lb perch hopefully ;-)

Thanks again for the tips guys.

I've had a 2lb roach Steve, but it was a fluke, caught it on worm, when fishing for perch!!