Roach fishing. A catch of a lifetime!

For some time, I had known of a lake not too far away from me that had a history of big Roach. In the past I believe it had produced a fish of 4lb or maybe just over that weight? I knew a few people who were fishing there and kept in touch with news from the venue. One of my friends had a great season on there and had some amazing catches. I did not have a fishing plan for the coming Autumn/Winter so I decided to take the plunge and get a Winter ticket for the Lake and see if I could catch myself a Roach of over 2lb. A modest target for this Lake but it would be a new personal best if I managed to achieve this.

My first trip to the Lake was around mid-September. The conditions were not great with high pressure, bright sunshine and very warm temperatures. I arrived early in the morning and the surface was alive with Roach topping. Most of the activity was in one corner of the Lake so I set up in this area. The Lake is a Carp syndicate and the Roach were probably feeding on some of the boilie bait that was going in for the Carp? It made sense to use small boilies in the feed and as hook baits. I know this tactic was used by other anglers targeting the Roach, so it was a proven tactic to use until the water temperature dropped significantly. I was using Dynamite baits frenzied hemp and green lipped muscle method mix groundbait in my open-ended feeder. Hookbaits were a washter 7mm barrel on the feeder rod and a cut down source bottom bait over a scattering of the same bait on a running ledger rig. Casting regularly through the day brought me the odd small fish but feeding was not high on the agenda for them due to the conditions.

I was very keen to get back to the Lake, so I was back a few days later for an afternoon session. The conditions were much more favourable with low pressure and some patchy heavy rain showers.  There was not as much activity from the fish as the previous trip, so I opted for a swim on the end of the wind in a corner of the Lake. There was also a pump in this corner so would possibly be a good holding area as it provided cover for the fish. My feeder rod was cast to this corner and my mini boilie rod was cast more into open water with half a dozen boilies fired over the top every 15 minutes. The feeder was cast every 15 minutes too and was the first rod to signal a bite. A lovely Roach of about a pound in weight was soon netted. The boilie rod was away about 15 minutes later with a similar sized fish. The better sized fished certainly seemed to bee feeding on this occasion as the next bite that came to the feeder felt like a much better fish. It kited to my left and I was worried it would deposit the hook in the shallower margin! I picked up the net and went towards the fish to scoop it up before it could do that. I drew it towards me and as it came to the surface, I could see it would easily the biggest Roach I would have caught to date. I scooped the fish up in the net first time of asking much to my relief. It weighed 2lb 6oz and was indeed a new personal best Roach.

It was a few weeks later before I could get back to the Lake. Conditions were not great on this occasion, but I have to fish when I have time whatever the conditions. The Lake felt very different now. It was well into Autumn and the mornings were on the chilly side. Fish activity on the surface was at a minimum and I just knew it would be a struggle. I had a few small Roach on the groundbait feeder but not a sniff on the boilie rod. That was until about an hour after dark and I had a drop back on the boilie rod. I hit into the fish and was met with a very hefty feeling weight. I thought it was either a record Roach or a Bream. And yes of course it was a Bream! It was a crazy fish and wiped out the other rod! I took that as a sign so packed up thinking a change was needed for my next visit.

It was now feeling much more like predator fishing season so when Giles asked if I fancied a trip out trolling for Pike I jumped at the chance! Conditions were great with a mild breeze and overcast skies, so we were hopeful of some action. As always I got to the venue nice and early. We were fishing a small Fenland River that has good form for Pike and Perch. I had my dropshot rod with me and while I was waiting for Giles to turn up, I cast a Lobworm out in a pool to see if I could get a quick bite. Sure enough I soon had the tip of my rod knocking away. I struck into a solid feeling fish and a nice Perch came doggedly to the net. At around 2lb in weight it was a lovely bonus fish. Not long after this Giles pulled up and we set about getting the boat ready for the day.

We set off downriver trolling hard jerkbaits behind us. Just one rod each and holding them so we could be in contact with any fish straight away. The first half an hour was very uneventful with no action coming to either of our rods. Eventually we came to an area we had caught some good Perch from in the past so as we slowly drifted, I dropped a worm over the side on the dropshot rod with an almost instant result! After a short tussle I netted a gnarly old looking Perch and was another lovely bonus fish on what looked like a hard days Pike fishing ahead of us. Thankfully it did not take long for the Pike to start smashing our lures after we got trolling again. We were getting regular action all along the River from that point and double hook ups happening on more than one occasion. The Pike were not big but provided lots of fun and by the end of the day we had boated 23 Pike!

By the time my next Roach session came along it was mid-November and a change of tactics was employed after the lack of action the previous trip. I was using maggot feeders fished helicopter style on both rods. Short fluorocarbon rigs. One had a small size 14 hook with single or double maggot and the other was a large size 10 wide gape with a fake maggot on the shank and two lives on the bend. The idea being I would get lots of bites on the small hook and less bites on the big hook, but hopefully from the bigger fish. Every cast I made I would first pour in a generous helping of my favourite Dynamite baits xl liquid strawberry for high attraction to hopefully draw the fish to my hookbait, which was also dipped in the same liquid.

Action was coming on a regular basis with Roach to just over a pound in weight. Perch also kept the alarms bleeping as fish to about a pound joined in on the action. The day was drawing to an end and Dusk had now fallen. There was little activity now so I decided I would slowly pack up and head home in half an hour’s time. As I was packing my bait away, I received a drop back on my left-hand rod. I wound into a fish that certainly felt bigger than anything I had hooked previously. It came towards me easily, but it did kite over my right-hand rod which I had to drop down in the water to avoid a tangle. As it was getting closer to the net the heavier it seemed to feel. I netted it first time but did not get a good look due to my head torch being on a low setting. As soon as I turned up the light level and saw exactly what was laying in my net, I said to myself “that’s a 3lber!” Or something to that effect! On the mat the fish looked massive. Really wide! I wetted the sling and zeroed it on the scales before putting the fish in it. As I lifted the fish clear of the mat the needle did indeed go past the 3lb mark and settled in-between 3lb 3oz and 3lb 4oz. I settled for the former as I didn’t want to be greedy! Lol

I was absolutely shaking, and I didn’t think self-take pictures would be a good idea. Luckily, earlier in the day another member, Richard, offered help with pictures if I needed it. So, I took him up on the kind offer. Richard and another member James came over and took some great pictures for me. Interestingly the big fish came to the rod with the big hook as did all the better fish previously. It certainly seemed to confirm my reasoning behind using it, and I’m glad I did.