I'm reading 'Modern Specimen Hunting' by Jim Gibbinson which Peter Waller kindly sent me. During 1980-82 the author logged every 2 pound roach reported in Angler's Mail, and found the most productive rivers in descending order were:

Kennet
Hants Avon
Dorset Stour
Wensum
Wye

and Yorkshire Wharfe and Northants Ise also got a mention. They're doubtless all still great rivers, but not always for roach. Which are the best roach rivers today?

I would say the same top three John but in an arguable order.The days of plenty of big roach on the Wensum are now sadly gone and as for the Wye I never knew it was rated in the first place!

The Wensum is still a good roach river, but the biggies are rare. As a river it gets hammered by the match boys and I think we are now beginning to see the knock-on effect of their activities on the bigger fish.

Peter how do you think the match angling has affected the big Wensum roach?

I seem to remember the days of the big wensum roach, in the far distant past unfotunatly. The last time I was down, about 10 years ago the only decent shoal of big roach I could find were in a gravel pit beside the middle river.I also recall Steve Burke and some friends targeting some huge roach in the river beult(I think thats the spelling)! these were very impressive fish, even bigger than most of the wensun fish, but very hard. There used to be super roach in the tay but these are a mere memory as well, theres maybe the need for a roach conservation society, save the roach campaign or at least some thought given to the welfare of the big roach of britain!!

big roach in rivers are now rare but isn't it true that gravel pits are still able to produce the goods in the way of two pounders?

I just knew someone was going to ask that question, Budgie, just didn't think it would be you!!

Roach on the Wensum congregate in huge numbers in the City reaches during the winter. Reaches that are easily accessible and are used for frequent matches. It would be nice if the match boys targetted biiger fish, allowing the wee beasties a time to atleast breed once before targetting them.

It's only a personal theory but you only have to look at the main match rivers of the 60's and 70's, rivers that are only now coming back on stream. Coincidence or not?

Fish are handled with dry hands, often caked in groundbait, lobbed into keepnets, not good for healthy fish.

The Wensum roach move onto the Yare during the summer, into the Beauchamp Arms area, same situation, same result.

As I say, just a personal theory.

The bigger roach of the wensum came from in the main from above about lyng. There were big shoals of them in the london anglers stretch, the best of the fishing was around Swanton morley,bylaugh and north elmham. These were the fish that john baily ,JJ john wilson etall used to chase. I was fortunate to live at swanton morley through the 60s and as ateenager my best night produced 5 2s in a bag of some 17 or 18 fish. The massive water abstraction in the valley due to the coruption of the water table did nothing to help these super fish. The roach in norwich were usually a different stanp of fish,the stretch outside the station down to carrow rd football ground produced good bags of about 1lb fish, mind you fishing there when norwich were at home could be hairy!

Yep, Jim, that's the spelling. Nigel Witham had them to 3-14. As you say, very hard indeed, because of the small numbers of roach, all of which were over 1lb. Soon afterwards they died out.

Sadly I don't think the Kennet is still there for roach, though it's a great river for other fish. I've just looked up John Bailey's 'Roach - The Gentle Giants', pub 1987. He rates the Wye as 'One of the great roach rivers of the 90s', though of course that prediction may not have come true. I don't have experience of the Hants Avon or Dorset Stour. According to JB's book the Avon had very few roach at that stage, but the few it had were specimens. The Stour was a more balanced river.

There's got to be somewhere good for roach. A few years ago the angling papers were heralding the Severn for a roach comeback, I don't know if that still applies. I was talking to a Reading AA angler the other day who claimed that the Thames is quite good for roach at the moment, though I guess it must depend which part.