The best UK roach river

[tiddlertamer]

The closed season for rivers is nearing its end and the chance to trot for roach will be with us again soon.

No one likes to give away details of their favourite swims. But rivers stretch for many, many miles.

Which rivers are good for roach and which bad? In terms of both quantity and quality.

I've heard some complain here about the lack of roach in the Kennet. Others praise the Hampshire Avon - not for its quantity of roach but for the fact that you might, just might, hook a 3lber. The Thames gets mixed reviews. In some places poor, in others sublime. Is the Wensum a shadow of its former self? The Great Ouse per chance? Has the river Lea got any stocks of the humble but beautiful roach to speak of? What about the Bristol Avon - as good as its Hampshire namesake if not better in terms of quantity. What about in the midlands and up north?

 

What do you think? Which river is best and why and which river is suffering and why?

[Guest Rabbit]

Any of the rivers you mentioned will produce quality roach. I love to fish for roach in the upper river systems, look or deeper pools in these areas and you will nearly always find a quality roach or two. Wonderful way of fishing,

[dant]

Interesting subject tt. I hope you get a few bites.

 

I'm remarkably under traveled in terms of fishing across the UK so I couldn't really even cast aspersions as to which river could claim the no 1 spot. I do however know a little about the rivers of Norfolk and North suffolk Broads areas, enough to know that the chances of 2lb or larger Roach in the non-tidals are extremely dire. The tidal rivers are a good bit brighter.

 

I'll start with the one most people know about.

 

The Wensum.

 

Now known for it's three or four stretches that are knocking on the door of the Barbel record it was once equally well known for the shoals of big Roach but a fair amount of water has passed under the bridge since then. There are undoubtedly still fish in the river above the 2lb mark.

I've seen them myself on close season spying trips on a stretch in the Taverham area and in the Lyng area, small shoals of maybe a dozen fish each time around the magic mark. The river at Swanton Morley looks like prime big Roach territory but I've not heard of fish of any size from there. Catches of good Roach are quite understandably kept close to the chest in this part of the world.

Why the decline? I'd say it's a combination of unfortunate episodes. The Wensum has suffered badly from mismanagement on the part of the EA and it's previous incarnations. There's some serious work to be done on habitat restoration.

There's the constant problem of water abstraction for agricultural use thats left the flow at half the pace it may of been in certain areas and caused the build of silt in spawning grounds. The rivers also suffered from some fairly serious cases of agricultural pollution in the past too, pig slurry and the like. Big Roach are sensitive creatures and seem to be the first to get hit when things go bad.

The Chub too have a stranglehold on the river and surely out compete the Roach. I'd have to say that the Wensum would be one of the nations premier Chub rivers these days.

 

Again unfortunately, all the above problems run as a theme on the rest of the rivers I'll mention.

 

On a brighter note the work of the Norfolk Anglers Conservation Society has to be applauded. They have their knockers but they may well be of the green eyed as opposed to red eyed variety. NACA have pledged to turn the water above the weir of their famous Sayers Meadow stretch back into a prime Roach fishery and good luck to them.

 

The Wensum only has a mile or two of tidal river in the stretch of Norwich city centre and most of the fish there are of Yare stock.

 

Chances of a big Roach - fair but extremely localised with insider info needed or lots and lots of hours on the bank.

 

General Roach stock - ok.

 

The Yare.

 

Probably the least explored of Norfolks major non tidal rivers. It rises South of Dereham and barely changes it's slightly sluggish streamy nature until past Bawburgh. It's never been noted for it's catches of Roach in the non tidal stretch and isn't now. The Chub fishing has improved which could indicate that the Roach fishing may never.

The stretches round Cringleford and Earlham look good but seem to hold few fish.

 

Where the Yare for it's Roach comes into it's own is on the tidal river. In my opinion anywhere from Trowse mill pool the start of the tidal waterway down past Cantley offers the best chance of good sized Roach in East Anglia. The fish are highly migratory and as the year moves on they shift further up river towards Norwich.

I would say the Yare's second to the tidal Bure in terms of quantity per mile but for quality I feel it comes out on top.

It's not fishing that has the glamour of long trotting chalk streams and the successful method is usually a fairly substantial feeder baited with red maggot, caster, corn or bread which will pick and often intended for the Bream and hybrids.

I have a feeling that once the Roach get to a certain size in the Yare they start to shoal with the Bream and hybrids. The Bream tend to stay in the main river during the Winter while the smaller silver fish head for the dykes and boatyards. Very few Roach over a certain size are taken from these Winter retreats.

 

Chances of a big Roach from the non tidal - dim. From the tidal - pretty good.

 

General roach stock - non tidal - poor. Tidal - very good.

 

The Bure.

 

Again the non tidal river is very under fished. It's small and streamy in most of it's upper reaches and good Brown Trout water.

It broadens and deepens around Oxburgh and below Buxton mill and here stands the best chance of the good Roach. I've had fish of 1lb 1/2 whilst Chub fishing in the Winter and I'm sure there are very small numbers of better fish.

Again like the Yare the tidal river is a very different story. It maybe dosn't have fish to the size of the Yare but it certainly has numbers even taking into account the loss of fish to salt water.

Your best chance in the Summer is around the St Bennets area and in the Winter up around Wroxham.

 

Chances of good Roach, non tidals - slim. Tidal fair to good.

 

General Roach stock - non tidal - poor. Tidal - very good - excellent.

 

The Waveney.

 

It's the river I know more about out of the lot.

 

In the 60's and 70's the Waveneys reputation for big Roach was in this part of the world second only to the wensum. There are pictures from that period showing experienced anglers with catches of large Roach of a dozen or more above 2lb's.

That sadly is now history. A large pig slurry pollution incident in the early 70's was the final nail in the coffin of the upper rivers Roach. That along with the introduction of large numbers of Chub from the River Wissey in the early eighties, settled the matter.

I fish the river around 2 or 3 times a week during the Summer months when the river runs crystal clear and I've not seen a Roach that looks any amount above 1lb. They may exist but I have severe doubts..

The tidal river has a fair number of good sized fish which can be caught surprisingly close to the freshwater limit in the Summer and back towards Beccles in the Winter.

 

Chance of good Roach. Non tidals - extremely dire. Tidals - fair to good.

 

General stocks. Non tidals - dire. Tidal - pretty good.

 

 

Hope thats of some help. It's a little pessimistic perhaps but it's hard to know how much so as so few people fish the upper rivers especially for the Roach and you never know whats lurking in a few of those weirpools...

[terry t shirt]

Unfortunately i wouldnt hold my hopes up of the ouse producing any large roach not in the upper scetions anyway. To much competition from big barbel, Chub and Perch. Most times in the summer i've caught bleak , dace and chublets with the very occasional little roach showing up. The nene might have half a chance though i havnt heard anything all the big roach seem to be very few and far between around this area.

[Peter Waller]

I had several roach over the pound mark from the Waveney last summer, a few approaching the two pound mark, and generally scale perfect. A good friend of mine had four over two pounds last year from Oulton Broad. The Waveney does seem to be on the up. Mind you, we have yet to see what damage the salt water incursion did. My gut feeling is that Oulton's underwater habitat was severely damaged.

[bluerinse]

I had several roach over the pound mark from the Waveney last summer, a few approaching the two pound mark, and generally scale perfect. A good friend of mine had four over two pounds last year from Oulton Broad. The Waveney does seem to be on the up. Mind you, we have yet to see what damage the salt water incursion did. My gut feeling is that Oulton's underwater habitat was severely damaged.

 

 

the warwickshire avon can produce good roach, they can take some tracking down as they tend to move around, and after last years floods it took me a while to find them again

[mdgfishing]

The River Witham in Lincolnshire do hold a good head of Roach , the bigger ones always seam to come out around the Christmas period. I have had some nice bags of Roach around the 3/4 lb mark from Tatershall ( My spelling not so hot ) I have also had a few at Stamp End Lincoln and the upper reaches around the Plough in Lincoln.

 

A few folk forget about the Drains and Canals that also have some Nice Roach , I have in years gone by caught roach over the pound mark from the Regent Canal, Th Sincel Drain too name a couple the Chesterfield Canal at Retford.

 

And the Biggest Bag of Roach came from the German River the Wasser But that may be a story for a cold winter's night

[dant]

I had several roach over the pound mark from the Waveney last summer, a few approaching the two pound mark, and generally scale perfect. A good friend of mine had four over two pounds last year from Oulton Broad. The Waveney does seem to be on the up. Mind you, we have yet to see what damage the salt water incursion did. My gut feeling is that Oulton's underwater habitat was severely damaged.

 

Four over two pounds in a season is good going. The tidals are definitely in better shape Roach wise than the non and you're right it will be interesting to see how the rivers go after the salt. It may take a good year or two until we have a better idea. I'v had Roach and quite a number of them up to and around 1lb 1/2 from the Waveney whilst Mullet fishing, with Breydon Water just round the bend...

[bingo]

It's a cliché but stay into dusk/dark. They do continue biting when it's dark. A nice lump of anchored bread crust resulted in this whilst touch-legering after dark. I hardly fished for them last season but will be trying harder next season (I always say that though... )

 

 

It was less than a pound but it was nice to catch.

[Peter Waller]

Dante, next time you are up that way, and bugger finesse, have a go around Haddiscoe swing bridge. No guarantees but you might have a pleasant surprise!