Feeder fishing for roach

[The Flying Tench]

I can see that where there's a fair bit of flow. The bit of Kennet I've been trying doesn't have much flow. The problem wasn't that I thought the rod would break, just that, trying to swing the feeder out with too floppy a rod kept meaning that I bungled the cast - but I went tonight, and didn't do too badly casting in a slightly different way.

 

But I've remembered why I gave up on upstream ledger on the one occasion I tried it. The bottom had quite a few big stones and small rocks, and I wasn't convinced that a fish would dislodge the feeder. I guess it works best when you've got a flatish gravel bottom?

[The Flying Tench]

I forgot to say, in response to AJP's comment about the roach on 20 maggots etc that it blows my mind! It's so different from the advice in all the magazines. I guess one possibility is that you catch SOME roach that way, but that others take it in the delicate way the magazines talk about. I'd be interested to hear what other roach anglers think.

[ayjay]

John,

a quote from Dick Walker's Still-Water Angling.

 

"The majority of roach I have caught weighing upwards of two pounds were taken quite accidentally while I was fishing for other fish.Either they had taken monstrous lobworms meant for a specimen tench or perch,or else they had succeeded in absorbing a walnut sized ball of paste intended for carp"

 

It's really not that unusual for roach to take large baits. The fish that took the bunch of maggots went 3.5,but I've had others on three black beans on a hair rig(a black bean is the same size as a haricot bean).Large pieces of crust intended for chub have also taken good fish,in fact there are a few Avon regulars who fish with about half a slice of bread on the hook when flake fishing

 

A good friend of mine has caught a lot of big roach on 3/4" cubes of cheese when barbel fishing,although funnily enough I can't get a bite from roach on cheespaste which I use a lot in winter time.

 

I can distinctly remember one day a couple of years back trotting fairly large pieces of flake all day on the Stour and I had about 15 roach all between 1lb and 1.25 lb,there was a guy fishing about 400yds downstream of me with maggots who caught fish all day long, just about a fish a trot, but they were all about 4 - 8 oz.

[JW]

I'm finding at the minute particles are the answer to sorting out the bigger roach. Hemp/Caster/sweetcorn/maize in the feeder just sealed with a wee bit of groundbait. I would fish a blockend but can't get it to work right. Also Chopped Worm is something traditionally used for Perch or Bream but Roach love it too.