River roach rigs

[Phone]

Tigger,

 

Form the video it looks pretty easy to me. Think I'll stick with the more crafty and difficult carp.

 

Phone

[Tigger]

Rusty had a good Chub haul from there recently i believe but he wasn`t good enough to connect with any big river Roach

 

 

Arrrgh, course he's good enough Maybe the roach are thin on the ground there these days. Most species seem to have troughs and peaks over the years most likely caused by weather conditions at spawning times etc etc.

[Rob Ward]

You really should get yourself up onto the Ribble at some point Anderoo if your getting into your roach fishing. I know a spot where 1lbers are the norm and you would just love it. Some lovely chub up that way too. I plan on going down there next weekend for a session on the maggot feeder to try and winkle some out. Been a while since I fished that particular stretch. Had some belting winter trotting session on there.

 

Congrats on the success by the way.

 

Fancy some company, I've been planning on hitting the Dribble for a couple of weeks now?

[watatoad]

sorry mr toad i do not mean to cause offence to you i do not know much about river fishing and only fish commercial style pools for roach and catch some nice fish but only to just over qtre kilo and they not look at good as river roach

 

i would not even know how to start to catch the best river roach

 

 

Hi Azrael,

 

First I am not upset or cross with you, you don't know me from Adam or Eve, and no offense was taken. So why would I get upset? Plus there is no need to call me Mr. ... Most who have talked to me just call me Toady.

 

Anderoo, Hi I have not vanished but I have been a little tied up, attempting to write a little...hehehe I got persuaded to write a short story on another forums newspaper. I only did it to prove my wife and others were totally wrong and I cannot write for toffee, but sadly, I was the one who was wrong and everybody liked the story. So bending to my wife's pressure I am writing five books at the same time, along with a few short stories, I thank whoever for the spell check facility. Personally I think they will be rubbish but 'she who must be obeyed, (well kept quiet at least).' seems to like them, as do my son and whoever he has shown them to, so we will see. Maybe I will leave them to her in my will and she can take the flack for my feeble efforts.

 

Whatever money I can scrape together I am taking with me or else I will have to come back for it...hehehe

 

I have been thinking about your problem a little and wonder if you would be so kind as to indulge me with an idea to see if it is your rod and line combination or your setup. Switch to a caster hook and use casters for a couple of hours just one caster put the point in the end then thread the caster around the hook and just push the tip of the point a bit less than 1/32" (.5mm) out the side, because there is no way on Earth I can see anyone missing a bite on that setup, dot the float right down finish with a number 12 or 14 lead shot about 4" (10cm) from the hook. Unless there whole setup is out of balance with itself.

 

I did think of asking what rod and line you are using but as I would be fishing in a different river probable under different conditions although interesting to do a copy if I either have the same rod or could borrow a similar rod, it would just be a fun exercise rather then a serious experiment. Should I be fortunate and have guessed the problem I will send you a pm with an interesting (and unusual...hehehe) bait suggestion you might feel like trying and no you don't have to do anything terrible to make it up well 'how well do you get on with your partner'.

 

One tip I and any serious Roach angler will say to anyone after the good Roach is light tackle cannot be beaten, unless you go ultralight and you and the rod really need to be up for it as every landing will feel like you are breaking the all time best Carp or Salmon records and yet the Roach may only weigh a pound. So be gentle with them, you cant bully a big Roach no net even a pounder on ultralight tackle you will be broken.

 

If you want a laugh here is a link to the story. http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coars...en-and-now.html ...I am still not convinced it is any good.

Edited February 2, 2012 by watatoad

[watatoad]

The other thing I have found with after dark sessions for roach on the rivers is there seems to be a golden half hour. They suddenly turn on and there is almost too much action to keep 2 rods in.

 

They have a feeding session that when its cold might only be 10 mins or up to 30 and it happens at different times on different days. Normally somewhere between sunset and 9pm.

 

My match mate and I fished a weirpool several times one of us would be in the shallows and the other in the deep water and when bites started we both got them and when they stopped it happened in both swims. You could sit there another 2 hours and not get another bite from roach. We would occasionally still pick up chub.

 

One of my best chub catches came in a stretch not renowned for them but known by a few for good roach It was an evening session in the february from 7 until 9 it was chub city all fish over 4lbs.

 

You have to remember in the suffolk stour no one I know can prove to have caught a 2lb fish for many years although watatoad seems to have done so. A 1lb fish is a very good fish now.

 

John

 

Hi John Funny you saying about nobody catching Roach on the Suffolk Stour, as I have only seen two other anglers fishing the Suffolk Stour in over four months, except for a couple of Pike anglers who also did no good. You cant catch from a river if you don't fish a river.

[watatoad]

Andrew, do you touch leger with one or two hands? In other words do you feel the line with the same hand that holds the rod?

 

This is the way that I prefer, although apparently I'm in the minority. I prefer it as I've then got one hand free and can move it around or even put it into a pocket.. If I need to feed line then I push the rod towards the fish.

 

It's worth giving this a try if you touch leger the "normal" way. You may then be converted to the method.

 

Hehehe, You and I both one hand for touch legering best and only way for me, I could never master the two handed approach just seemed awkward to me. Do it with a pierced bullet rolling leger for more fun.

[watatoad]

Bob James - Passion For Angling - Ahhh, As some of you know I don't watch television very often but you say its on 'U' Tube then I shall have to search for it even it it does mean I will have to turn on Flash.

 

As you are so fixed on Bread and I have read the thread as opposed to just reading the main question or post, you just may like to give this a try although I would use a float.

 

Guessing what Mark would have suggested I would still loose the feeder and use the smallest bomb which will just hold the bottom, no weights on the line just a couple of stops, say 3' (90cm) between them, choose a long shanked hook say a size 14 or maybe a 12 barbless to 1lb line (if you are sure and confident of your ability to GENTLY coax the fish into your landing net use 1/2lb line) buy a cheap loaf of sliced bread (the cheapest and doughiest you can), tear the middle out leaving the crusts behind you can eat them if you get hungry. roughly (very roughly) tear not cut the middle into four pieces, then pinch the bread around the shank so as to form a bell with the hook inside hopefully barely touching the bread except for where it is pinched around the shank do nothing with the bell shaped portion and if you normally use any cosmetics e.g. an after shave, wash your hands very very thoroughly at least three timed and when you get to where you are fishing wash your hands with grass, if you smoke don't. Also do not eat anything that has a strong taste or smell to it, you can survive without a fag or any food for a couple of hours, you will not starve.

 

If you are confident on the shoal, then I would use another cheap loaf, first dry it in the oven then crush it up or drop it in the liquidiser and use it as a cloudbait a ball golfball size every ten minutes should be fine but feel free to groundbait more or less if you think it is right for you. I would introduce the ground bait where you are 10' to 16' (3meers to 5metres) upstream of the shoal.

[AddictedToScopex]

Fancy some company, I've been planning on hitting the Dribble for a couple of weeks now?

Yeah no probs rob. Will PM you.

[Anderoo]

This thread has reminded me that this time last year I was banging my head trying to catch some supposed big still water roach on an extremely un hospitable gravel pit on the coast! So.......

 

Stop whining Walker and least your getting bites and can work on the technicalities of hitting them I would have dreamed of getting bites I couldn't hit! You river Roach anglers dont know how lucky you are!

 

I hope your present campaign bears fruit although it already seems to have peed all over my results on the pit!

 

Oh and as for that PFA episode,your right Ive watched it countless times and it never fails to excite me even to the extent that I sometimes do a little sex wee!

 

Not whining, we're hitting the bites now We're also feeling very privileged to have found some good (quiet) river roach fishing, as there's not that much of it here. In all the years we've fished for the chub on various rivers, this is the first time we've found roach.

 

I watched the winter episode yesterday evening, now THAT roach will make you do a sex wee!

Edited February 2, 2012 by Anderoo

[lutra]

I haven't bothered with a backstop shot. I did try the fixed loop but no advantage that I could detect so I've stuck to a running feeder. The vital part is ensuring that the feeder only holds momentarily. Getting the feeder to move makes a huge difference. It's almost stret pegging with a feeder. Glad that Anderoo is having some success. Whether I'll get onto the Thames again this season depends on the conditions but I hope so.

I was merely pointing out that a sliding bolt rig can be achieved with out adding lead, beads and maybe other bits to your line that can't help much with sensitivity. I wasn't necessarily recommending using one for roach fishing.