River roach rigs

[Tigger]

2 fingers to the safe brigade. Any rig is only as safe as the angler that is using it.

 

 

Can't argue with that Brian .

[gozzer]

Can't argue with that Brian .

 

Neither can I.

It was always my standard river bream rig, in my match days. Saved tangles, easy to change feeders, easy to change to a straight lead if needed.

I heard many cries of "death rig", but that was by those who fished 'straight through' with heavy line.

 

John.

[Anderoo]

Another good day's roaching, although the day didn't live up to expectations - it looked perfect out there today, straight out of A Passion for Angling, still, misty, overcast, and the river had a nice colour and good flow. However, I think the lack of wind disguised just how cold it was (we felt it after dark, brrr!).

 

I had a dozen or so roach with the biggest a cracking fish of exactly 1lb. That probably sounds small to many of you, but it's a big roach to me!

 

The mad flurry at dusk didn't happen and it was hard work all day, and got harder as the day went on. I'm pretty sure I over fed them. Next thing to get right is the feeding.

[JV44]

Another good day's roaching, although the day didn't live up to expectations - it looked perfect out there today, straight out of A Passion for Angling, still, misty, overcast, and the river had a nice colour and good flow. However, I think the lack of wind disguised just how cold it was (we felt it after dark, brrr!).

 

I had a dozen or so roach with the biggest a cracking fish of exactly 1lb. That probably sounds small to many of you, but it's a big roach to me!

 

The mad flurry at dusk didn't happen and it was hard work all day, and got harder as the day went on. I'm pretty sure I over fed them. Next thing to get right is the feeding.

 

Anderoo 1lb Roach seems anything but small to me sounds like a cracking days sport even if it did get cold , the feeding thing is hard to get right in the winter eh/<>We bombarded the chub swim with enough bait to feed a small country had a couple of bites...missed em....well Rusty did....but you can`t really overfeed Chub can you..........

[Dick Dastardly]

Some people don't approve of it because of the death rig theory.

 

 

Some people = Modern carpers who know nothing else of any other type of angling and so push their values on to the rest of us

[Anderoo]

Anderoo 1lb Roach seems anything but small to me sounds like a cracking days sport even if it did get cold , the feeding thing is hard to get right in the winter eh/<>We bombarded the chub swim with enough bait to feed a small country had a couple of bites...missed em....well Rusty did....but you can`t really overfeed Chub can you..........

 

I don't think you can on rivers like the Thames, I've got into the habit of lumping it in for the chub! I need to scale right back for the roach, resist the urge to prime the swim with a few balls of mash and just use the little feeders, and swap the mashed bread for liquidised I think. They are a very interesting challenge, I'm so glad I stumbled upon them. Very fickle creatures.

 

Here's the 1lb fish from today - the pictures never really do them justice do they, it looked awesome in real life:

 

 

They're all pristine fish, I could look at them all day long! I don't think they've ever been caught before.

Edited January 29, 2012 by Anderoo

[gozzer]

Another good day's roaching, although the day didn't live up to expectations - it looked perfect out there today, straight out of A Passion for Angling, still, misty, overcast, and the river had a nice colour and good flow. However, I think the lack of wind disguised just how cold it was (we felt it after dark, brrr!).

 

I had a dozen or so roach with the biggest a cracking fish of exactly 1lb. That probably sounds small to many of you, but it's a big roach to me!

 

The mad flurry at dusk didn't happen and it was hard work all day, and got harder as the day went on. I'm pretty sure I over fed them. Next thing to get right is the feeding.

 

A 1lb roach is not to be sniffed at Andrew, a nice looking fish.

 

As regards feeding, as I said earlier, I've found a cloud groundbait and very little feed, is the best way to go. I've even used small balls of wet sand just to colour the water, with a few bits of loose feed, to get them interested.

 

John.

[AddictedToScopex]

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.

[Anderoo]

A 1lb roach is not to be sniffed at Andrew, a nice looking fish.

 

As regards feeding, as I said earlier, I've found a cloud groundbait and very little feed, is the best way to go. I've even used small balls of wet sand just to colour the water, with a few bits of loose feed, to get them interested.

 

John.

 

Cheers John - next thing to try is liquidised bread, then if we need to scale back even more, brown crumb or a fine groundbait.

 

ATS the Ribble does sound a fantastic river, hopefully one day I'll make it up there. I'm sure the chance of a really big roach from the Thames is remote, but it's all relative. A pound plus roach from the Thames will always put a massive smile on my face As you know it's not all about pounds and ounces

[AddictedToScopex]

As you know it's not all about pounds and ounces

Very true. I suppose as you say it is indeed relative. A 1lb roach is fairly common on the stretch I am talking about which I suppose to some makes it less special but to me each one of them puts a big grin on my face lol. The thing with the ribble is location. The big fish are certainly there in numbers as locals will tell you but unless you know where you just arent going to catch them regularly. Please could you pm me the location of where you fish the thames anderoo just so I can take a look on google earth. I am intrigued as to what it looks like as we hear so much about it but can only visualise it in our heads. Of course I would not divulge its location on here (or to anyone who asks me) and being a northerner there is no chance of me coming down and looking for your post-its honest lol. I am merely curious.