Coloured water Roach

[JV44]

Spent yesterday afloat in a mates fishing boat trotting for Roach and as the river had coloured up they were having it ,Got a good line going and had a load along with some decent dace all to trotting tactics .

Thames Steve my guide for the day had the lions share of them along with a couple of good ones of around the 1lb mark and so enthralled were we with the trotting that a Perch hunt at the end was cut to an hour only...time flies when you are having fun .

Do Roach always go bonkers when a river has run clear for ages and then has flow and colour or does it just affect the bigger ones like that thames/trent/Severn???? any thoughts

[John Weddup]

The main thing mate is they are easier to fool in flowing coloured water.

 

Obviously they also feel the need to replenish energy expanded whilst living in the flowing water.

 

John

[lutra]

Spent yesterday afloat in a mates fishing boat trotting for Roach and as the river had coloured up they were having it ,Got a good line going and had a load along with some decent dace all to trotting tactics .

Thames Steve my guide for the day had the lions share of them along with a couple of good ones of around the 1lb mark and so enthralled were we with the trotting that a Perch hunt at the end was cut to an hour only...time flies when you are having fun .

Do Roach always go bonkers when a river has run clear for ages and then has flow and colour or does it just affect the bigger ones like that thames/trent/Severn???? any thoughts

Colour is just good.

 

I quite often have them in my swim when catching chub and barbel in clear condition, but don't catch them. Same swim, bait and rig with some colour in the water and bingo.

[Tigger]

Coloured water is usually combined with rising water levels and stronger flows which can cause fish to shoal up and head for more shelterd spots. When they're grouped together in numbers like that and with the added cover of coloured water they'll most likely have a confidence boost and compete for food much more readily than when they're spread across a clear river. This is gonn'a make them an easier target....just my take on it folks.

Saying that I have had some great catches in crystal clear water mid afternoon and on the brightest of sunny days....same as my best days trotting for barbel.

[Matthew Simmons]

Steve,

Not sure which is the major factor - but I've always found colour in the water turns them on. Maybe its the lower light levels, or the extra push. Nice to hit the conditions when they are perfect though - well done - it doesn't happen for me that often! M

[lutra]

Another good time seems to be dusk, so maybe it's the low light that plays a big part in getting them going.

[Tigger]

Another good time seems to be dusk, so maybe it's the low light that plays a big part in getting them going.

 

I've found they sometimes come on at dusk Brian. I remember ledgering using 1.75 test rods 2 ounce leads, 12lb mainline and 10lb braid hooklengths. I had four peices of corn hair rigged on a size 10 hook and as soon as it started to go dark I started to get pulls on the rod tip. After the initial pull the tip would just keep bouncing and it turned out to be roach hooking themselves against the pressure of the rod tip. The roach all varied between 1 1/2lb and just over 2lb. Although it was nice to catch roach of that stamp catching them in that fashion was no pleasure so after a few fish I packed up and fired off home. It would have been good to have been catching them with a lightish feeder rod etc but I just never got round to going back for them. They where in that swim we went to when the river was quite high, the one where you can fish with an ounce or less when the rivers at the top of the bank....remember ? Thinking back to when I had those roach the river was up about 6ft so not really high but coloured right up and just out in the flow it was rattling through.

Brian, maybe your corner would be good for them just now, I think there's about 5ft foot on so they might be holding up there. You could still grab an hours trotting after work and see if they are there. That spot I go to in the wood (just below that old dead tree with the slack behind it) had some clonkers topping there last year around this time so I reckon that would be well worth trotting a float through.

[lutra]

I've found they sometimes come on at dusk Brian. I remember ledgering using 1.75 test rods 2 ounce leads, 12lb mainline and 10lb braid hooklengths. I had four peices of corn hair rigged on a size 10 hook and as soon as it started to go dark I started to get pulls on the rod tip. After the initial pull the tip would just keep bouncing and it turned out to be roach hooking themselves against the pressure of the rod tip. The roach all varied between 1 1/2lb and just over 2lb. Although it was nice to catch roach of that stamp catching them in that fashion was no pleasure so after a few fish I packed up and fired off home. It would have been good to have been catching them with a lightish feeder rod etc but I just never got round to going back for them. They where in that swim we went to when the river was quite high, the one where you can fish with an ounce or less when the rivers at the top of the bank....remember ? Thinking back to when I had those roach the river was up about 6ft so not really high but coloured right up and just out in the flow it was rattling through.Brian, maybe your corner would be good for them just now, I think there's about 5ft foot on so they might be holding up there. You could still grab an hours trotting after work and see if they are there. That spot I go to in the wood (just below that old dead tree with the slack behind it) had some clonkers topping there last year around this time so I reckon that would be well worth trotting a float through.

Not fished that corner for a long time Ian (with you last time I think), give it a go.