Soon be time for roach

[Anderoo]

Thanks again Mark. I will play around tomorrow and try to improve

[Steve Walker]

Edit - Steve, small cage feeder with mashed/liquidised bread.

That's what I imagined - getting itchy feet for some roaching now.

[Anderoo]

Good, hope you find them Steve. Planning on hitting the Thames too?

[Steve Walker]

Yes, if I can, though I have some gravel pit piking to do too which will occupy this weekend.

[Anderoo]

Quite a good result yesterday in that I got the method working well - shortening the hooklength was the key. This turned the rattles into big drop backs and hooked fish. In the end it was down to just 6".

 

Still none of the bigger roach, about 8oz the biggest so far. The average size is much, much smaller than previous years and I'm starting to wonder if the big roach are still there after the horrendous floods last year; logic says they are and that I should keep at it and stop worrying Something has changed though, as well as the little roach there are now quite a few chublets, which there never were before.

 

Hopefully we'll get some better conditions soon, this high pressure, clear skies and clear water can't be helping.

[Mark Wintle]

It's possible that the better roach you had two years ago have died due to old age. The good news is that there are stretches of the Thames with pound-plus roach still. It is also possible that whilst the short hook link gets you small roach the bigger ones may be less willing to get close. Just a thought. I was using around 30" on my last two trips.

[Anderoo]

They're still here - I just had one drop off under the rod tip. The hook point had turned over

[Anderoo]

Finished with more smaller fish but bigger than yesterday (I was a few hundred yards away in a different swim) plus the lost one, and a nice chub of about 2.08 - which did an excellent roach impression and had my heart racing til I saw it!

Edited November 23, 2013 by Anderoo

[Kappa]

Andrew was the big one the first fish?

[Anderoo]

Nope!