Roach Help

[RUDD 99]

Double pineapple flavour maggots ledgered using a maggot feeder from an hour before dusk til a couple of hours afterwards.

[oneillbox 0]

as already stated, and particularly at this time of year, just loose feed maggots while fishing, only about 6 at a time, and fish either a piece of corn or a couple of casters on a size 16 hook. i find maggots useless as a hook bait for big roach, but casters are excellent. single corn is ok too.

[s_mac 0]

as already stated, and particularly at this time of year, just loose feed maggots while fishing, only about 6 at a time, and fish either a piece of corn or a couple of casters on a size 16 hook. i find maggots useless as a hook bait for big roach, but casters are excellent. single corn is ok too.

 

i agree, keep the small ones occupied, with maggots, then go in with the slightly bigger baits...like kids really..throw a lucky bag the kids love it...the teens say no way...lol

 

sean

[The Flying Tench 43]

Do let us know if any of the advice works. I face a similar problem on a small gravel pit, not that the roach go so big, and I won't be going there till the spring now But I'll be very interested, and so will others I'm sure.

[The Flying Tench 43]

I should have mentioned that when we've discussed this issue for perch people have suggested that the big fish will be on the edge of the shoal. I'm sure this applies for roach on the river, so it may well do in a lake.

[ayjay 482]

The smaller Roach will always beat the bigger Roach to the bait, the bait therefore needs to be something that the smaller roach can't handle.

 

You also have to accept that you are no longer fishing for bites but are fishing for maybe one bite from a big Roach.

 

I must admit to not fishing for Roach as often as I should do but let me recount briefly a couple of experiences; fishing the D.Stour one winters day some years back, I was trotting big pieces of breadflake and had about 15 good Roach in the day, these fish were all between 1lb and 1.75lb, the guy 400yds downstream fished maggot all day and caught dozens of Roach but they were all small. I've also watched a mixed size shoal of Roach on the Stour in the summer and the bigger fish in this particular swim will only ever take food on the drop, once it's on the deck they ignore it, it might be a different story in the dark of course.

 

Sweetcorn was a surprisingly good winter bait for Roach on the upper Lea when I fished it, but I think my main attack would be with breadcrust, on at least a size 8 hook.

 

I've caught quite a few big Roach by accident whilst Barbel fishing and they have all taken some impressive sized baits, on crude (for Roach) tackle.