Jack Hargreaves on roach

[MGs]

Great fish.

Been trying for 40 years to catch one. Been close on a number of occasions, including several multiple 1lb + nets. My dad is still gloating, because he has cracked the 3lb :shock:

[J.T]

3lbs, now that is a fish of dreams. :hat:

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Yesterday I started my quest for that elusive 2lber. A freind had caught one of 2lb 2oz a couple of weeks previous and invited me to the spot to try my luck. We had the most wonderful day using a delicate pole float off the end of the rod tip but we only managed fish to around 12oz. I am now actively seeking a cane rod, light enough to fish for roach and grayling so if anybody has something laying around not being used that could go to good use, please let me know.

:hat:

[J.T]

Sorry Stu not got one spare but I will keep my eyes open for you. :thumb:

[MGs]

Yesterday I started my quest for that elusive 2lber. A freind had caught one of 2lb 2oz a couple of weeks previous and invited me to the spot to try my luck. We had the most wonderful day using a delicate pole float off the end of the rod tip but we only managed fish to around 12oz. I am now actively seeking a cane rod, light enough to fish for roach and grayling so if anybody has something laying around not being used that could go to good use, please let me know.

:hat:

I have a possible, I will take some measurements and PM you some details tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for, so no promises that it will fit the bill. From my perspective roach rods are more about feel than specification.

[MGs]

Now that we have strayed on to this aspect, what do people consider to be a good roach rod?

Here is my 2p or should that be 2d (on this forum at least).

My ideal rod is approximately 11' long with a stiff/tip action. My reason being that roach bite, for the most part, fairly quickly. This requires a quick pick up of line in order to hook the fish before it drops the bait. For this reason, I don't use my lucky strike for roach, as I feel that the action is too soft. Ideal for dealing with chub, bream etc where the bites are more positive. I find both of my Sealey's fit the bill (Octofloat and Floatcaster).

[GloucesterOldSpot]

I have had a few rods over the years that would be considered suitable, but most have be wanting in some regards. The Wallis Wizard is excellent, but a shade too slow and powerful for roach except on the Avon and like rivers. I had an exquisite pre-war Hardy until a couple of years ago when I foolishly (though necessarily) sold it. Originally eleven feet long, it had lost a bit off both the tip and middle sections and was around ten feet-eight inches, with whole cane butt and middle and s/c tip, and weighed just seven ounces. A ten-quid Milward Matchmaster was too stiff, and two Lucky Strikes were too floppy, as was a Record Breaker. I am currently testing a Milward's Swimversa which is surprisingly nice, though the weird three-stage action curve takes some getting used to (I'm assuming one will get used to it, eventually).

I guess if I could have any cane roach rod I wanted, I'd have two! One would be twelve feet long, three piece with whole cane butt* and middle and full-length split cane tip tapered quite quickly between six and thirty inches from the thin end** to give it some meat just above the top ferrule. I'd want a twenty-four inch cork handle with sliding aluminium reel bands, the whole thing weighing no more than twelve ounces (ten would be better). That would do for float fishing. For legering and general mooching about I'd have an eleven foot two piece split cane not unlike a Hardy Roach Perfection but with a faster taper to the tip and a slightly stiffer hollow-built butt section. No reason why some a thing should weigh more than nine ounces.

*Thinking about it, I might opt for a reverse tapered split cane butt as with the S/V; the extra weight is negligable and the spring in the handle really does make the rod cast well; I've used it to fish a waggler on a local lake and it really punches it out. Accurate too.

**I think this sort of tip fitted to the S/V design would markedly improve it over the original twin-taper design, which I cannot fathom. Why go to the trouble (and it must have been more difficult) to incorporate a sudden step up in diameter between two otherwise quite slow-tapered lengths of split cane, when they could have simply spread the taper over a couple of feet or so?

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Yesterday I started my quest for that elusive 2lber. A freind had caught one of 2lb 2oz a couple of weeks previous and invited me to the spot to try my luck. We had the most wonderful day using a delicate pole float off the end of the rod tip but we only managed fish to around 12oz. I am now actively seeking a cane rod, light enough to fish for roach and grayling so if anybody has something laying around not being used that could go to good use, please let me know.

:hat:

I have a possible, I will take some measurements and PM you some details tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for, so no promises that it will fit the bill. From my perspective roach rods are more about feel than specification.

Wonderful, I guess what I'm looking for is a general all round float rod, be very interested to hear what you have on offer, many thanks.

[Davyr]

Now that we have strayed on to this aspect, what do people consider to be a good roach rod?

Here is my 2p or should that be 2d (on this forum at least).

My ideal rod is approximately 11' long with a stiff/tip action. My reason being that roach bite, for the most part, fairly quickly. This requires a quick pick up of line in order to hook the fish before it drops the bait. For this reason, I don't use my lucky strike for roach, as I feel that the action is too soft. Ideal for dealing with chub, bream etc where the bites are more positive. I find both of my Sealey's fit the bill (Octofloat and Floatcaster).

Oddly enough, the soft action is exactly the reason why I do use my Lucky Strike for roach on my local canal. A less soft-actioned rod results (for me anyway) in an unacceptably high number of hook pulls when the roach do their rolling-on-the-surface-however-much-you-try-to-keep-their-heads-down routine.

I find that fast-biting roach are usually small ones caught when fishing off-bottom with baits like caster, maggot, or hemp. Most of my roach fishing takes place after dark, using large, laid-on baits (usually bread or worm) and the bites are invariably slow and un-missable.

Mind you, as Mister Crabtree points out, roach inhabit all types of water and the tactics and tackle used to catch them can vary widely from place to place.

[MGs]

Just goes to show what a personal thing tackle selection is. I'm pretty sure given a stretch of water there would be a wide variety of rods and reels chosen. Probably as many as there were anglers.