The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Well, having lived all my life here in mid Norfolk I'm pleased to say that 2lb roach haved graced my net frequently although in the last ten years or so they have become quite a rarity. Mainly rivers but several stillwater fish too. Best river fish one of 2-15 and a bit!(weighed on match scales) and stilwater one of 2-06. I've never particularly targetted big fish but simply roach fished, whether float (preferred), lead or feeder and never found them especially difficult BUT as Olly and others have said, they have got to be there in the first place!
It was also quite noticeable that when the numbers of roach declined locally and chub became dominant it was not uncommon to catch one or two very big roach from the typical raft type chub holes when they would give a very good chub type pull on the quiver tip!
There are still stillwaters in my area with apparently big roach but as they are without exception carp waters I'm afraid they are a no go area for me these days.

Not many 2lbrs about.thats what makes them specimens.had a couple but that was down to plain old luck.the best time is when they feed up for winter,but we cant determine what size of fish will bite,all we can,do is make sure our hooks are sharp and good knots everytime we go fishing.

I am still hoping to catch a 2lb er and some years ago came very close with around 8 fish in one season being over the 1lb mark with the best running to 1lb 14oz I think yet prior to this I had never had one over 1lb. All were taken on bread flake from my Club farm pond. The baliff told me that a 2lb er had been taken and the best bait was sweetcorn so I switched to sweetcorn the following season but did not have a Roach even close to 1lb. Someone then told me the Cormorants had taken all the large roach but I find that hard to believe.

I still have a couple of trips every season for those Roach but I really do not try hard enough so my rewards are what I deserve at best.

I use ledgered sweetcorn on the Thames to catch the bigger roach, but I've read ledgered bread flake is very good so this season I will try that as well. I also read that whatever the bait, a ledgered bait will usually catch the bigger ones, and the time of day can be critical, with early morning or last light being key. But of course, if they're not there you won't catch them no matter how!

Find a pond where there's roach and where people feed the ducks,breads a favourite bait of mine but it doesn't work all the time.sometimes when they are on it,usually mid summer to autumn,I will try a bread and sweet corn cocktail.a piece of bread the size of a 10p can get those bigger roach.amazing the size of bread a roach can scoop up,when its been in the water for a few minutes its like soup anyway and the fish just suck it in along with the hook.

Santiago wrote:I use ledgered sweetcorn on the Thames to catch the bigger roach, but I've read ledgered bread flake is very good so this season I will try that as well. I also read that whatever the bait, a ledgered bait will usually catch the bigger ones, and the time of day can be critical, with early morning or last light being key. But of course, if they're not there you won't catch them no matter how!

Moving bread feeder in winter with flake on a 10 definitely finds bigger Thames roach; tiny feeders, though, that you'll have to make yourself and getting the right rod/line balance is important.

Santiago wrote:I use ledgered sweetcorn on the Thames to catch the bigger roach, but I've read ledgered bread flake is very good so this season I will try that as well. I also read that whatever the bait, a ledgered bait will usually catch the bigger ones, and the time of day can be critical, with early morning or last light being key. But of course, if they're not there you won't catch them no matter how!

I regularly used a float leger set up on the farm pond as the depth is a good 8 feet with bread flake as bait and that accounted for the large roach I caught a few years back - mind you I also had a few Bream and Tench. I have not been using the float leger set up in the last season or so - perhaps I need to return to it and have another go.

Well it seems that I am not alone. This subject would make an interesting poll question.

N9nty wrote:Well it seems that I am not alone. This subject would make an interesting poll question.

Good Idea N9nty the poll has been created.

viewtopic.php?f=205&t=21369&p=289595#p289595

I have had some big ones down the years although I do not weight fish very often, (lack of scales), I have had a few which would have been two. Last one was about 3 or 4 years ago when I had a really good one on the waggler and lost another which was even bigger. The Carp anglers have had them out to over 3lb but I have noticed the Roach fishing has not been so good over the last year. Saying that, I did have one of about 1 and half last Saturday, so there I still good fish there.