Carp Lake Roach

[Tengisgol]

I have two carp lakes close to me where I have my eye on a big winter roach. On one, the owner was astounded when, during the summer and in an oxygen crash, a small shoal of massive roach came to the surface. As for size, if I said the number was bigger than 'two' you'll appreciate it made me listen!

The typical issues when trying for them is:

1) Keeping carp away
2) Keeping the smaller roach at bay

Both usually mean fishing in very cold conditions.

Also be wary of others telling you how big the roach are - I've seen lots of 1.5lb roach caught by carpers who put them back without weighing them and they claim they are well over "2".

Thanks, excellent advice, every word.

On the size of the fish, this is a chap that I have a lot of respect for. His lake has grown bream to 17lbs+, so no reason to doubt that it could hold a small shoal of very big roach. If I took his approximated size of these roach and knocked of a third, then they would still be very big fish! He tells me he saw them very clearly and for quite some time. Fortunately the oxygenator was delivered before any harm was done and they had disappeared back to the depths...

[Santiago]

Very nice fish! During the summer I started to use my kitchen scales to determine the weights of bigger roach that I was calling 1lb'ers, only to find they only weighed 10-12oz. Regardless, I could sit and catch those all day!