Prime Redfins

[John Aston]

Like everybody else (I assume ) I have always had a soft spot for roach. They were the fish one graduated to after growing weary of sticklebacks and tiny perch . I used to catch a lot on the Yorkshire Ouse in the 60s but only rarely have I fished for them since.North Yorkshire is not really noted for roach, with chub and barbel ,trout and grayling being the usual target . But not this winter, with its incessant floods.

So....I have been casting around on various stillwaters and catching roach(rarely over 8oz) , perch, skimmers and rudd and it's been just fine . But here's the thing - I have been revisiting a farm pond which was stocked with carp some years ago. I fished it for carp when I couldn't walk very far because of back problems (long since gone thank God). I had heard reports of nice roach and have been fishing there over the last few weeks. And..I think it's the best roach fishing I have ever had !

Typically I am catching 15- 25 roach a session ,nearly every one of which needs the landing net as the average is probably 10oz. Some fish to 1-4 , and all fit as fiddles, perfect nick and pull really quite hard. Not easy fishing as the bites are bloody hard to hit - I have scaled down to a 4bb Drennan antenna and a 20 on 2lb hooklength, Single maggot and a quick strike are doing well - only down side (if fun ) are the bloody carp.I have had one every trip and two on last one . Amazing what patience and a bit of technique can do with a tiny hook as I haven't lost one yet. Biggest was 9-6 and 10-15 minutes to land. And then one has to start getting the roach going all over again.

I would rather be chubbing or grayling trotting miles from anywhere but I am not complaining. God knows why the roach are so good- the pond is quite hard fished by mainly carp guys at weekends and the only other fish are very stunted tench . Maybe it's the boilies etc?

But I have learned that even if plan A B and C are foiled it's fun finding a plan D !

[Vole]

Wow! Wish I had a plan D like that! It would soon find itself promoted to "A".
Good luck sorting out some big ones ... got any more alphabetised plans? (Cheese in the Summer might be more roachy, less carpy than all-species baits like maggots, bread and worms, for instance).

[Olly]

A friend caught loads of carp - more than anyone else - from a carp syndicate and wouldn't say what the bait was. We found out a long time later it was not a specially flavoured boilie as we all thought but -- simply cheese!

[Vole]

Every time I've offered carp cheese, they've offered me a distinctly cold shoulder. Oh, well!

[Tengisgol]

That sounds like marvellous roach fishing John. I think we have a like-minded approach; I too would rather be up a hillside or in a quiet valley but if I can find a twist on a suburban water it still intrigues me enough to want to fish it. Plus with roach of that quality...very nice.

One of the themes I very much picked up from Mark Everard's roach books (and perhaps it was Mark Wintle's too) was not to automatically overlook small still waters for big roach because they can still spring a surprise. I also think there are lots of very big roach going untroubled in the carp waters and they are waxing fat on the large quantities of bait being heaved in.

Would really like to see some pictures, I never tire of looking at large roach.

[John Aston]

Sorry - I don't do pictures. I ended up boring myself silly with my own ones , let alone other people's !

[Chris Bettis]

You have found a good water there by the sound of it, you have been catching some nice roach. My first choice of bait is bread in any of its form but crust has been the best for me everytime.

[DaceAce]

Just my sort of fishing! Much as I love trotting for roach I also fish a couple of stillwaters for them, mainly in winter. One is a commercial with plenty of small carp but these are mainly inactive in winter although the odd one comes along (just been restocked with carp so may be more of a problem now). I fish very fine - 0.08 hooklinks with barbless 22s and fish with maggots on the drop with small sensitive floats and just no. 10s down the line. I started fishing both waters 7 or 8 years ago and back then would have scoffed at the idea of a 2lb roach from either although after a couple of years I started to get odd ones over a pound and then last year had a 2lber from each of them. I think the heavy feeding of pellets/boilies benefits the roach as the part-digested pellets excreted by the carp is utilised by the roach. Certainly the better ones I get are solid looking fish. I don't worry about the carp and have had them to over 12lbs on the gear described.