River Roach

River Roach, this has been  one of my favourite quests over the last few year's and the pinacle being to catch a 2lb roach from the river Ribble.  I have come very close and I could easily have fooled myself and I'm sure others with some of the fish I have landed. A few fish have been worth a re weigh and even a shake of the scales, which still always seem to settle a oz or two under the magic figure


The truth of the matter may well be my other great love is watching a float. Since I was a young lad I have been almost hypnotised. Session by session hour upon hour, transfixed by the site of a stick float wandering it's way down the river. I have promised myself to spend some time feeder fishing.  I would imagine that if I had spent more hours,  maybe only a tenth of the time on a static then my goal would have been reached.

So it may well be the case that a few sessions into the evening when the light fades into darkness  is when and how my target would be reached? Or maybe not!  The fish that realy counts, the one I am sure to remember will be on the float. I'm sure when it comes I will recall all the detail .....line used, hook, the float, rod, weather, most defiantly the swim and I will more than likley remember every little thing from the specoal day.
I seem to be fishing well enough, the main problem is the amount of smaller fish making my caster hemp approach difficult. Even tares are picked off by the chublet, which is a bitter sweet thing. Bitter..... it's a bit of a pain when my well placed and presented bait is smashed within a few seconds of its trot.  Sweet...... it's  good to see so many small chub in the river again.
A few thoughts on my approach.  I have found a two to three gram inline pole float is very good.  I love the stick but when your fishing a few rod lengths out and you need to slow the bait this is the best way. I now just need to fall on things in my favour. A dropping river with a touch of colour, a gentle up stream breeze,  to just hold that float a little and of coarse the main thing some hungry redfin!   The rod and reel, Drennan Accolyte  Ultra rod  is spot on for this kind of work and a mix of old and new when it's married up with an old Abu 506 closed face reel.
The best line for the reel is Drennan float fish, it does all that's needed very well, its robust, floats well and does not kink.
I stick with a general rule of thumb for roach when picking my swim steady water,half walking pace with decent depth it's also worth looking for areas they can find refuge in both from predation and flood. I would use a no4 shot per foot of water. I use a shirt button style paturn with shot  but depending on the wind and how even the depth and flow this style may be compacted, for example shirt button from half depth.  I use a Matrix twin swivel just above the hooklength and a couple of no 10s shot nipped on for perfect presantation . I realy like the new Matrix hooks to nylon,  the line is very tough for its breaking strain and the hooks are also spot on for this fishing, fine sharp and strong for example I landed an 8lb barbel while fishing this way. I would use  fishing maggot buried on a size 20s. Caster doubled up on 18s. These hooks are tied to 1.3lb or 1.5lb depending on the hook, silverfish or pole fish.  I have  16s/14s  for corn and some 12's for bread flake again these are on either the 1.5lb or 2.1lb hook length. The rest is down to time and a little luck!