Roach
The roach is a member of the Carp family. It is predominantly silver in colour, with a grey, sometimes brown back, with a hint of blue or green. Its underside is white. The roach has red fins and red eyes.
It is one of the most common fish found in the UK in still waters, canals and rivers, where it feeds in shoals on fly larvae, rotifers, freshwater shrimp, pond snail and water-weed.
Roach feed steadily all the year round making them a perfect match fish. They are most active from June to October, browsing for food on silt beds and weeds during the day and moving to shallow areas at dusk. During the winter months roach can be found in the deepest water.
They can live up to 10 – 15 years, but in comparison do not grow to very large sizes – a maximum length of 36 cm and maximum weight of 2kg. Any roach weighing in at 1lb or more is something to be proud of. The British Record currently stands at 4lb 3oz, caught in Dorset Stour back in 1990. Be warned however, roach-rudd and roach-bream hybrids are very common and can grow comparatively large – often mistaken for a headlining roach!
Float fishing seems to be the most effective way to catch roach and legered baits are just as effective. Regular feeding of the swim will encourage the shoal to feed confidently. Groundbait used sparingly can also tempt a wary shoal into feeding. Maggots and castors are the most popular and successful baits, as well as small redworm, bread paste and bread flake. Under the right conditions seed bait such as hempseed, tares, wheat and sweetcorn can be effective.
The trick is to keep up with the loose feed. A float such as a waggler with small shot (no.6 or 8) spread evenly down the line and plumbed to allow the hook to sit on or just off the bottom, will allow the bait to fall gradually with loose feed through the water. Stick floats work equally well in flowing water, again with a similar set-up.
Legered baits also need loose fed samples around the hook-bait and so it is recommended to use a swimfeeder.
Roach initially tend to be shy and their bites are registered by a mere dip or knock of the float, but as they gain their confidence the bites will become more positive. Pole fishing is particularly effective.