Roach

The Roach is one of our most popular coarse species and a firm favourite with the nations anglers, be they young children catching them in a local stream or seasoned anglers seeking them on a winter river the sight of those red fins are always warmly greeted.

Roach are common right  acrosss the country, they are found in streams and rivers,lakes and ponds,canals and reservoirs. A favourite with match men who can put huge weights together when sat on a large shoal! RRoach are also much sought after by the nations specialist anglers who dream of catching a genuine 3lb monster!

The Roach or Rutilus rutilus in latin is often the first type of coarse fish caught by new anglers. this is due to their being so widespread and the fact that small juvenile roach are easy to catch. The British Roach record stands at 4lb 8 oz but a fish over 1lb is a good fish and any Roach over 2lb can be thought of as a true specimen. it is these larger Roach that most anglers hope to catch as unlike their smaller siblings roach of this size and bigger prove to be a very worthy target and notoriously hard to tempt.

Roach are caught on a wide variety of baits including Maggots,Worms,Casters,Bloodworm,Hemp,Tares and my favourite Bread but they can be caught on baits as unusual as Silkweed and Elderberrys. Their usual diet is on the aquatic insects which live in their environment which is why maggots and worms are a really top bait but it is well known that Roach will investigate any 'White' object which resembles food and i believe that is why Bread has accounted for more specimen Roach than any other bait. Bread punch or a piece of Bread flake is often the best way to tempt a large Roach and it is the bait i always make sure i have with me when targeting Roach. A piece of Bread flake fished in conjunction with a feeder and some mashed up bread to tempt them is a killer method for Roach and has caught me hundreds of specimen Roach over the years.

Roach fishing is I believe best on rivers and a great way of targeting them is by using a stick float, in this picture you can see a fantastic Roach fishing set up, You need a medium to large Stick or Avon type float say around 4 AAA you then attach this to the line using 3 float rubbers, you then place the bulk of your shot about 18 inches from the hook and then add a small dropper shot 6 inches from the hook. On most occasions you would want to fish near to the bottom and if using Breadflake feed the swim with small balls of liquidised bread as groundbait. This is an outstanding method for catching Roach and one of the most exciting and rewarding ways of fishing.

Roach are found in rivers right across the country and rivers like the Wensum and The wye have produced huge Roach in the past but it is the southern chalk streams such as the Dorset Stour, The Test and The Avon which most of us think of when we think of targeting specimen river Roach these days. These rivers still throw up good numbers of specimen Roach over 2lb every year and it is possible to catch a mythical 3lb Roach if you know where to look!

Roach may not have the fighting ability of  the Barbel or Carp but when you get into fishing for them and see how much skill is needed to tempt a true specimen the satisfaction of landing one often out weighs that of captures of much bigger fish. Roach fishing is addictive and often becomes a life long passion. I hope you will give it a go and see just how rewarding it can be!.

The Tench (tinca tinca)

The Tench was recently voted the nations favourite species in a poll taken by The Angling Times and anyone who has caught one will understand why. The Tench is found in stillwaters and lowland rivers, it is a hard fighting fish that is a favourite spring and summer target for many specialist anglers.

Twenty years ago an 8lb Tench would have been a real specimen that would have graced the pages of any of the weekly angling papers but now you would need to catch a 10lb+ Tench to feature in those. It is hard to say why Tench have grown bigger in recent years. One theory is the warmer climate and better habitat. Another is farming chemicals entering the water system. But what ever the reason Tench have never been bigger!

The current British record stands at a staggering 15lb 3oz caught by Darren Ward in 2001 from the Sheepwalk Lake complex in Shepperton, middlesex.

The image that comes to mind when thinking of fishing for Tench for most of us is that of a warm hazy day sat by a Lilly covered estate lake watching the tip of a float surrounded by tiny fizzing bubbles. This is not surprising as float fishing is probably the most enjoyable method of fishing for Tench, The Tench loves cover and weed as this is where it finds it's natural food of larvae,bloodworm and aquatic insects. This means they are often found in the marginal areas which allows for accurate plumbing and casting which is why the Lift Method is such a fantastic method of float fishing for Tench.

The Lift Method

The Lift Method is really very simple and gives fantastic bite indication. It is really only for fishing close in say up to a 2 rod lenghs out ideally in a swim with a level bottom. You Use a piece of silicone tube to fix the float to the line (Bottom end only) a peacock waggler is the perfect float for this method. You then plumb the chosen spot of your swim ,say next to a Lilly patch or next to marginal reeds. When you have found the exact depth move your float up 4 inches and the attach your shot 4 inches from the hook. This will allow your bait to lie on the bottom and when it is picked up by the Tench the weight will be lifted making your float lift up giving a clear indication of the bite.

Specimen Tench

For many specialist anglers their spring campaign would not be complete without netting a big specimen Tench. From the end of April thoughts turn to the vast gravel pits that are home to some of the biggest Tench in the country. Gravel pits such as Wilstone reservoir, Sywell reservoir and Horseshoe Lake in Gloustershire. It's waters like these that hold the really big Tench! Fish that go into double figures and it's the vast size and rich environment of these gravel pits that allow Certain Tench to grow to record proportions!

One of the best ways to target Tench in these pits is by using scaled down carp tactics such as in-line leads with  a boilie on a hair-rig fished in conjunction with a small PVA bag of free offerings fished over an area where you have spodded out a mix of particles such as Hemp,casters and corn.

Another great method is the Method feeder using a couple of fake casters super glued to the hair rig and placed into the method ball. Casters are a real favourite of Tench and should be used in spod mixes and groundbait. using fake casters means that you can be sure that small nuisance fish have not destroyed your bait and give confidence as you wait for that run!

Hot areas to look out for on gravelpits when targeting Tench are ledges and weedbeds, gravel bars and marginal shelves. These are all areas where Tench would find an abundance of natural food so they are great places to target.

Tench are renowned for being morning feeders so it pays to be on the lake at first light, this is also a good time to be watching the lake as Tench often show their position as they roll over the spot in which they are feeding. Also look out for the tiny pinprick bubbles that appear on the service as Tench root around on the bottom looking for food.

Top waters for specimen Tench are Wilstone Reservoir, Sywell Reservoir, Cemex Burghfield Lake,  Cemex Wraysbury 1 and Horseshoe Lake to name just a few. Check out http://www.tenchfishers.com/index.html for loads more information on top venues and Tench fishing tips.




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