Winter is 'The' time for specimen roach

As the winter frosts take their effect and the weeds begin to die, the floods caused by the heavy rain gradually clear our rivers. This is the time when Roach form up in huge shoals and is when an angler can expect good sport if they pursue them.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am at my happiest when fishing for 'redfins' along one of our wonderful rivers during the winter months. I am lucky enough to have great rivers like the Dorset Stour, the Hampshire Avon, the river Frome and the River Nadder all on my doorstep. All of these rivers are noted as some of the best in England for roach fishing and all regularly produce specimen roach.

The roach is still one of our best loved  coarse species, although they do not grow particularly large. The roach record stands at 4lb 4oz,.caught from an Ulster lake by Keith Berry in 2006. It beat by an ounce the 1990 record, taken by Ray Clarke from the Dorset Stour, which I believe is still officially the largest roach caught from a river in the UK.

The roach is noticeable by its slim silver body, greenish blue back and distinctive red fins, they are one of the UK's most abundant and popular species and a familiar sight to most fishermen. Roach thrive in a wide range of  environments, from canals and ponds, to huge reservoirs, and of course the nations many rivers, This makes them readily available to fishermen and a firm favourite with most anglers..

You can catch roach on a number of baits, the best of which are probably maggots, worms and my favourite bread. Roach absolutely love bread! It doesn't matter if its punch, paste, crust or flake as long as it is presented well. Specimen roach (over 2lb) can take up to 15 years to grow to that size and become very wary and a formidable target for any angler. To catch them you must present your bait just right or no matter which bait you use you will only ever tempt the smaller fish in a shoal.

Without doubt my favourite method for fishing for roach on the river is by 'trotting'. This is a method of float fishing where the angler uses a stickfloat and lets it run through the swim, occasionally holding it back so that the bait rises and falls giving it a very natural appearance.

                                           
There are two main ways of shotting a stickfloat such as in the image above from  Lets-go-fishing.org which is the 'Shirt Button' style, named because the weights are spread out like shirt buttons. This is a good way of presenting a small bait such as maggots, but on the rivers that I fish and for fishing with bread flake, which is my normal bait for big roach, I prefer to baulk shot my weight like in the image below from Fishingmagic.com which shows how you bulk the majority of the weight together, about 18 inches above the hook, although I rarely use the dropper shot, preferring the natural weight of the bread to act as the dropper.

'Trotting' is a great way to fish for roach and a very enjoyable way to pass a day, but, if you are going to target specimen roach then you may be better to use a simple feeder rig. Simply use an open or cage feeder filled with mashed bread, and for bait a lump of flake on a size 12 hook to 3lb line. This is used in conjunction with a light feeder rod or a Avon type ledger rod. You can simply use a running feeder setup, although my favourite is the paternoster feeder rig like the one in this image Nisafeeders.co.uk which works equally as well on lakes and rivers and is very effective for specimen roach.

Feeder fishing is probably the method that catches the most specimen roach and is the specimen hunters first choice. If indeed you are planning to target the bigger roach, it is advisable to do a bit of homework. Although roach are in most rivers and lakes they do not always grow to specimen size. Roach have many predators and need a good environment if they are to reach their maximum size. I am lucky in that I live in an area that is full of fantastic rivers that hold roach, but still not every stretch will hold 'big' roach and I only target them in areas where they are known to exist to specimen size.

It is a well known fact that roach feed best in low light conditions so it is best to go after them on a cloudy day or toward the 'Golden Hour' that is the hour leading up to dusk. It is debatable if it is worth fishing for roach at night, I personally only fish for an hour into darkness, as I have found that it has rarely produced results to fish on after that time. Another good tip that i agree with is to look out for a fair south westerly wind, I don't know why it is but this during the winter can certainly put specimen roach into a feeding frenzy.

Roach may not grow to a huge weight, but for most anglers the satisfaction of catching a beautiful specimen on a cold winters day is equal to any other feat in fishing. Now is the time to go in pursuit of a big 'redfin' give it a go on a water near you.

The forgotten art of float fishing-part one

In these days where Carp angling is the most popular branch of the sport, float fishing has become a forgotten art. But for those that care to learn this simple discipline, hours of great sport can be their reward.


Float fishing is one of the simplest and best forms of bite detection. You can use a float to catch all of the species of coarse fish and indeed for some it is the best method to use. Using a float gives you the ability to spot even the most timid bites as soon as they occur and offers you the advantage of stealth by causing very little disturbance as you cast your bait into your chosen swim.It is a simple method to learn but not so easy to master.

To the novice angler the number of different types of float that are available to buy can be both daunting and confusing. Which float should you use? The answer can be simplified by knowing that there are two main types of float that are used in coarse fishing the 'Stickfloat' and the 'Waggler'. Simply by knowing what purpose each of them is used for you can bring you to a better understanding of which float you should use.

The 'Stickfloat' is a float designed specifically for running water. There are many different types and variations but they all come under the description of a Stickfloat so you would know that you only use them on running water such as rivers and canals. The type of Stickfloat that you use would depend on where you are fishing and what the conditions are like. Avons,Chubbers,Pin sticks and Balsa's are a few types of 'Stickfloat and each has its purpose and is suited to use in a certain river environment.

A stickfloat differs from a waggler because the upper body of the float is fatter than its base. It also differs from a waggler by being attached to the line at its top and bottom. This is done by using two or more float rubbers that keep it locked securely in place. The stickfloats fatter upper body allows for more stability in the flow and currents of the river and stops the float from riding up when 'Holding back' which is a technique that raises the bait to tempt bites as the float travels through the swim that is one of the great advantages of using a stickfloat.

Controlling a stickfloat is a skill that can only come with practice but when mastered it is a definite asset to an anglers armoury.

The 'Waggler' is primarily used on stillwaters but can also be used to fish at range on calm medium paced rivers. There are two types of waggler 'straight' and 'bodied', straight wagglers are what they say completely straight whereas bodied wagglers indeed have a fatter body which unlike a stickfloat is always at the floats bottom end, this aids both buoyancy and stability and are primarily used in rougher weather conditions or when fishing at long range.

Wagglers are attatched to the line bottom end only through the floats eye so there is no need to use float rubbers. As with the stickfloat there are many different variations such as Peacocks and insert wagglers. Again the type you choose to use depends on the swim and the conditions in which you are fishing.

The beauty of the waggler is the incredible sensitivity they give and their streamlined shape for distance casting. Some wagglers can take a lot of weight and allow you to fish at a long range but still provide instant bite detection.

Knowing the difference between a stickfloat and a waggler is the first step to mastering the art of float fishing. You can soon learn how to discern between to the two by having a look at a mixture of different floats in your box or the tackle shop. Obviously there is a lot more to know about how to use them successfully and in my next few articles i will be taking a closer look at the various types of each and be explaining how and where it is best to use them.

How to plumb the depth when float fishing

I have noticed that there have been a lot of posts on various fishing forums lately from novice anglers asking, How to plumb the depth when float fishing? To experienced anglers this may seem a simple matter but it is obviously confusing to some so I am going to explain how to do it.

Firstly lets look at what plumbing the depth means?
Plumbing is how we find out how deep the area of the river or lake that we intend to fish is. We do this so that we can set the depth of our float so that our bait is at the level we want it to be. For example if we are fishing a river with a stickfloat we would plumb the depth to ascertain how far the float needs to be from the hook so that our bait is travelling through the swim suspended just off the bottom of the river bed. If we did not do this and had the float set too deep our hook would keep catching the bottom dragging our float under. By plumbing the depth we can set the float so it travels smoothly through the whole swim.

Another reason for plumbing the depth is to get an understanding of what the river or lake bed is like in front of you. The bed of a river/lake can vary greatly. One area in front of you may be 3 foot deep and then drop away to 6 foot. Knowing how it varies can help you choose the best spot to present your bait. Plumbing also allows you to choose exactly where in the water you want your bait. This can vary greatly on what species your fishing for and on how you want to present your bait. If you were fishing for Tench you may want your bait right on the lake bed or just an inch off the bottom. Accurate plumbing will allow you to do this.

How to plumb the depth?
First set up your float and shot it with the correct amount of lead shot. If you are a beginner to float fishing it can help to first place all the shot directly under your float. Once you have the float correctly set with just the tip showing you can move your dropping shot further down the line. When you are happy that you have your tackle set how you want it you attach the Plumb lead to find the depth. A plumb lead is basically a ledger that you attach to the hook while you are checking for the depth. There are various designs but I favour the cork bottomed version as this is easy to attach but more secure than the clip on variety. You are trying to get your float set to the exact depth of the River or lake in the spot you wish to fish so that you know the depth. You attach your plumb lead to the hook and then cast to the desired spot. The heavy lead will sink to the bottom and if your float is set too shallow it will be pulled under. If it is set to deep it will still float. This will tell you if you need to go deeper or shallower. You then reel in and adjust the float as needed and recast. By repeating this action you will be able to ascertain how deep the swim is. You can then work around the swim to get an idea of the layout of what the bottom is like in front of you.

Here is a picture from the excellent Pleasure fishing.com that shows clearly how your float acts as you plumb the depth.


A good tip to remember is to mark the depth by placing the hook in the eye nearest the reel and reeling in until the float is tight against your rod. Count how many eyes it is up to where the float sits then if you get snapped up you can quickly set your tackle at the right depth without having to re=plumb.

Drennan Avon Floats

The Drennan Avon is a must for all serious river anglers.

In the winter months I fish almost exclusively for Roach on some of Englands most beautiful Rivers. Primarily the Dorset Stour but also the Frome, Test and the Avon.

I love all types of Coarse fishing. But to me there is something very special about a river in mid -winter. I love nothing more than spending a day walking the banks in pursuit of specimen Roach. And there is no more thrilling way to catch them than trotting.

The Drennan Avon Float is Perfect for this task, The Drennan Avon comes in range of varying sizes carrying from 3AAA to a mighty 7AAA These will suit whatever condition the winter river is in on the day. I generally use breadflake on the hook when targeting Roach and the Drennan Avon copes admirably, giving fantastic presentation.

The float is held in place with 3-4 float rubbers witch makes it easy to adjust the depth as the need rises. I personally tend to bulk the shot around 4 inches above the hooklength with just one smaller dropper shot on the hooklength itself. The Drennan Avon was designed with Rivers like the Stour and Avon in mind and works wonderfully in swims 4-10 feet in depth and ranging from a sedate pace to a river in spate.

When fishing for shy biting species like Roach it pays to use as light a float as you can get away with but still insure good presentation. This is why it pays to insure you have a range of sizes, it takes but a few seconds to swap until you get it right. The Drennan Avon has a large upper body which enables you to hold the float back lifting the bait to entice more bites, it is brilliant in design and does this perfectly without rising up, still giving perfect bite detection.

The Drennan Avon would be a great choice for the novice float angler as it is easy to handle and suits so many winter river conditions, One thing to remember is to shot the float correctly as the body is very buoyant and if not weighted down to the tip could leave you missing shy bites.

It can take many years to master the art of fishing with a stickfloat but once you have mastered it there are few things that will give you as much pleasure. I would advise anyone starting to invest in a range of Drennan Avon floats, they are great for novice or expert.

To order your Drennan Avon floats or other top brand tackle simply click this link