Species of UK Coarse Fish
Roach
Freshwater Coarse Fish Guide For Anglers
Description, baits and general methods for fishing and catching Roach
ROACH 4lb 4oz 2006 Keith Berry, Northern Ireland
A moderately deep bodied fish with silvery white sides and back of dark brown or grey with a bluish or greenish tint, red eyes, large silvery scales and orange/red lower fins, hence the nickname, Redfin.
Common name: Roach
Latin name: Rutilus rutilus
Family: Cyprinidae
Latin name: Rutilus rutilus
Family: Cyprinidae
Fishing Methods To Catch Roach
During spawning cross fertilisation often occurs which results in hybridisation of the species.
Roach are found in shoals just about everywhere, in lakes, ponds, rivers and canals. Growing to over 4lb a fish of 2lb is considered excellent and 3lb considered a specimen.
Description and Habitat of Roach
Roach are commonly mistaken for Rudd but you can tell the difference between them as the Rudd has an upturned mouth as opposed to the Roach which protrude downwards. The colour of the Rudd is also more golden and a lot brighter than Roach.
Article Copyright 1999 J.Boswell www.fish-uk.com
All rights reserved
All rights reserved
for shotting patterns see
https://www.fish-uk.com/tackle_fishing_floats.htm
https://www.fish-uk.com/tackle_fishing_floats.htm
Most pleasure and match anglers choose to fish the waggler rather than the feeder when fishing for Roach and as the species feed at all depths the waggler float will cover them all.
If bites dry up while you are fishing the float depth can be altered to find the depth the fish are feeding.
Baits For Catching Roach
Some anglers prefer tying the hook directly to the main line, I never do this whatever type of coarse fishing. I always use a weaker strength hook length.
I don't want to risk the line snapping and the fish dragging yards of mainline behind it with a chance of getting snagged up and dying.
Red maggot is a noted bait when fishing the feeder for Roach and legered bread flake is a very effective bait for the larger fish.
Burying the hook totally inside the caster you might still be left with an empty half shell a few times but stand a good chance of hooking more fish.
Lay a bed of hemp and start with a piece of hemp on the hook. Choose a piece that has only just started to split and push your hook into this to hold it in place.
When the fish are taking the hemp confidently try a Tare on the hook. It may take some time to get them feeding on Tares but will be well worth it.
In the Winter and during the colder months Roach will move into the deeper parts of the lakes and you are advised to target these spots and a good time to try is from late afternoon to dusk.
Some anglers use the Lateral line scale count for identification of a true Roach but depending where you read about this it can be 39 to 49 and with Rudd said to have a count of 40 to 55 this is method questionable.
Roach, Rudd and Bream are closely related and generally spawn around the same time, March to June.
These Roach-Rudd, Roach-Bream hybrids often grow larger than true Roach and identification can be very difficult.
On stillwaters I prefer to fish with a straight Crystal Waggler with a general shotting style but if I find the fish are taking the bait on the drop I change to Shirt Button style
Roach can be caught at any time of day and in the Summer they seem to feed best early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
All methods including float, leger or feeder are options for Roach fishing but the float seems most popular. Whatever the method chosen light tackle with small hooks is the order of the day.
A normal leger or feeder set up for Roach fishing is 3.5 to 4lb mainline, size 18 to 14 hook on 2lb hooklength. On running waters a simple link ledger rig with this set up works well.
Roach love casters and many a match has been won with this bait but roach have a crafty habit of stealing casters and leaving you with an empty half shell.
If feeder fishing start with 2 or 3 balls of ground bait with some hook bait mixed in to attract the fish into your swim and then throw some loose offerings in now and then.
The biggest fish are reportedly caught on the bottom and the specimen anglers say positioning their rigs and bait on the bottom is the most effective method to catch big Roach.
If missing bites, another tactic I have tried and found works is to hook the caster through the middle. This also works with maggots as well.
Darker casters are more buoyant in the water, so choose the darker caster to balance out the weight of the hook. This helps the hooked caster fall through the water at the same rate as your loose feed.
Hemp and Tares are a favourite bait of mine especially when float fishing in the summer. Shotting patterns have been mentioned previously.
Don't squeeze the flake onto the hook too hard, you want little bits to flake off to tempt the fish. If you retrieve your float and the bread is still on the hook you've squeezed it on to tightly.
Worms are a good bait and small brandling or pieces of worm have accounted for some good fish One problem with fishing with worms is they will attract any Perch that are in the area.
Sweetcorn is also trying either on its own or as a cocktail with a worm or red maggot.
Tip. Bites from Roach can be very fast so you have to be ready to strike.
A basic float set up for Stillwater Roach is 3 to 3.5lb mainline, 3AAA waggler with a size 18 - 16 hook on 1.5lb hook length.
Fish over the hemp, loose feeding a few grains of hemp each cast until you start catching.
Note. Since writing this article new methods and rigs have been developed.
Shotting will depend on if the roach are feeding on the bottom or midwater. see below
For the larger specimens Bread flake is a popular bait and a piece the size of a thumbnail squeezed onto a size 14 hook often tempts the larger Roach.
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