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Common name: Roach
Latin name: Rutilus Rutilus
Family: Cyprinidae
Roach (Rutilus rutilus) 4lb 4oz - 2006 - Keith Berry, Northern Ireland Stillwater
Description and habitat of Roach:
A moderately deep bodied fish with silvery white sides, dark brown or grey
back with a bluish or greenish tint, red/orange eyes, large silvery scales
and red lower fins, hence the nickname, 'Redfin'. An average fish will be
6 - 8ins. Grows to 4+lb and a fish over 2lb is considered a good fish and
a 3lb fish considered a fish of a lifetime! Found just about everywhere. Lakes,
ponds, rivers and canals.
Fishing Methods for catching Roach:
Various methods including float, ledger or feeder but the float seems best.
Light tackle is the order of the day with small hooks. 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. Bury the hook
totally inside the caster; you will still be left with an empty half shell
a few times but stand more chance burying the hook than hooking it through
the end of the caster.
Another way I have tried and found works, with maggots as well, is to hook
the caster through the middle. Darker casters are more buoyant in the water,
so choose the darker caster to balance out the weight of the hook. This makes
the hooked caster fall through the water at the same rate as your loose feed.
Heavy or pre-baiting with groundbait is unnecessary. It is best to feed groundbait
sparingly and use a fine groundbait to cause a 'cloud' in the water. Add a
few hook bait samples to the groundbait and adding crushed hempseed seems
to attract roach. Roach bites are very fast so you have to be ready to strike.
Bread flake about the size of a thumbnail squeezed onto a size 16 or 14 hook
often tempts the larger roach. Don't squeeze the flake onto the hook too hard
because you want little bits to flake off to tempt the fish and if you retrieve
your float and the bread is still on the hook you've squeezed it on to tightly!
Baits for catching Roach:
Hempseed, Tares, bread (either punch, flake or paste), castors, maggots, pinkies,
stewed wheat, cheese, small red worm, brandlings and bloodworm.
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