River Roach

Something odd has started to happen.

I am now beginning to catch Roach that are larger than a match box.

My previous best Roach could have been beaten up by a Gudgeon.

My tactics haven't really changed, the bait is the same, just a couple of red maggots.

The difference is not 'how' but 'where' I am fishing.

When I was young my friends and I spent our summer days catching hundreds of stunted Roach in overstocked ponds ( I may have mentioned this before).

The ponds were devoid of natural predators such as Pike and Perch. This meant that the waters Roach were plentiful in number but never grew larger than three-four inches. The poorly fish that would have been eaten by the predators lived on unmolested. Thereby denying space for the stronger fish to grow into.

Most of my fishing is now on small rivers, where food is easily available to the schoals of Roach and natural predators ensure the balance of the local ecosystem by picking off the sick fish. The surviving Roach are not only bigger but stronger. Sometimes when I strike into one and struggle to get control, I think it is a small chub until I manage to get the fish close to my net.

I have developed a new found respect for the humble Roach and a dream to break the magical 2lb mark (although at the moment I am more likley to catch a submerged tree).

It seems like the local Gudgeon may have to find someone new to bully.