roach fishing

CATCH 30LB OF ROACH

It soon became obvious whyLee Edwards is such a fi nelytuned catching machine! »

VENUE FILE HENDRE LAKELocation: Cypress Drive, St Mellons, Cardiff CF3 0EGDay tickets: £6; concessions £4Contact: Martin on 07974 053322Website: www.cardiff.gov.uk/parks/

106 AUGUST 2011

p106-110_PF_08_PF Challengeii.indd 1 16/06/2011 09:40

CATCH 30LB OF ROACH

ANGLER FILE LEE EDWARDSAge: 36Lives: CaerphillySponsors: Preston Innovations, SonubaitsPole: Preston Innovations GiS14

Jon Arthur joins Lee Edwards for a lesson in the art of speed � shing for roach. Can the Welsh international

break the 30lb barrier for the cameras?

AUGUST 2011 107


http://polefishingmagazine.com/index.php

http://polefishingmagazine.com/index.php

This is the stamp you areafter if you want to catcha big weight of roach.

The quality of sport on offer means that I often come here to try methods and test new tackle for my sponsors. As well as the proli� c head of roach that I’m targeting, there are also plenty of hybrids, tench, eels, bream and carp. The carp go to over 20lb, while the bream also go to specimen sizes, with � sh nudging double � gures a possibility!

My target, though, is the plentiful roach population. They average 2oz to 6oz but � sh over 1lb are also present. The challenge is not going to be easy and I will need to get quite a few key areas right to break the 30lb barrier.

THINK ABOUT ITTo catch a big net of silvers you have to make things as easy and ef� cient as possible. When speed is of the essence, there is no point trying to � sh with an ultra-long pole because this will only waste valuable time. At the other extreme, you will struggle to get the � sh to feel safe if you � sh too close in. Regular feeding will be essential to get the roach competing, so I also want to � sh where I can feed comfortably and preferably where I can throw bait by hand. The lake is only four to � ve feet deep but has a decent tinge, which should help.

Weighing up all of these aspects, I have chosen to � sh six pole sections out, which is approximately seven metres. This is close enough to catch fast and feed easily but far enough out to let the � sh feel safe. By � shing with just my match-top-three kit and three extra pole sections added I should be able to zip in and out quickly and amass a decent weight easily. With only three sections to break down each time I can also position my pole roller so that I don’t even have to look behind me each time I unship.

WHICH BAIT?To make things easier I need to try and sort out a bigger stamp of roach and the perfect bait for this

Lee netted most of his fi sh on his way to amassing

a 30lb-plus bag.

I n last month’s editorial I mentioned targets that any wannabe pole angler aspires

to catch. For me, 30lb of roach is a massive barrier to break on a stillwater and one where you can de� nitely pat yourself on the back if you achieve it. I put it on a par with catching 200lb of carp or 100lb of bream, for instance, and that’s why I was so keen to see if Lee Edwards could manage it for the cameras.

I couldn’t have asked for a better contender for the challenge because Lee is a Welsh international, a former world championship bronze medallist and one of the most versatile anglers I’ve ever met. There isn’t a species or style of � shing that this man hasn’t mastered, so the amiable Welshman was an obvious choice to catch me a big weight of silvers.

I almost forgot to say, this is also the man who once caught a phenomenal 316lb record-obliterating weight of chub from the River Wye – so a mere 30lb of roach from a local park

lake should be a breeze! It is all relative, of course, and with roach being so much smaller than most other species, Lee was going to have to work like a well-oiled machine to get the most from the session. Lee, it’s over to you…

THE VENUEI have brought the cameras to Hendre Lake in Cardiff. This 10-acre lake is in the middle of a 143-acre park that was actually once a salt marsh and part of the Gwent Levels coastal � ood plain. It is connected to other waterways in the area by a system of channels known as reens and I’m sure this is one reason why it is so full of � t and healthy � sh.

I couldn’t h

beisina chbranversevera sp� shhasnthe was choibig we

Lee prefers to pot in loose groundbait rather than balls.

REGULAR FEEDING WILL BE ESSENTIAL TO GET THE ROACH COMPETING.

108 AUGUST 2011


hook. This is perfect for silvers and offers the best compromise between robustness and � nesse.

My elastic is a No4 through my match top three. I have gone for a lighter grade than you may have expected because the water is very shallow and I don’t want the � sh to be splashing around after hooking. I will probably have to net most � sh over three or four ounces but this isn’t a problem once you are into a catching rhythm and I think I will amass a better net of � sh in the long run. Even though the elastic is light it is set pingy. This helps set the hook and offers a bit more control over a � sh.

BONUS BREAMAs I have already mentioned, I often come here to test methods, so I’m itching to see if I can also catch some bream. I know I shouldn’t be trying to catch a big bag of roach AND target the lake’s bream – but I can’t resist the temptation!

Thankfully, the way I like to feed for bream shouldn’t affect my main roach swim. I will simply cup in a large quantity of bait at 16 metres at the start and then pot in an occasional top-up every hour or so. This feeding policy works well because bream often like to graze over a bed of feed without any bait raining over their heads. Bream also tend to feed more con� dently the further out you � sh. This obviously allows me to get on with the busier task of bagging up on roach close in! It can often take bream several hours to � nd and settle on your bait anyway, so it’s the perfect complement to a busy few hours’ roach � shing elsewhere.

BREAM FEEDTo kick off the bream swim I am potting in eight loose 250ml potfuls of Sonubaits Tiger Fish groundbait, plus another two pots of Tiger Fish pellets and dead maggots. As the swim is only four feet deep and the bream run big I deliberately feed the groundbait loose and unsqueezed and swish it around in the swim to cover a decent area. Further top-ups »

LEE’

S RO

ACH

RIG

SD

ED

EPTPTPTH

:H

:H

: 4 4 4 4FTFTFTFT

No4 PrestonSlip elastic

3x8Chianti

4x10Chianti

0.11mm mainline and 6in0.09mmhooklengthon both rigs

Size 18 PR 311

18 PR 311

Strung-outor bulked No12 shot

No12

No12

Last No12placed 6into 10infrom hook

No12Stotz

Casters are the number-one offering for roach.

Dead maggots, pellets andTiger Fish groundbait arefed further out for bream.

Lee kicks off the roach swimwith loose Sonubaits SilverCrush Match groundbait.

Lee started off with smallquantities fed regularly…

… but had much moresuccess once he steppedthe amount right up.

An occasional long-pole top-up every hour allowed Lee toconcentrate on catching roach.

has to be casters. I don’t know why, but a caster seems to pick out a slightly bigger � sh than a maggot. This game is all about catching quantity, so even if a caster � sh is only half an ounce bigger on average than a maggot � sh, this can make a massive difference at the weigh-in. I have brought three pints of casters, which I’m con� dent will be enough for a full day’s action.

Maggots can be an important change bait so I still have half a pint on my side tray, plus hemp for feeding at the start because it makes a great holding bait.

My � nal roach feed is half a bag of Sonubaits Silvercrush Match groundbait. This is a new particle-rich blend that’s perfect for this challenge. Because the swim is only four feet deep at six sections I will feed two or three loose 250ml pots of this mix – rather than squeezed into a ball – to create a decent bed for the � sh to settle over. Over the top of this I will swish around a 50/50 pot of casters and hemp; again to help create a nice bed of feed to � sh over.

ROACH RIGSI have two roach rigs assembled. The � rst is my full-depth rig and consists of a 4x10 Preston Chianti � oat shotted with nine No12 shot. Initially, these will be spread out, starting around 10 inches from the hook to encourage bites at all levels. Later, I expect to make this rig more positive, with the closest dropper shot moved to six inches from the hook with two more droppers above this and a bulk at 18 inches.

My second rig is for � shing up in the water and comprises a 3x8 Chianti set anything from 18 inches to two and a half feet deep. I have used six No12 Stotz rather than conventional shot because their shape creates more resistance through the water, which basically means the rig should fall slower.

My terminal tackle is identical for both rigs; 0.11mm Preston Power to a 6in hooklength of 0.09mm Xceed and a size 18 wide-gape, � ne-wire, PR 311

AUGUST 2011 109


every hour or so will simply be up to a full pot containing more dead maggots, pellets and loose groundbait. I don’t plan on dropping a rig over this area for at least three hours, which should be enough time for me to catch plenty of roach close in and let any bonus � sh settle.

BREAM RIGMy big-� sh rig consists of a 0.3g PB Silver 2 � oat, which has a plastic bristle and wire stem for stability. This is on 0.13mm Re� o Power line to a 0.11mm hooklength and a size 18 PR 333 hook. Elastic is No5 Slip through a match top three. Again, the elastic is on the light side but this helps to cushion the strike when � shing at 16 metres. It also ensures that any smaller � sh aren’t bumped off, while the addition of a Pulla Bung should hopefully enable me to cope with anything signi� cant.

ROACH RHYTHMBack to the all-important roach swim and the key to a big weight will be down to loose feeding and getting into a good rhythm. I have put in a bed of feed to begin with, over which I plan to

feed with casters. Initially, this will be just a dozen shells every cast. Once I know how the � sh are reacting I can try to alter this amount and frequency to see what’s best.

Getting into a smooth, unhurried rhythm of catching and feeding cannot be overemphasised. It’s no good feeding all the while if you don’t have time to lay in the rig properly and end up missing bites. Likewise, you don’t want to concentrate purely on catching � sh at the expense of feeding regularly.

I have tried different systems today but my best catching rhythm has been ship out, lay the rig in, hook a � sh, ship back, THEN feed by hand, break down the pole, swing in or net the � sh, unhook it, rebait and ship back out again. The soft No4 elastic

comes out a long way and it is actually this quality that buys me the time to feed before breaking down to net or swing in a � sh. By the time I have baited up the � sh will hopefully have resettled over the bait I have just thrown in.

Another good ploy if I have had to wait slightly longer for bites has been to lay the rig in and then pick up some casters with my spare hand. Then, as soon as I hook a � sh I quickly feed the casters before starting to unship. Again, the light elastic really helps to cushion the hooked � sh in this situation.

UP OR DOWNAs the session progresses I quickly learn that the � sh don’t want to feed so con� dently up in the water. This is probably because of a mixture of things, including the sunshine, lots of passers-by stopping to watch and, at times, an overzealous cameraman stood in the water just a few metres from my � oat (Er, sorry – Ed)!

Instead, I � nd the full-depth rig is far more productive and � shing it an inch overdepth to counteract the waves on the lake seems best. A single caster

hooked like a maggot is doing all the damage and I’ve hardly ever dropped the rig in without a bite in the form of the � oat either not settling or slowly disappearing.

I’ve gone through spells of smaller than average � sh, particularly at the start. The solution has been to feed quite heavily each cast so, rather than a dozen at a time, I have resorted to feeding 40 or more. This seems to really help keep the � sh down where they are easier to catch and the stamp noticeably increases.

BIG-FISH TIMEI have had one quiet, � ve-minute spell where the roach disappeared completely and all I could catch was an odd small perch. I hoped it was a tench or bream but persevering led me to hook an eel that promptly

buried itself and snapped my hooklength. Once that � sh had gone it was back to the roach action.

With three hours elapsed and at least 20lb of roach now in the net I was itching to try the 16m bream swim. Starting with four dead maggots on the hook I was disappointed to catch yet more small roach. Surprisingly, a switch to a 4mm expander pellet on the hook brought almost as many nuisance � sh. Persevering with a bunch of dead maggots � nally paid off, however, as two skimmers well over 1lb came to the net before the roach returned. I potted in another helping of dead maggots, groundbait and pellets and decided to let it settle while I reverted to the short pole. Fifteen minutes’ more roach action and I spotted a big bream roll. I quickly shipped back out to 16 metres

with three dead maggots on the hook and 10 minutes later I was netting a 4lb bream – a proper battle-scarred slab!

I don’t think it was any coincidence that this bonus � sh came when the sun disappeared behind the clouds for half an hour. Unfortunately, the sun soon broke through again and my next two � sh turned out to be small eels. With a strict 3pm � nish enforced, time was really against me and the � ve-hour session was soon over. Another one or two bream would have been the icing on the cake but it has been a bit too sunny for this species. I can’t really complain when I pull out the keepnet, though. There is easily 30lb of roach inside, plus getting on for 10lb of bream, skimmers, hybrids, perch and eels. I think that’s my challenge well and truly met!

TEN MINUTES LATER I WAS NETTING A 4LB BREAM – A PROPER BATTLE-SCARED SLAB!

An amazing bag of silversplus a very welcome 4lb bream.

110 AUGUST 2011


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