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The Best Traditional and Modern Baits for Autumn River Roach
With colour and flow returning to rivers, these proven baits deserve a place in your bag
@Paul Garner
by angling-times |
Published on3rd October 2026 at 1.53am
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Conditions on many of our rivers are perfect for roach fishing at the moment, with intermittent rain showers adding a hint of colour and some much needed flow.
While this time of the year is full of excellent opportunities, I like to devote a few sessions over the next few weeks to fishing for roach with what may be classed as traditional baits. Although neglected by many, these baits can bring some excellent sport and are often superb value.
This is simple fishing – a pint of cooked hemp from your local tackle shop will suffice for an evening session, and most will also have prepared tares at this time of the year.
You won’t go far wrong with these baits, although there are some other options that you might want to try. Let’s take a look at some of these and how to get the best from them.
All hail hempseed!
Tares make a great value roach hookbait at this time of the year. © Paul Garner
The quintessential autumn roach bait, hempseed is readily available, and I have yet to find roach that aren’t attracted by it.
I will incorporate some hemp into my feed when after roach at any time of the year, but right now it makes a great hookbait too. Picking out a grain that is nicely split with the white kernel clearly visible makes hooking into the soft inner much easier.
Alternatively, you can very carefully use a fine baiting needle to pierce the hard shell, and then hook it on. This is a more secure way of hooking hemp, but don’t try to push the hook point directly through the shell, as it may burr over the point.
While roach love the taste of hemp, they will often suck in and blow out the seeds several times before taking them back and crushing them. This is one reason why hemp bites can often be incredibly fast and difficult to hit.
Try using contrasting coloured pellets when feeding hemp – hookbaits that stand out will often bring extra bites. © Paul Garner
Regular feeding with small helpings of seeds can help, as this encourages the fish to feed more confidently and can lead to slower, hittable bites.
Although you can buy ready prepared hemp, it is easy to prepare yourself. Plus, there is a big cost saving to be had by going down this route.
I soak hemp for 24 hours and then boil it for around 10 minutes. This allows the seeds to fully swell in size and then split. Don’t be surprised if only some of the grains split open – this is normal with modern hemp.
Hemp freezes well, and I store it in sandwich bags or food takeaway containers, each holding about a pint.
Tare hookbaits
Try using a 4mm soft hooker pellet when feeding hemp. © Paul Garner
Traditionally used as a hookbait when feeding hemp, tares are a slightly larger, slightly softer bait, making them ideal for the hook.
They can be prepared in exactly the same way as hemp, or you can often buy them ready prepared.
Some anglers add a little sodium bicarbonate to give a darker brown colour, but if the roach are feeding confidently then I haven’t found this makes a difference.
Tares can be a bit hit or miss. They work best once you are already catching well on hemp and the fish are feeding confidently. Don’t be surprised if it takes longer to get a bite on tares, but when the fish do switch on, the stamp of fish will often be better.
Natural alternatives
Elderberries make a useful hookbait when hemp fishing. © Paul Garner
Although the hot summer has left them in short supply this autumn, elderberries are another hookbait alternative when feeding hemp. These small black fruits only have a short season before they become too soft to use, so timing is critical.
Probably the cheapest of all roach baits is wheat. Soaked and then boiled to soften the grain, fish wheat just as you would hemp. Groats (rolled oats) are a similar bait that only need to be soaked to prepare them. These baits aren’t as attractive to fish as hemp, but are interesting to experiment with.
Small pellets
Groats only need soaking before they are ready to use. © Paul Garner
A lot of specimen river roach are caught accidentally each year by barbel anglers fishing with pellets and mini boilies. Roach instinctively know that pellets are food, and smaller 4mm to 8mm baits will fit easily into the mouth of a decent-sized roach.
We can use pellets as both feed and hookbaits. Pellets straight from the bag are fine, but being hard, they can lead to fast bites. Try using soft hooker pellets instead, and feed hemp and pellets to get the roach going.
This combination of the traditional and modern takes a lot of beating, and adds a really useful twist to our autumn roach menu.
Ten Minute Make: 'Overnight' hempseed
I often use an old vacuum flask to prepare a pint of hemp. This easy method cooks the hemp perfectly. You will find that fewer of the seeds split compared to soaking them for longer and then boiling in a pan, but the roach don’t seem to mind.
© Paul Garner
Three-quarters fill a vacuum flask with dry hemp seeds.
© Paul Garner
Carefully top the flask right up with boiling water.
© Paul Garner
Put the lid on securely and leave the flask overnight.
© Paul Garner
Next morning, tip the hemp into a bait tub.
© Paul Garner
The hemp will be perfectly cooked and ready to use.
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