How to Catch Specimen Stillwater Roach

Rich Wilby explains how to catch the bigger shoal members in lakes packed with roach

How to Catch Specimen Stillwater Roach

by Angling Times |
Published on

If your lake has a lot of small roach and only a few bigger fish, getting through to the ones you want can be quite challenging.

Your best bet is to use mini boilies, because maggots – and even corn – will get decimated by the nuisance fish.

I’d also do away with a feeder, because groundbait will draw in the small roach, and instead use a small lead on a helicopter set-up, with a boilie hair-rigged tight to the back of a size 12 hook.

I’ve had all my best roach on this tactic, and for loosefeed I’d just ping boilies over the top little-and-often, with a catapult.

The action might be slower with this method, but you’ll know when you get a bite that hopefully it will be a decent fish.

That said, I’ve had roach as little as 1lb on 10mm or 12mm boilies, so it’s not totally foolproof!

One final tip is to fish a tight line and quite a short hooklink, either 6lb fluoro or a thin braid.

Specimen roach boilie rig
Specimen roach boilie rig

Kit for the job:

Mainline: 6lb mono

Lead: 1oz-1.5oz bomb, rigged helicopter-style

Hooklength: Short length of 6lb fluoro or 8lb braid

Hookbait: Mini boilie hair-rigged to the back of a size 12 hook

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