Winter weather sees rivers change dramatically in the space of a few days, going from low and clear to up and coloured. While this can knock the chances of catching certain species on the head, there’s always a chance of roach.
I’ve caught countless 20lb weights with snow on the ground and a river like tapwater. Equally, you can do the same when it’s pulling through and the colour of tea. Arguably, though, the best river conditions for roach are when there’s just a tinge of colour. In this situation, there’s little to beat the waggler.
Here's how to fish it...
Fish to where you feed
It’s important to always ensure you can get your feed to where your float is. There’s no point in casting to the far bank if you can’t feed there.
Start positively
I feed around 12 maggots to start, dropping to three to six maggots once I begin catching. Feed two or three times every run through.
Feed and then cast
By feeding first and then casting into the area where the feed has gone, the fish will be intercepting the hookbait on the drop.
Light terminal tackle
Starting point is a hooklength of 0.10mm DH Angling Pro Rig to a fine wire size 20 hook. You can drop to an 0.08mm hooklength and size 22 hook.
Get an insert waggler
In slow flows, an insert waggler will work perfectly, and on rivers like the Warks Avon around Stratford, I’d fish a 3AAA or 4AAA DH Angling Thin Insert, which is ideal for depths between 3ft and 5ft.
Alter the depth
Towards the end of a session, shallowing the float up to a few inches off the bottom can produce a good run of bigger roach.
