Big Roach Madness

Warning '- Long self indulgent post

I was up early again the next day, there were obviously decent fish in the area, so I went back to the same spot.

First up was a clonking ide of 4lb 8oz, a great start. Then, the bream moved in. There are loads of them, decent fish too, mostly 6-7lb but a pain in the neck if you're targeting roach and ide.

When the bream thankfully drifted off I had two good roach 1lb 8oz and Ilb 11oz, before it went quiet.

Out of the blue I hooked what I thought was an average sized ide, but it seemed to be fighting a bit too well for the "weedy chub".

I got a glimpse of a silver, rather than a bronze flank and sure enough it was a big roach. A proper big roach.

Thankfully it went in the net first time and as soon as I opened the net up I knew it was over the 2lb mark. At 2lb 6oz my biggest ever and first two pounder in almost fifty years!

I re cast with wobbly legs and a silly grin on my face and as soon as the feeder hit bottom the tip went round. A similar fight and another big roach in the net, this time 2lb 0.5oz !

So, a brace of two pounders in consecutive casts after waiting a lifetime to get even one. It's a funny old game Brian

I packed up and walked back to the van for a welcome breakfast. 

The next day we had to move pitches on the campsite due to a cock up. This meant I could fish straight outside the van. 

I found a nice weedy area about twenty yards out and after baiting up lightly with half dozen feeder fulls the tip sprang back and after a short but spirited fight another clonking ide was having its photo taken.

More ide and bream followed before another big roach was banked, one that was obviously over two pounds. I put it in the net while I got the scales and on my return the roach was....gone. Oh dear.

After that it went dead, so I packed the gear away, leaving just the net and rod out whilst doing so.

Two German blokes I'd been chatting to shouted out that I'd got a bite and as I reached the rod it was thankfully still on.

It went hard in the flow and it was difficult to say what it was. One of the Germans said he saw it and it looked like a smallish bream, but as the fish rolled a flash of silver gave the game away.

It was a massive roach.

2lb 12oz and a truly huge fish.

Unbelievable. 

The following day we had a lovely long bike  ride along the river on virtually traffic free lanes. Bit different to Old Blighty.

We got back about 14.00. It must have been about 28 deg C and totally flat calm. The worst possible conditions.

As we had tea I chucked the feeder rod out, no baiting, just that feeder full. As the carp boys say, a "pub chuck".

Before I'd even sat down the tip whacked round. I couldn't believe it. A roach of 2lb 4oz. Then another of 2lb 2oz. It was getting ridiculous. 

I was then into something that was obviously not a roach, ide or bream. My first Waal barbel, going 9lb 1oz. Blimey. 

What an incredible day.