Stick and Pin Roach fishing.

 For a specimen angler I typically like to target big fish, but sometimes I like nothing more than building up a swim and staking out the keepnet in anticipation of a good trotting session. Recently I had a good trip for Dace and that fuelled my want to search for some Roach, so when half a day cropped up a week or so ago I headed out with a loaf bread hoping I could locate a shoal of redfins.

 The conditions were absolutely spot on and I couldn't have asked for more, the river was carrying some colour but not too much that it would mean slow sport, half a loaf went out in crumb and little flakes to entice the Roach to feed with abandon, the far bank crease was my marker and on the first trot down the float slipped under and my target specie darted through the swift water towards the net, they were feeding! And hard!.

 Within ten trots I had seven Roach in the keepnet with the best around the 1¼lb mark, three of which were over a pound, brilliant fishing and for next three hours I had consistent sport but bites became less and less easy to hit as the remainder of the shoal were wising up to the diminishing population around them, after three hours of trotting I gave it a break and fed some more bread in but decided after a ten minute break that I had alot of fun and left the rest to carry on their feeding in peace, with the largest two going 1.09 & 1.07 it was good fishing, a total bag weight of 25lb 7ozs for a twenty nine fish haul. I was very happy with that! and should do it more often.

Best of the day.