THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

In the case of roach this is very obviously red, whereas in rudd it is yellowish orange. However, the lads
on the bank just need to look at the mouth to make an at a glance identification. If its up-pointing it's a
rudd and if not it's a roach.
When I first started fishing back in the 1960's, roach were the iconic freshwater angling species in much
the same way that carp have become in more recent times.
Big roach were the stuff of dreams, and specializing in roach fishing was the crème de la crème. A fish
that completely epitomised what coarse fishing was all about in the true Mr. Crabtree style. So what has
changed.
Roach as a species generally have not suffered in the way that rudd have, and big roach are still available
on some rivers and certain still-waters for those who care to seek them out.
For my money it comes down to two factors. A move away from large scale interest in matches and the
smaller silver fish species, and linked to this, the rise in fortunes of the stock controlled commercial
fishery where other species such as Ide are used for bulking up match weights, or carp for those more
inclined to pleasure fish.
It would inaccurate to say that as a result of changing angling trends, roach have suffered. That would
be the wrong choice of words. More like 'slipped off the radar', though I am quite sure they could very
easily slip back onto it again if interest levels were re-kindled.
There are still some very knowledgeable and successful big roach specialists out there, one of whom is
Professor Mark Everard who I put all of these questions and more to during a recorded interview
recently.
For reasons given already, the main one
of which is my tendency to target carp,
barbel, and the larger predatory species
when I dabble in freshwater, roach are not
a fish I would normally expect to catch, so
my experience with the species over the
years has been mainly with small
specimens as a source of live-bait from
rivers and canals.
That said, I have both seen and collected
some excellent specimens to over two
pounds in weight from the River Ribble in
Lancashire for use as fish farm brood
stock in my National Rivers Authority
days.
Mark Everard, Roach and Rudd
which were well appreciated and enjoyed.
Two exceptions to all of that are a day
spent trotting with maggots and casters on
the River Trent at Burton Joyce, and a day
trotting maggots through a number of
slower swims on the upper Avon in
Wiltshire, both of which produced quite
a number of small to medium sized roach
Associated audio interview numbers: 143.
310