Feeder Fishing For Roach

In still water I use a straight lead and loose feed, but that's not so successful in a river with much flow, when loose feeding won't have anywhere near the accuracy of a feeder. What do others recommend?

Replies:

1. "Most of the really big roach I've caught have been whilst barbel fishing with 8lb line and big hooks.The bites have not been difficult to connect with.

If you want to fish specifically for roach I would use the right tip for the conditions on the river and see what happens.It certainly wouldn't worry me having to use a 3 or 4oz tip if that was what the conditions dictated.

Liquidised bread in a cage feeder with a flake or punched bread hookbait if there is some colour in the water otherwise go with maggots.One tip is to try not to fish too close,for some reason roach seem harder to hook at close range."

2. " For rivers, try going upstream.
Use a quivertip (strength unimportant), have a few casts with an empty feeder and very gradually tighten to the feeder. Learn how far round the tip has to go before the feeder is dislodged.

Once you know where this point is, start fishing, once the feeder has settled tighten the line until the quivertip is just below the "dislodge" point. Any fish picking up the bait will give a glorious dropback.

One word of warning, this method is frustrating if there is rubbish and leaves coming through but most should have cleared by now.

Hope this explains the method, the proportion of bits hit using this method is far greater than fishing downstream."

3. "Do yourself a favour, go and buy Fantastic Feeder Fishing by Archie Braddock.

Santa brought me it a few years since, I was rivetted. All christmas day and boxing day I digested that book. Archie explains the principles of the upstream feeder.

I, like millions more, missed roach bites by the thousand, I still miss a few but my hit rate has improved enormously. If this is a plug for Archie, and it is, he deserves it."

4. "The most important thing in pacey water is that the rig is balanced. If the rig is balanced right you'll have no problem seeing bites from all but the smallest of roach.