A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two Greg Alexander

Greg Alexander
A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two
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Greg Alexander continues his account of
his year-long campaign on CEMEX’s
Roach Pit. Everything was now coming
together perfectly – well, almost!
T
110
Greg was talking to his mate
Lee as the rod roared off.
110-117_SpotOfRoach_CW210.indd 1
he new season was now well under way and
on my next session I finally got myself into the
most popular swim on the lake, Pike Point.
This is an area that always contains fish and gives
you a huge expanse of water to fish, filled with a
great variety of features on which to concentrate.
Pike Point faces the deeper end of the lake but is
well within reach of a huge plateau, which, at its
shallowest is no more than a couple of feet deep. I
would normally spend a long time walking round
the pit before making my choice of pitch, but seeing
the swim just as it was being vacated, I was in there
like a rat up a drainpipe. Fish could be seen crashing
at range as they always did in this swim, so my
anticipation levels were high.
With so many features to aim at I chose to spread
out the rods and try different areas to gauge the
response. The left-hand rod was fished to a dog-legshaped bar coming off the plateau in around 6ft of
water at 70yds. The middle rod was fished to the
only other shallow clear spot at 60yds. My right-
hand rod was fished out into deeper water towards
the out of bounds bank on quite a large, silty area.
This had not been a popular area in previous years
but, due to the new rulings on the water, that was
soon to change. I fished boilies on this rod but
opted for particles on the plateau spots so that the
birds wouldn’t clean me out. From experience this
swim produced fish in the afternoons, unlike the
rest of the lake where the mornings were more
productive. So, after baiting up that night and
receiving no action by the morning I rebaited
the rods at about 11.00. You always feel that the
pressure’s on when you’re in this swim; you can
catch fish from every area of the lake but it’s from
here that the big hits occur.
I can remember sitting talking on the phone to
my mate Lee and I had just admitted to him that
any kind of carp would do, when the right-hand rod
was away. Talk about Groundhog Day – it was the
same 30-pounder as the week before! Certainly not
what I’d expected. I was fishing a small, balanced
20/2/08 14:08:57
A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two
Greg Alexander
The 30 featured at the end of
Greg’s article last month made a
return visit a week later.
Snowman presentation with a big hook and
big lead that helped keep the tench at bay. I was
using Helicopter Rigs with the stops pushed
up to suit the depth of silt; this allowed for shorter
hooklinks and meant the fish didn’t have to move
far before they felt the weight of the lead.
An hour or so later, the same rod was off again.
After I’d lovingly coaxed the fish through the many
weedbeds and other firmer, more gravelly obstacles,
the hook pulled.
That was it. I kicked off
my shoes, desocked,
and jumped in, scooping
it up straightaway
Following the disappointment of this lost
unknown, my mate Minnow was in the swim and
while I was marking out the rod he shouted that
one of the other rods was away. On getting back, the
left-hand rod was bent round with the line out of
the clip and something angry was sitting in a nearby
weedbed. I pulled it free and a really heavy weight
slowly started to inch towards me. I really couldn’t
tell whether it was a big fish or not. The matted
lumps of weed hanging down near the leader meant
it wasn’t fighting, but as it neared the bank a huge
black fish appeared on top. That was it. I kicked off
my shoes, desocked, and jumped in, scooping it up
110-117_SpotOfRoach_CW210.indd 2
straightaway. There in the net was a very spawnbound Horse, one of my target fish for the year – I
was elated. She went a whopping 44lb 4oz on the
scales, and was lovely and dark, if a bit misshapen
due to her hefty summer load. I’d caught her on a
double tiger, balanced out so that the hook laid flat
on the gravel. It was difficult not to fish particles
on one rod, particularly as I knew she was partial
to them, and I was also aware that The Yellow Fish
was another specimen who couldn’t resist a big bed
of particles. Armed with the evidence of my proven
theory, I hatched a plan to include particles on at
least one rod every time I fished. It also made it
cheaper than fishing boilies on all three.
I returned the following Thursday and found a
group of fish in a set of snags to the left of a swim
called Sanctuary. This was a swim in which I’d done
really well during my first season on the pit, but
since then it had been very slow. There was only one
clear spot out in front, a gravel hump in about 7ft
of water, with the rest of the swim being thick weed
from top to bottom. I placed a rod on the gravel
hump and then flicked a Zig round the corner,
just off the snags where I had seen the fish show.
Just before dark the Zig rod was away on a strange
take which, to begin with, I wasn’t sure whether
to hit. Taking the plunge, I bent into the rod and
soon witnessed a beautiful male fish, known as
Bob’s Fish, wallowing on the surface, waiting to be
scooped up. It turned out to be a nightmare to net
as the overhanging trees are particularly low above
the swim and the lead hadn’t jettisoned as planned.
With a 10ft hooklink it was a real struggle, but
eventually he was mine. At 33lb he was another of
the stunning Roach fish that I’d always wanted, and
although he was a bit battle-scarred from chasing
the ‘harem’ he still looked a creature of great beauty.
I was back again the following Thursday, but
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Greg Alexander
A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two
Bob’s Fish returned to the
bank after snaffling Greg’s
Zig-rigged XXX pop-up.
112
I was to learn a painful lesson. I pulled into one of
the lay-bys and had a quick walk up one bank to see
how many were on. I was only gone a few minutes
but by the time I got back to the car the back
window had been smashed and the rods were gone.
The police were seemingly disinterested and I drove
home with my tail between my legs. I have to say a
big thanks to everyone who offered me the use of
their gear, especially Mike and Trev.
After a few conversations with Trev, he persuaded
me to come up the next day and use his gear. I
snapped myself out of the despondency and got up
there, as Trev was packing up. The Sanctuary was
about the only area free so I got in there for a couple
of nights. My disappointment was soon forgotten
as I managed to sneak a 29-pounder off the gravel
hump and I returned Trev’s gear, a happy man.
After borrowing Mike’s not-so-lucky rods for the
following weekend, I returned for another session.
I arrived on a scorching hot day to find only one
person on the lake – unheard of for the Roach Pit.
I took a bucket straight round to Pike Point and
watched a few groups of fish mooching around.
This was to be a slow weekend. The sunbathing,
lethargic stock just weren’t interested in feeding,
and by Saturday it was just me on the lake. I made
the decision to have a wander down to the shallows
with the floater gear, where a few groups of fish
were milling around. I started catapulting mixers
soaked in CC Moore’s Liquid Mussel Extract into
the vicinity. As expected, the gulls spotted them
first and after an hour I gave up and just cast a single
mixer towards cruising fish. I had one refusal at
the last second down on the Lawns and eventually
ended up in a little bay called The Swimming Pool.
Here the birds seemed to leave me alone and I was
110-117_SpotOfRoach_CW210.indd 3
able to get a group of fish regularly
taking the mixers. They would
drift out of the snags, have a few
mouthfuls, and then disappear
again. They looked to be a good
average size and the next time they
came out my mixer was right in
Greg was not afraid to ring the
amongst the free offerings. Soon
changes and, seeing carp on the
a 30lb+ mirror slurped in the bait
surface, cast out a Zig Rig.
and all hell broke loose. The cast
had been quite near the snags
and on light gear it took me into them and
disguise the end tackle and after two or three failed
proceeded to power 30yds up the margin until the casts, the smallest of the three fish gladly took the
hooklink parted – even if it hadn’t it was too far in mixer. As the controller slid across the surface, an
to have pulled it back through.
explosion of water met my strike with the attached
The fish were still there though and out of the
fish angrily heading straight out of the bay in a bid
corner of my eye I noticed a group at the end of
for freedom. It stayed on top the whole time and
the snags that looked like they may be persuaded.
even with 10lb line I was able to pull it back through
I sneaked round and for about half an hour
the high weedbeds. After that first run it gave up
the ghost and soon a fish called Orange Scale was
I’d caught her twice previously, but at 35lb
I was itching to get to netted.
8oz she was a new floater-caught PB and she looked
incredible in the bright conditions. A mate was due
the lake and, when
down soon so I gave him a quick ring, not knowing
I did, the conditions
he was already setting up around the corner, and we
got some superb photos before slipping her back.
were ideal
I finally received my insurance claim and visited
repeatedly catapulted mixers. The fish would
Mike at Poingdestres to replace the stolen gear. It
confidently come in much closer in this swim,
was like Christmas, going into the shop and walking
which made life easier for presentation and if I
out armed with brand new Century rods and
hooked one I’d hopefully have a bit more control
Shimano Techniums. I was itching to get to the lake
over it. With a slight ripple on the water giving them and, when I did, the conditions were ideal. A strong
confidence, one group of three fish started feeding
southwesterly had been battering the deep end and
really strongly. The surface movement made them
I knew my mate Trev was pulling off on Friday
difficult to identify, but I was sure they were all good morning from Pike Point. He had heard a lot of fish
fish. The slight chop on the water certainly helped
crashing out in the night over the deeper area and
20/2/08 14:10:56
A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two
Greg Alexander
A new floater-caught PB – Orange
Scale at 35lb 8oz.
felt sure the fish had done him. I was in his swim
early in the morning just in case other anglers arrived
and, by 10 o’clock, had three rods out and ready to
go. I’d even taken the risk of spodding out bait ready
for the afternoon, something I would normally leave
until just before dark. It didn’t take long for them
to respond and at 3.00 in the afternoon I had a nice
scaly 23-pounder off the deep spot.
That night I filled it in with XXX, putting
six kilos of bait on the spot and moving
another rod down onto that area, fishing them
about 15yds apart. This seemed a bit risky with
the added lines, but I was sure the spot was
going to go off – and it did.
The next morning, about 11.00, the rod was
away and after a very long battle I landed a superb,
lean, fighting fish called The Other Long One at
32lb. I always get the rod back out immediately after
catching, particularly during what is a productive
To boost his mixers’ attraction, Greg
soaked them in CC Moore’s Green
Lipped Mussel Juice.
time, and before someone had come round to
do the photos that rod was fishing again. Just as
we were slipping that culprit back, the same rod
pulled up tight and again I was in. This one came
off about halfway in, but the flurry of activity
was quite remarkable. It’s interesting that I never
saw fish rolling on this spot – you would see
them move down from behind the island in the
morning, and at certain times they would roll for
hours on other spots around the lake right on the
money, cleaning their gills as they fed, but here
you wouldn’t know they were there, other than
from what Trev had heard the previous night.
As the fish approached
them I had to wind like
mad and bully it through
Greg’s floater box, with all the
essentials for surface work.
With the rod back out I sat back and made a cup
of tea, then realised, to my horror, that it was my last
teabag. This was soon forgotten as within minutes
the same rod was off again. The usual battle of wills
then commenced, with the fish sitting in a weedbed
for a good 30 minutes. I walked up the high bank
behind me and, with the rod at full compression,
she moved. I didn’t budge an inch and it eventually
came through the worst of it. The spot was out at
80yds and even in the dull conditions you could see
three weedbeds, which were just under the surface
between the spot and me. As the fish approached
them I had to wind like mad and bully it through. I
had been tying on the leads with light line and PVAing them for the cast, which helped, and luckily a big
scaly mirror was soon engulfed by the landing net.
As I unravelled the folds I could see it was the Big
Fully, not a true fully-scaled fish, but almost.
This stunning fish went 34lb 4oz on the scales,
Greg’s tackle was nicked from his van,
but the insurance finally paid out.
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a pound bigger than when I caught her last
December. I slipped her back and made the decision
to wind in the rods and bolt to the shop for supplies.
I was back in 15 minutes and got the banker rod
straight back out, followed by the rod just off the
bait. As I was foaming up the third rod I had a take
on the first, a really savage take which by the time
I’d reached the rod, the reel was down by the alarm
and the sticks were being pulled round. The fish
was solid immediately and I proceeded with the
dodgy walk backwards up the bank. For 10 minutes
it was stalemate but, by slowly walking backwards,
something gave and I was in contact again. I could
feel the fish lunging at range and it weeded me twice
more before I got it within 30yds of the bank. It
kited round to the left where a few shakes of the
head dislodged some of the Canadian round its
head and the leader knot. It didn’t really feel that big
now but I think that was because the rod was no
longer at 90 degrees. However, as it neared the bank
it just kept growing and growing. It was very pale
in colour and I caught sight of a two-tone
flank. In it went and the greatest feeling
I’ve had in carp fishing came over me. It
was Old Yellow Belly, the fish I’d always
wanted. After all the time I’d put in, and all
It was a cracking session but it wasn’t to end there.
Throughout that day I’d noticed a small glowing
patch out on the plateau. You could just about see
a small spot had appeared; it was a long way out
but I really fancied getting a bait on it and I could
hit it with braid on the marker rod. It was a lovely
piece of gravel that the lead really donked down
onto, however trying to get on it with mono was
a nightmare. It was pot luck whether you landed
on it or not as it was too shallow to feel the lead
down at that range. I was so happy with the results I
thought, sod it, and broke out another spool loaded
with 30lb Whiplash. I never use braid really, but
have a backup spool just for whacking baits out at
extreme range on the big waters. With the braid on
I had that bit more sensitivity to feel the lead down
onto the spot. My only concern
was that you could see the
line going out for about
30yds, which I wasn’t
keen on, but I had no
reason to complain
after the day I’d had
Greg Alexander
To combat the weed, Greg used a
light link and PVA to attach his leads,
so that they’d come off more easily.
I could feel the fish
lunging at range and
it weeded me twice
more before I got it
within 30yds of the bank
and I proceeded to put out a whole bucket of bait.
The next day saw the fish moving at range again
and they gradually moved up onto the plateau. I
wasn’t quite prepared for a take using braid and,
when it came, I was left in shock. The rod tips had
been at quite a steep angle and under the water,
but, by the time I got to the rod, all that remained
in contact with the setup were the butts in the
back rests. The rods were virtually levitating. It
was scary stuff from then on, trying to play the
carp gently enough for the lack of stretch, but
not so gently that it weeded me up. Eventually,
I netted a nice scaly fish, which turned out to be
Bob’s Fish again at 32lb, followed an hour later
by a 20lb common on the same rod. By the time
I packed up I was shattered, but overjoyed by the
results; two 20s, three 30s and a 46 in one session.
This was good going on the Roach but it’s the sort
of catch that is possible nowadays.
There was still one of the big residents to
go – Barbs. This was quite a frequent visitor
to the bank, but another that just seemed to
elude me. I felt sure she’d be 40lb by now and I
wasn’t leaving without her.
The following Thursday I got down and had
a good look around. Barbs didn’t seem to have
any preferences about where she fed, so unless I
actually saw her it was like searching for a needle
in a haystack. I got chatting to a bloke in Pike
A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two
the repeat captures, my dreams were finally realised.
I flipped her over just to make sure, but there was
no mistaking her. Like quite a few of the fish that
year she’d clearly not spawned so I knew she’d be
big. My mate Jase wound in from the furthest swim
possible to do the shots, and he took some cracking
pictures. Fair play because Jase had caught a few that
day as well and had fish all over him. She’s a nicely
proportioned fish, even with spawn in her, just big
all over and she went 46lb 6oz on the scales, a new
PB for me. She swam off strongly and left me to
simply collapse in the bivvy.
Roach Pit’s Big Fully
at 34lb 4oz.
The Other Long One
at 32lb 8oz.
It didn’t take long to
christen the new gear.
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Greg Alexander
A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two
I managed to arrive on the Wednesday night but
couldn’t get on the Ivy Bank. On looking around
I found some fish down in the shallows sitting out
in the thick weedbeds. Amongst them I managed
to find a small clear spot surrounded by weed from
the bottom to the surface, and I knew that any clear
area out here could be productive. This spot was in
a prime location but at about 100yds it was again
difficult to hit with the mono. When I missed the
spot I’d spend the next 10 minutes hauling back
huge lumps of weed, in fact one cast became so solid
I had to pull for a break. I was getting increasingly
frustrated and in the end I cut my losses, packed up,
and went home for a few nights.
The fish put on a real show
and the first to slip up was
this 27lb scaly beauty.
and he told me he was leaving in the morning. To
be honest, I felt a bit guilty about going back in
there, but no one else had been enquiring so the next
morning I moved in. This time I had two banker
rods, the deep spot and the one at range that I again
fished with braid over a bed of particles. The other
deep spot I filled in with XXX again. The following
day I didn’t even see a fish or have a bleep. Perhaps
they’d all moved down to the other end. I stuck with
it for another night and by the next morning the fish
appeared again. They moved closer to the spot on
the plateau and eventually they were right on me.
Over the next two hours I saw the most spectacular
show I’ve ever seen. The fish just rolled non-stop
on the shallow spot, I must have seen 70-80 shows
in that time as they really smoked up the water. I
managed a couple as well, a cracking 27 and a fish
called The Translucent, another stunner at 29lb
15oz. I think if I’d stayed on I’d have caught more,
but it was now time to go and I didn’t want to risk
upsetting the missus any more!
September arrived and the fish would be getting
One of the Roach Pit’s most
sought-after residents – the
Yellow Fish at 46lb 6oz.
towards their biggest weights and possibly residing
in some of the more wintry swims. I pulled up in
the car park and started my usual trek around the
lake. As I walked past the first swim I noticed a fish
roll just off the treeline, and then another. I sat there
for the next half an hour just watching, and a few
bubbles appeared here and there. I grabbed a rod
from the car and flicked a single just off the trees
into a deep hole using just a light lead to minimise
the disturbance. I laid the rod on the ground and
watched intently as a few more bubbles appeared.
Suddenly, the line picked up and the loose clutch
started screaming. A long battle followed, the fish
going in and out of the weed and snags before it
finally gave up and I netted the thickwristed fish again, this time at just
under 30. I spent the next three nights
flitting about from swim to swim
but had no more luck. I was sure the
fish would be getting back down into
the Ivy Bank water and I planned to
return the following week.
I grabbed a rod from the
car and flicked a single
just off the trees into a
deep hole using just a
light lead to minimise
the disturbance
With a calmer outlook I arrived back on the
Saturday morning and went straight down the
Ivy Bank, which, surprisingly, was free. This is
the opposite side of the main bay to Pike Point.
Typically, many of the fish were in their usual place,
sitting out of range behind the main island. I picked
a swim halfway along the bank and had a bit of a
lead around. In front of me it was very clear and
showing 15-16ft of water, in fact I had a job to find
any weed to fish near. However, the further to the
Greg was on a roll and
banked The Translucent
at 29lb 15oz.
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20/2/08 14:14:53
My mate Martin came down that night and over
many cups of tea we discussed whether it was really
worth staying on Roach for one big fish. There were
a few more good fish in the lake that I would dearly
love to catch; The Pretty One and Big Mouth could
Another rig change accounted
for the final target fish.
Within minutes of turning up Greg spotted
some fish and didn’t have to wait long to
bank the thick-wristed mirror.
both be upper-30s, but they’d been on the missing
list for quite some time. Martin disappeared and
told me to ring him if I got any and I settled down
to sleep. I was awoken at 3.00 a.m. by a take on the
left-hand rod and I slowly cranked in a heavy fish.
After a very quick battle I glimpsed the flanks of
another large fish, which slipped into the net first
time. It was all over in what seemed like seconds
and as I shone the headtorch into the folds of the
net, there was my sulking prize – Barbs. I couldn’t
believe it, only hours earlier I’d been talking about
her and how I could track her down. Now there
she was, well and truly fluked, in the bottom of
my net. I phoned Martin who kindly ‘zombied’
down to the lake to do the honours. The night
photos didn’t really do her justice, as she’s a lovely
dark fish. There’s no sacking on Roach and, to
be honest, I was happy to get the pictures done
and get her back home. She went 41lb 1oz, which
meant I’d caught all the possible 40s from the lake
that year.
It was a funny feeling after that, I was obviously
ecstatic at the result, but I knew my time on the
Pit was coming to an end, so I was also quite sad.
I had a 28 in the morning on the other rod before
packing up and heading home. It was difficult
to stay away for a while and I fished another
nine nights up until mid-October with nothing
banked, although I did lose a few. That was it then,
my time of serious fishing on there had come to an
end. I still hope to keep my ticket just in case Big
Mouth or The Pretty One put in an appearance,
and, of course, to do a few socials with the many
good friends I’d made over the last four seasons. I
might even have another go just before the end of
the season – who knows?
One last thing; good luck Jase, that linear is yours
soon mate, and she’s just done 40lb as well! GA
Greg Alexander
My mate Martin came
down that night and
over many cups of tea
we discussed whether it
was really worth staying
on Roach for one big fish
A Spot of Roach Fishing - Part Two
left I cast, the more weed I found, and eventually
I settled on two spots, one close in to my left at
40yds, and, following the weedline, a spot about
80yds straight out in front. Whilst leading around,
a couple of fish showed in this area so I quickly
got the rods in and waited to bait up. Nothing else
showed all day and that night I reset my traps and
baited with about three kilos on each. I changed
my presentation very slightly as everyone seemed
to be using some sort of Snowman. I fished a single
18mm XXX cork ball pop-up with a camo BB shot
pinched underneath to weigh it down. Again, this
made the big hook lie flat and the pop-up sat the
length of the Hair off the bottom.
Catching Barbs at 44lb 1oz
completed Greg’s captures of all the
lake’s known 40s that year.
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