Hi Guys

I Failed abysmally trying to roach in the canal this year, to be fair i didnt go at them constantly just now and then, very frustrating

I read a internet article somewhere ?? That roach gathered at "ends" of canals ?? and he (Danish/Swedish) reckoned winter was a good time to target big shoals on roach in these areas ?? Im slighlty sceptical ??

Anyone here target roach in winter ??

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Hi Englander I target roach on the the fly most of the time (most of my flyfishing is for coarse fish).
Roach can gather at the end of canals and boats etc, and in winter they shoal up together in large numbers. But in my opinion winter fishing is a lot harder than in the warmer months....
You may find a big shoal but you need them to feed, often they just sit there comatose in the cold water. They will feed at some time it just needs the right trigger, ie temperature, light levels, flow, the right fly and presentation. It could be any one of these factors or more who knows!
They can be caught in winter, but I find it harder most of the coarse species are harder to catch in colder weather. Keep at it and you will catch.

I agree with above roach need the warmth to get them feeding I would target pike or perch this time of year.....

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Hope I don't offend anyone but I disagree with the above comments. Fish have to feed irrespective of the temp and they just go about it in a different way. My experience is that in the Winter they do shoal up but are generally static and that you have present the nymph very slowly to them i.e figure of 8 retrieve and then still slow it down some more. Watch you line indicator as the takes are mostly very suttle. Fish deep with perhaps 1.5 to 2 times your rod lenght (also depends on the depth of the canal). Winter fishing generally means that you have to look for them. Because you are not hooking up could also mean that thay are not present there so be on the move constantly. Lastly In my experience Winter fishing means that the fish move from cold water to shallower warmer water so I normally wait for the 1st sign of frost. On the account of having slightly warmer weather now I normally start in at about mid December. Tight lines.

Just had the latest FF&FT delivered good article on fly fishing for roach.

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Jim

My only worry is that when I die,my wife sells my fishing gear, for what I said I paid for it

Roach is often active on the surface during the winter. Today, at 6*C:

Hi Folks,

Until the cold got me on 19th December I had caught roach on tiny things. I've gotta go but will post few pictures of my creatures I had most of the takes on.
In essence size 16-22 tiny gold head (tungsten and ordinary metal bead) bugs on curved hooks. 1. red tag bug (red tag without the hackle but with a bead head) 2. pink bug with black head and dark seals fur dubbed around to imitate the legs 3.olive bug, same as the pink one 4. good old hare's ear bug with gold head. If you tie these in various weights and sizes and find a nice slow flowing stretch of you local canal or river ( also check the pillars of little bridges) just cast slightly across, let the beasts sink to the deck and retrieve them very slow e.g. 1inch a second. Make sure the line is always straight and try to keep the nymphs as close to the bottom as possible. Keep the rod tip low, close to the water and try to stand still. Takes are usually very subtle, sometimes just a tiny twitch on the floating putty I use for bite detection. Try to use light lines (2pound mono to connect the flies to the main line which is 3-4 pounder for me), 2-3 nymphs 30-40cm apart and use as light rod as you dare. I now use a 1 weight rod and a 1 weight line on it. I highly recommend it especially after I almost netted a 70cm-ish pike on it . The use of tapered leader is not necessary for this type of fishing if you ask me.

Paul,

Did you write the article for FF&FT? I liked it a lot. It is a shame that English is not my first language so everything takes ages to correctly type up. I translated one of my friends article on global flyfisher if anyone is interested. I must admit it is more like a general article on winter fishing but some might find it useful.
There is one more to come as soon as I finish with it. Catching chub on dry fly in slow flowing waters will be the title.

Being lazy I simply link in my friends webpage where you can see the flies. Before you complain I warn you the site will be in Hungarian. But at least you can see the pictures. By the way most of the waters in that article are around Peterborough (10-20miles radius) except the GUC in Leicester. If anyone did fancy I am happy to take folks around and show places.

Anyway I had better go!

Tight lines!

Pete

I'm far from expert on Roach on the fly, having caught but a single one last Sunday, fishing for Rainbows with an orange/white Okey-dokey. It was neither static or deep and the weather had just warmed up after the freeze but the water must have been cold with the melt water.
Like most things in fishing, and Nature generally, no hard and fast rules. Too many variables.

I suppose an Okey-dokey is the nearest thing in my fly box to a maggot. No reason not to tie some up in smaller sizes if you are targetting Roach in a bait-fishing water.

SharkeyP

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Hi Bakelit79 (Pete) yes I did write the article and I am pleased you liked it. I am not an expert but I fly fish for any coarse fish as that is all I have round here. The roach is one of my favourite fish to catch on the fly so I do it as often as I can.
I hoped the article might inspire a few others to have a go and realise that fly fishing is not just for trout and grayling.
That article on global flyfisher is one of the best I have read I still read it now! It should be read by anyone who enjoys flyfishing for winter coarse fish.
Looking forward to your chub article, let me know when its done.
It is a shame Skateboard Dave has not posted for a while I really miss his articles on fly fishing for coarse fish he was very helpful and knew his stuff. Where is he? we need him back!
Thanks again Pete, like the way you fish for roach must try those pink bugs!

I've not tried fly fishing for them in Winter, but I have never had any problem catching roach by other methods at this time of year, and would largely consider them a winter species. Certainly it is traditional to target them in the winter on rivers.