Specimen river roach can be hard to track down, but after travelling from his Hertfordshire home to the River Frome, John Trimmer’s efforts paid off with this 2lb 15oz redfin.
He’s been after a big river roach for a while, and knew he needed to be selective in his approach to single out the better fish, so brought casters, hemp and bread. Kicking off on breadflake after feeding a ball of liquidised crumb mixed with hemp , he had little response initially. Switching to a caster, John soon landed a surprise 13oz dace.
After introducing another small ball of feed, he saw a big fish roll just under his feet. Pulling his float back gently over the spot, it moved a couple of feet before burying, and John hooked a fish that gave a short but dogged fight. It was obviously a very big roach, and after netted it, John admitted he was shaking when his scales hit 2lb 15oz.
Well done John!