There are times in angling when you hit a purple patch, and, for whatever reason, every session seems to go well. Whether it’s due to luck, dedication, skill, or a combination of these, it’s a time to make the most of—and specimen angler Matt Adams is enjoying an incredible river season.
After landing one of the biggest dace of the year at 1lb 3oz, he has recently landed a quite unbelievable brace of enormous roach, again on the float, with the 'smaller' fish weighing 2lb 9oz and the larger of the two, pulling the needle round to a truly staggering 3lb 7oz.
THE BEST FLOAT RODS WILL HELP YOU PRESENT A FLOAT WITH MUCH MORE FINESSE TO FOOL BIG ROACH.
"Knowing I had a few hours spare the next morning I wasn’t sure where I was going to fish. With conditions being less than ideal for my spots on the stour I decided to head to a local southern chalk stream for a couple of hours trotting a swim I hadn’t had a big roach from yet," Matt told us.
"On arriving conditions looked good for running my 4x no4 stick through, so set one up on the trusty 15ft Allerton Rremier Match rod, 3lb mainline to 2lb bottom and a 16 Drennan carbon march on the business end."
Before casting out, Matt fed the swim consistently for 30 minutes, hoping to attract some fish and encourage them to feed. Despite his efforts, he fished for about an hour without any bites or even signs of life in his swim. However, not one to give up, he continued to run his float through, and, out of the blue, a bite connected him with a solid, thumping resistance.
"I knew with the subtle headshakes I had hooked a good roach and after a few heart stopping moments, I landed my first roach of the day and at a whopping 2lb 9oz!" he said.
TROTTING CAN BE DEMANDING, USE ONE OF THE BEST FISHING REELS TO TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF YOUR WRIST.
"I was over the moon, an immaculate fish that really did fight hard, I doubt it’s seen a hook before."
With the fish safely returned, Matt went had around an hour of daylight left before it would be time to leave. With the cautious nature of big roach in mind, he fed the swim again for 30 minutes in the hope of getting one last bite, a bite that would turn out to be the fish of a lifetime.
"On my third run through after giving the swim a rest, the float disappears and I’m into what feels like a true giant, holding deep with heavy nods of its head I knew this was something special," Matt recalled.
"Just as I put the net into the water, ready to land the fish as it approached the rod tip, it rolled, and I caught a glimpse of those signature red fins."
"My legs went weak as I prayed the hook would hold just long enough to get the net under this huge fish."
"After three attempts at netting it, the fish finally slipped over the cord. Although it wasn’t a personal best, a massive, dinosaur-like roach weighing 3lb 7oz lay in the net, recovering. It was one of the prettiest fish I’ve ever seen," he concluded.
A SET OF THE BEST FISHING SCALES WILL HELP YOU ACCURATELY WEIGH FISH OF A LIFETIME!
