A recent session at Oxfordshire's Linear Fisheries left angler Matt Wise in awe when he landed a fantastic 3lb 6oz roach.
Starting his session on Oxlease, Matt found that the carp fishing was very slow and decided a complete change of lake and tactics was in order to save his session. After hearing about the recent captures of large roach and tench in Brasenose One, he made the move, and it paid off in fine style as he was into fish straight away.
WANT TO CATCH A BIG ROACH? READ OUR EXPERT ARTICLE ON TACKLING STILLWATERS TO LAND YOUR NEW PB!
"I had set off with the intention of catching carp on the trip but when I realised they weren’t playing ball I soon changed my approach and lake," Matt told us.
"I always carry a selection of tackle on my carp fishing trips as there are often some other fantastic species to target if the carp aren't feeding."
During the move, Matt bought some maggots from the tackle shop to target the roach, knowing that the fish in Brasenose have a preference for them.
"I spodded out some 3mm BP Milling Smart Mix pellet to a gravel bar, around 40 yards out in the lake, with the hope of drawing some fish into the area."
"I chose to fish at close range to reduce the amount of attention from the carp as they had all been caught out in the middle of the lake."
"The rigs were Pallatrax size 6 wide gape hook with a ball of 22 maggots on a Medusa rig with PVA bags of maggots attached."
The tactics paid off for Matt as that very evening he received a bite that would blow him away and result in his new PB, from a session that looked like it was fading away.
"After getting the bite, I received those unmistakable head shakes and my knees began to shake. Before long, the fish surfaced and I was in awe, quickly scooping the fish up in the net"
"I had just settled on getting a bite and never expected anything of that magnitude, a new PB and one of the best fish I have ever caught!" Matt concluded.
IF YOU'RE FISHING LONG SESSIONS YOU NEED ONE OF THE BEST FISHING BEDCHAIRS TO STAY COMFORTABLE.
This page is a free example of the amazing content Angling Times Members get every single week. Becoming an Angling Times Member gives you access to award-winning magazine content, member rewards, our back issue archives, bonus content and more! Join our fishing community and find out more today!