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- Nov 16, 2020
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I’ve just had a lovely email from that great defender of rivers and crucian carp, Bernard Cooper. If ever there were a more kind, generous and caring angler than Bernard I have yet to meet him – or her, of course. Bernard talks about rolling roach, a phenomenon I used to witness, and write about, all the time back in the Seventies when such a sight was commonplace. In fact, so frequent was the activity that some dawns I would not start fishing at all 'till I saw “rollers” that obviously gave away the shoal’s location.
However, Bernard writes that he rarely if ever sees “rollers” these days and, when I think about it, neither do I! I’m really delving into my memory bank here, and I cannot think of seeing roach roll this century... or even back in the Nineties. It would have been Bintree Mill on the upper Wensum circa 1983/5 when I last saw “rollers” in any numbers. What has happened?
Dawn used to be a hot time for “rollers”. Perhaps not enough of us fish then, certainly not me or Bernard!
Roach have changed their habits. Perhaps rolling was associated with a particular feeding pattern? Perhaps an invertebrate feeding source that is no longer available?
Rolling was associated with bigger roach... generally two pound plus in my mind. Perhaps those fish simply do not exist today, certainly not in numbers?
But I’d love to know what “rollers” you might be seeing in 2022... and so, I know, would dear Bernard too!
However, Bernard writes that he rarely if ever sees “rollers” these days and, when I think about it, neither do I! I’m really delving into my memory bank here, and I cannot think of seeing roach roll this century... or even back in the Nineties. It would have been Bintree Mill on the upper Wensum circa 1983/5 when I last saw “rollers” in any numbers. What has happened?
Dawn used to be a hot time for “rollers”. Perhaps not enough of us fish then, certainly not me or Bernard!
Roach have changed their habits. Perhaps rolling was associated with a particular feeding pattern? Perhaps an invertebrate feeding source that is no longer available?
Rolling was associated with bigger roach... generally two pound plus in my mind. Perhaps those fish simply do not exist today, certainly not in numbers?
But I’d love to know what “rollers” you might be seeing in 2022... and so, I know, would dear Bernard too!