Roach Fishing: Best Baits, Rigs and Winter Tips for Catching Roach

By Hooked Tackle · Last updated 2 November 2026
We are a tackle shop in Newmarket, and we sell Lark Angling tickets for the River Lark, where winter roach fishing is right on our doorstep.

Quick Answer

Roach are the most widespread coarse fish in the UK, and winter is the best time to catch a big one from a river. In cold water they pack into tight shoals in deeper, slower swims. Fish fine, with a size 18 or 20 hook and a light hooklength. Use maggots, casters or bread punch, and feed a little and often. Trot a stick float on rivers, fish a waggler or pole on canals and stillwaters, and switch to a feeder when the river is up and coloured. Rivers stay open until 14 March.

What Are Roach?

Quick answer: a silver shoal fish with a red eye and reddish fins, found in rivers, canals and lakes all over the country.

Roach are usually the first fish an angler catches, and they are worth fishing for long after that. Most weigh from a couple of ounces to a pound, a fish over a pound is a good one, and a two-pounder is a specimen. In 2024 the British record became a joint record of 4lb 3oz, shared by Dai Gribble's fish from Linear Fisheries and Keith Berry's 2007 fish, according to Angling Times.

The Canal & River Trust describes roach as the most abundant fish in its canals, and they are just as common in rivers and lakes.

Roach or rudd? The easiest check is the mouth. A rudd has an upturned bottom lip for feeding near the surface, while a roach's mouth points straight ahead. Roach have a red eye and a dorsal fin that sits directly above the pelvic fins. Rudd are more golden with brighter red fins. Roach also cross with bream, which produces deep-bodied hybrids. Our UK coarse fish species guide covers the other silverfish too.

Where Do You Find Roach in Winter?

Quick answer: in deeper, slower water, packed into tight shoals. Town stretches, slacks, bends and the boat channel on canals are all good places to start.

• Deeper, steadier water on rivers. In cold water roach move out of the fast, shallow runs and shoal up in the steadier, deeper swims: the inside of bends, the tail of a deep glide, and slower water under far-bank cover.
• Town stretches. Town-centre lengths of river are classic winter roach water, partly because people feeding the ducks keep a steady supply of bread going in.
• Slacks after a flood. When the river is up and coloured, roach move out of the main flow into slacks, eddies, marinas and the margins.
• The boat channel on canals. The Canal & River Trust's fisheries team says you will catch more roach from the boat channel or towards the far bank than close to the towpath.
• The deepest areas of stillwaters. On lakes and commercials, the deeper water and any features hold the winter shoals.
• Quieter, lightly fished stretches. The biggest roach are often in the less popular stretches away from the busy pegs, where they see fewer baits and less disturbance.

Watch for rolling fish. At first light and again at dusk, roach often roll or dimple on the surface, especially on calm, mild days. Spend the first and last half hour of a session watching the water, because a few rolling fish will show you exactly where a shoal is sitting.

Because roach shoal so tightly in winter, a swim is often either full of fish or empty. If an hour of good feeding has brought nothing, move.

What Is the Best Bait for Roach?

Quick answer: maggots and casters on most days, bread punch in clear water and town stretches, and bread flake or worm for bigger fish and coloured water.

Bait	Best for	Hook size
Single or double maggot	Every water, every day; the most reliable roach bait	20–18
Caster	Better-quality roach; slower to get bites but sorts out the bigger fish	18–16
Bread punch	Clear water, canals and town stretches in winter	18–14
Bread flake	Big river roach, often on the feeder	14–12
Worm tail	Coloured water after rain	16–14
Hemp	A classic loose feed on rivers, and a hookbait in its own right	18–16

Whatever you use, feed a little and often. A small pinch of maggots or casters every cast, or a tiny ball of liquidised bread, keeps the shoal interested without filling it up. In winter it is easy to overfeed, and a roach shoal that has eaten its fill stops biting.

For bread punch, a set of punches such as the Matrix Compression Punch Set (£9.99, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm) covers everything from canal roach to bigger river fish. Keep the bread fresh in a Guru Punch Box (£22.99) so it does not dry out on the bank.

What Size Hook for Roach?

Quick answer: a size 20 or 18 for maggot and caster, a 16 or 14 for bread punch, and a 14 or 12 for bread flake.

Match the hook to the bait rather than the size of fish you hope for. Small baits on small hooks get more bites from wary winter roach, and a fine-wire 18 will still land a two-pounder if you play it gently. On a really hard day, dropping to a 22 with a single maggot can make the difference. The Canal & River Trust recommends sizes 20 to 22 for canal roach.

Ready-tied hooks save fiddly knots on a cold bank. Drennan Silverfish Maggot hooks to nylon are £2.99 in sizes 16 to 22, and if you tie your own, Drennan Spade End Silverfish Maggot hooks are £1.99. Our hook size chart covers every bait.

For line, a 3lb mainline with a 1.5 to 2lb hooklength covers most river and canal roach fishing. Our fishing line guide has the full chart.

How Do You Fish for Roach?

Quick answer: trot a stick float on rivers, use a waggler or pole on canals and stillwaters, and fish a feeder when the river is too high for a float.

Stick float on rivers. This is the classic way to catch river roach. A stick float is attached top and bottom and trotted down the swim with the current, while you feed a few maggots or casters every cast. Spread small shot down the line so the bait falls naturally, set the depth so the bait just clears the bottom, and hold the float back slightly so the bait goes through just ahead of it. Drennan Alloy Sticks (£2.39) are stable in a steady flow, and in faster or more turbulent water a Drennan Crystal Avon (£2.39) carries more weight and stays visible.

Waggler on stillwaters, canals and slow rivers. A waggler attached by the bottom end only is easier to cast and copes better with wind. Our float fishing guide covers shotting and plumbing the depth.

Pole or whip on canals. A pole puts a bait exactly where you feed it, which is ideal for roach in the boat channel. Our pole fishing guide explains where to start.

Feeder when the river is up. After heavy rain, the flow can be too strong to run a float through properly. Swap to a feeder and a quivertip. A Korum Window Maggot Feeder (£2.99) puts maggots right next to the hookbait, and a Drennan Stainless Oval Cage Feeder (£2.29) packed with liquidised bread and a piece of flake on the hook is a proven big-roach method.

Maggot feeder for big stillwater roach. Many of the biggest roach now come from big gravel pits and lakes, and the maggot feeder is the method that catches them. Dai Gribble's record-equalling roach from Linear Fisheries in 2024 fell to block-end feeders filled with maggots on a helicopter rig with a short hooklength, according to Angling Times. Big stillwater roach often feed in short windows, so keep the feeder going in the same general area and fish through dawn and dusk. Our feeder fishing guide covers the rigs.

Bread punch. In clear winter water, a small pellet of punched bread on an 18 or 16 hook, with a tiny ball of liquidised bread or Dynamite Baits XL Crumb (£4.09) as feed, catches roach when maggots will not. Bread is quick: if roach are there, you usually know within a few minutes.

When Is the Best Time to Catch Roach?

Quick answer: winter on rivers, and especially the last hour of daylight into dusk.

River roach are at their best from late autumn until the season closes on 14 March. They are in top condition, they shoal tightly, and the clearer winter water suits fine tackle. A settled, mild spell after a flood has dropped and started to clear is often the best of all.

Through the day, the last hour of light into dusk is the classic time for the bigger fish, so do not pack up as the light goes. On coloured rivers after rain, roach can feed well all day, and bread or the feeder is the way to catch them.

Roach keep feeding in cold water when many other species slow down, which makes them one of the best targets for a winter day session. They also win a lot of winter matches, and our guide to targeting silverfish in matches covers how.

Where to Fish for Roach Near Newmarket

Quick answer: the River Lark at Mildenhall and Barton Mills, the Cam through Cambridge, and the Great Ouse at Ely.

• River Lark. About 15 minutes from the shop, the Lark around Mildenhall and Barton Mills is classic roach and chub water. Most of the best stretches are Lark Angling & Preservation Society water, and you can buy your ticket from us.
• River Cam in Cambridge. Parts of the Cam through the city have long been fished from the public towpaths, and they are known for roach and dace. Check the local signs before you fish.
• Great Ouse at Ely. A wide, slow river with roach along much of its length. The town-centre riverside is widely listed as free fishing with a rod licence, but check the signs, as the banks either side are club water.

Our guides to free fishing spots around Newmarket and the best winter fisheries have more places to try. You need a rod licence if you are 13 or older, and the river close season runs from 15 March to 15 June.

What Most Anglers Get Wrong

Quick answer: tackle that is too heavy, too much feed, and a bait in the wrong part of the water.

1. Fishing too heavy. A thick hooklength and a big hook cost bites from wary winter roach. Go fine, and play fish gently.
2. Overfeeding. A big ball of groundbait in cold water feeds the shoal off. Little and often wins in winter.
3. Not getting the depth right. In winter roach usually feed on or just off the bottom. Plumb the depth carefully and keep adjusting until you get bites.
4. Staying in an empty swim. Winter roach pack together, so most of the river is empty. If good feeding brings nothing in an hour, move.
5. Packing up at dusk. The last hour of light is often the best of the day for bigger roach.

FAQs

What is the best bait for roach in winter?
Maggots and casters are the most reliable, with bread punch excellent in clear water and on town stretches. For bigger river roach, bread flake on the feeder with liquidised bread is a proven method, and a worm tail is worth trying when the river is coloured.

What size hook for roach?
A size 20 or 18 for single maggot or caster, dropping to a 22 on hard days. Use a 16 or 14 for bread punch and a 14 or 12 for bread flake. Fine-wire hooks get more bites, and played gently they will still land a big roach.

Where do roach go in winter?
Into deeper, slower water, packed into tight shoals. On rivers, look at the inside of bends, steady glides, slacks and town stretches. On canals, fish the boat channel or towards the far bank. On stillwaters, fish the deeper areas.

How do you tell a roach from a rudd?
Look at the mouth. A rudd has an upturned bottom lip, while a roach's mouth points straight ahead. Roach have a red eye and a dorsal fin directly above the pelvic fins, while rudd are more golden with brighter red fins.

What is the British record roach?
In 2024 the British record became a joint record of 4lb 3oz, shared by Dai Gribble's fish from Linear Fisheries in Oxfordshire and Keith Berry's 2007 fish, which was revised down from 4lb 4oz. Any roach over two pounds is a specimen.

Can you catch roach on bread?
Yes. Bread punch on a small hook is one of the best winter roach baits, especially in clear water and on town stretches where the fish are used to bread. Bread flake on a bigger hook is a classic bait for big river roach.

When is roach fishing season in the UK?
On rivers in England, the coarse close season runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive, so you can fish for river roach from 16 June to 14 March. Most stillwaters and most canals have no close season, but some canal stretches and fisheries keep one, so check the Canal & River Trust list or the fishery rules before you go.

What time of day is best for roach?
The last hour of daylight into dusk is the classic time for bigger roach, especially in winter. On coloured rivers after rain, they can feed well all day.

Get Kitted Out

If you are starting from scratch, the Guru 11ft Float Rod and Reel Combo (£99.99) is a complete float setup. For trotting rivers, the Drennan Specialist River Float Rod is £139.99 in 13ft. Add a few Drennan Alloy Sticks (£2.39), a packet of Drennan Silverfish Maggot hooks to nylon (£2.99) and a Matrix Compression Punch Set (£9.99), and you are ready for a winter roach session.

Prices correct as of November 2026 — check the product page for current pricing and availability.

Fancy a bigger target on the same rivers? Our chub fishing guide uses many of the same baits. Pick up your Lark ticket and bait in the shop, or get in touch.