Fish Species

Roach

Features

Roach are easily identified by their silver colour ,red fins and red eyes.

Spawning

Roach generally spawn during May but ,unlike bream ,are mature after 2 to 3 years and are very prolific breeders.Roach readily hydridise with bream and rudd and these hydrids are common in areas where these species co-exist.Because of the prolific nature of roach ,they can over run a mixed fishery in a relative short time period .Egg sizes is 1 -1.5mm.Adult roach produce 25,000-1,000,000 eggs /kg

LONGEVITY(age)

They can live for up to 15years

DIET

Adult roach feed mainly on insects and small crustaceans.Juveniles feed on zooplakton and phytoplanton.

BEST ANGLING METHODS

Float fishing with wagglers CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF HOW TO FISH FOR ROACH ON THE WAGGLER,CLICLK HERE FOR VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH FOR ROACHstick and other floats ; ledgering with bomb or swimfeeder; long pole to hand or short line.

BEST BAITS

Maggots,worms,bread,casters,hemp,tares,sweetcorn,etc with groundbait

BEST TIMES TO FISH

Roach can be caught all year round and can provide good sport in winter .The fishing begins to become more rewarding in March and then to April to May see the best bags of roach taken.

Rudd (Scardinius erthropthaimus)

Specimen weight 1kg(2lb 4oz) BRITISH RECORD 4LB 8OZ 1933

FEATURES

Rudd are characterised by thier golden green hue ,scarlet fins and proturding lower jaw

SPAWNING

They are sexually matrue after 3 to 4 years and spawn from mid May to early June .Egg size is between 1.4-1.7 mm. the average rudd produces 108,000 -211,000 eggs/kg

LONGEVITY(age)

They can live for up to 17 years

DIET

Rudd are a shoaling species and feeds at or beneath the water surface.Surface feeding rudd can easily be located by looking for ripples they cause as they rise to surface feed for floating insects.

BEST ANGLING METHODS

Float fishing mainly with small waggler floats ,pole fishing up in the water ,on the drop method

BEST BAITS

Maggots, bread, sweetcorn,casters,etc 

BEST TIMES TO FISH

Rudd fishing is at its best in the early summer months when the water tempertures have incresed suffiently to make them active feeders .April is the start of the season for the rudd fishermen,but May to early August provide the most consistent sport.The fishing continues through the autumn to late October.

Bream(Abramis brama)

Specimen weight 3.4kg(7.5lb) BRITISH RECORD 18LB 8OZ 2001

FEATURES

Adults are easeily recogonizable by thier bronze hue,black fins and proturding upper jaw.Immature bream are termmed "skimmers" and differ from the adults by virtue of their silver coloration 

SPAWNING

Bream reach maturity between 7-10 years of age .Spawning occurs between mid-May and mid-June when water tempertures reach 15C .Eggs of 1.6-2mm are laid in weed beds in swallow water.The average adult bream produces 30,000-40,000 eggs/kg  

LONGEVITY(age)

Bream can live up to 25years.

DIET

Deit in adluts consists mainly of chironomid and caddis larva ,gammarus and benthic invertebrates

BEST ANGLING METHODS

Float fishing with wagglers,ledgering with bombs ,swimfeeders,long pole to hand or short line

BEST BAITS

Maggots ,worms, casters ,sweetcorn, bread, etc,groundbait 

BEST TIMES TO FISH

Without a doubt the best bream fishing is in May/June and September/October however good bags can still be had in April,July and August.

TENCH(Tinca tinca)

Specimen weight 2.7kg(6lb) BRITISH RECORD 14LB 7OZ 1993

FEATURES

Tench are easily recognised by their minute scales,which give them an almost scale-less appearance .They have a dark olive hue or blackish colour .The fins are rounded and the tail is almost unforked .It is possible to disinguish the sexes based on thepelvic fins on the underside of the body.Male fish have very large spoon-shaped fins,while those of the female are longer ,more pointed and triangler in shape.Click here for a Video of fishing for tench

SPAWNING

Tench spawn later in the year than most of the other cypriniclae species and require tempertures of between 18-20C to spawn .Spawning therefore is normallyrestricted to late June and July.Egg size is 1.3-1.4mm.Tench produce 125,000eggs/kg

LONGEVITY(age)

They have a maximum life-span of 12 to 15 years

DIET

Tench are abottom feeding fish and the presence of a trail of small bubbles on the water surface is often an indication of tench feeding below.Food consists of insect larvae and molluscs

BEST ANGLING METHODS

Float fishing with waggler floats and tipfishing with bomb,swimfeeder,the lift method is ideal for tench fishing

BEST BAITS

Maggots ,sweetcorn,bread ,casters,etc,groundbait

BEST TIMES TO FISH

June to August when the water temperature have increased are best months to fish for tench,with late evening sessions often paying the best dividends .Earlier in the season in April and May reasonable sport can be had.Tench can be caught to the end of October

PERCH(Perca fluvialtilis)

Specimen weight 1.2kg(2.646lb) BRITISH RECORD 5LB 9OZ 1985

FEATURES

Perch are easily identifed by their olive green colour and the distinctive vertical black stripes on their flanks.The pectoral ,pelvic and tail fin are reddish in colour.

SPAWNING

Perch can mature at two years of age .Spawning  takes place in early April to mid May on aquatic weeds or submerged bushes or tree branches .Egg size is 2-2.5mm.Number of eggs produced per adult is 45,000 eggs/kg

LONGEVITY(age)

Perch live for about 12 years

DIET

Perch are fish eaters but they also feed on aquatic insects

BEST ANGLING METHODS

Float fishing ,tip, pole,and spinning

BEST BAITS

Maggots,worms,casters,small spinners,spoons, small dead fish for big specimens

BEST TIMES TO FISH

Perch fishing is the cure for al lthe anglers woe .the handsome fish will take most baits eagerly throughtout the year.Only the brightest summer day or the very coldest winter weather will put perch of feed .In rivers perch will always feed well following a flood no matter what time of year

CARP

Specimen weight 5.4.kg(12lb) BRITISH RECORD 59LB 7OZ 2001

FEATURES

There are four varieties of carp .These are the fully scaled Common Carp,the Mirror Carp.which has relatively few scales and a soomth body surface ,the linear carp with scales along the lateral line only and the Leather Carp which are total scaleless and also very rare.

SPAWNING

Carp only spawn sporadically and require a water temperature of between 20-22C over a period of 3 or so weeks to precondition their eggs.They are sexually mature at 3 years .Egg size is 1-1.5mm ,The average adult carp produces approximately250,000 eggs/kg 

LONGEVITY(age)

Carp can live for up to 50 years

DIET

They are manly benthic feeders ,feeding on larval insects ,chironomids and other bottom dwelling organisms

BEST ANGLING METHODS

Float fishing ,tip,swimfeeder,if catching specimens use unhooking mats and large landing netsCLICK FOR A VIDEO OF HOW TO MAKE CARP RIGS , A VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH FOR CARP A VIDEO WERE TO LOCATE CARP

BEST BAITS

Maggots ,sweetcorn ,bread ,worm ,groundbait

BEST TIMES TO FISH

The best time to fish for carp is when the water temperature begins to warm up in April through to the middle of October .Carp can be caught all year round

PIKE (Esox lucius)

Specimen weight 9.1 kg (20lb) BRITISH RECORD 46LB 13OZ 1992

FEATURES

The pike's body is steamlined,olive green in colour with a white belly .They have a large mouth containing many rows of  backward pointing shape teeth.

SPAWNING

They spawn between February and April when the water temperatures are less than 8C .They attach their adhesive eggs to flooded grass ,reeds and other vegetation.Adult pike produce between 9,000-20,000 eggs/kg 

LONGEVITY(age)

Pike rarely live beyond 15years of age

DIET

Adult pike are pisciverious ,"fish eating" ,feeding on available fish species,but invertebrates are an important part of the diet of smaller pike .Male pike rarely exceed 4.5kg(10lb) in weight and occasionally become part of the diet of larger female pike

BEST ANGLING METHODS

Spinning,trolling ,float fishing, float ledgering,sink and draw

BEST BAITS

Plugs ,spoons, spinners ,dead baits ,mackeral ,herring smelt sprat,roach ,rudd

BEST TIMES TO FISH

Pike fish well all year round but are at their biggest ,heaviest and hunguest coming up to spawning time .After this early spring frenzy the fishing while still rewarding does not peak untill the warmest months have ended .By September the fish have fully recovered from spawning efforts and the tiring heat of the long summer .They feed well from now to the end of the year despite the worst winter weather .Big oily deadbaits will tempt a slumbering pike on the coldest of day of the year if you know were to find him