The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

River Hiz. I think I located the area the big Hiz roach came from - by simple elimination and clues as to who owned the private land.

Incomplete ref River Hiz but interesting to people like me who love chalk streams.

https://www.hertsmemories.org.uk/conten ... hiz-part-1

Apart from a good walk in the cold I stayed in today but have put together a video for Roach Reflections which is about maggots for roach:

If you throw a few maggot in the water they sink longways...... so if you can get the roach in a frenzy taking on the drop, sidehooking maggots (like your young mate) can actually help.

Re flavours. My pal way getting a goer roach up to 12-14 oz every cast on the Thames in a reliable roach area swim on ledgered bread.

For some reason he decided to flavour his bread with Strawberry flavour 1/2 way into the session. That was it - no bites at all after adding flavour! Flavours can do real damage.

Thanks as always Mark. It's taught me a lot so far. I don't do a lot of river fishing, but I'm finding these videos very inspirational.

Mark99 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:49 pm If you throw a few maggot in the water they sink longways...... so if you can get the roach in a frenzy taking on the drop, side-hooking maggots (like your young mate) can actually help.

My mate wasn't so much side-hooking the maggots as skewering them. I've done vast amounts of on-the-drop fishing over the years and always hook the maggot conventionally but have no problems catching on the drop as I use very small, light hooks with minimal shotting down the line, and done well the maggot stays horizontal.

Loving this series Mark, keep them coming.

Some people hook double maggot with one bait hooked fat end first and the other thin end first...... attempt to reduce the "spin" on retrieve.

I remember Ivan Marks saying about hooking a maggot the right way. Means the hook would stick up so you a chance of foul hooking in a match on a stillwater. Not something that applies to most of us. Debatable anyway