“The greatest brace of roach in coarse angling history”
Without doubt, the greatest brace of roach in coarse angling history has been taken by Kent angler Dan Woolcott, who landed fish weighing a staggering 4lb 2oz and 3lb 14oz in one remarkable session.
They were caught from a rock-hard, super low-stock pit, and their combined weight of 8lb comfortably beats the previous biggest brace of redfins on record, held by Phil Spinks’ totalling 7lb 6oz which was banked back in 2017. The larger of the two fish landed by Dan is also just 2oz shy of Keith Berry’s British Record, caught from a Northern Irish stillwater 15 years ago.
Unsurprisingly, Dan admitted to still being in shock at having made such a historic haul.
“The venue only does a few bites a year, but this catch has made all the hard work and countless blanks worthwhile,” he told us. “Roach this big just look crazy on the bank. Both were over seventeen inches long – they were simply mindblowing!”
Dan used maggot feeder tactics using 50g Drennan Feederbombs, short 5lb Supplex Fluorocarbon hooklinks and size 14 Super Specialist hooks on heli rig set-ups. These were cast over a bed of groundbait, hemp and maggots 50 yards out to a clear spot in open water.
He added: “I used Twin Tip Duo rods in 1.5lb test curve, which were beefy enough to get the feeders out there but still had the softness in the tip to avoid bumping fish off during the roach’s characteristic jagged fight.” Dan landed the 3lb 14oz specimen first, and instead of wasting time marvelling at the enormity of his catch – as most anglers perhaps would – he refilled the feeder and got the rod straight back out.
“Big roach usually swim in small year-class shoals, so I always cast back out to the baited area as soon as possible to maximise my chances of another bite. The feeding spells of these fish are so short that you must make the most of the slim window of opportunity.”
Despite being so well organised, nothing could’ve prepared Dan for what happened next. “I was pacing up and down the bank in shock that I’d caught such a huge roach. Then, half-an-hour later, I had another take. After an incredibly tense fight with what was obviously another big fish, I netted an absolute giant. The first fish beat my previous PB by 3oz, but this fish, at 4lb 2oz, smashed that out of the water.”
Dan believes the larger of the brace will be a British Record come the end of the season and was honoured to have laid eyes on such a fish.
“It was a session I’ll truly never forget. Both fish were witnessed when weighed, measured and thoroughly documented. I definitely had the fishing gods shining down on me that session, and I feel privileged to have been able to hold such rare creatures.”
Head over to the Drennan YouTube channel for the full video!
