"American Roach" Fishing

    European roach are a highly sought after species by anglers who also pursue carp, tench, chub, barbel etc. Here in the states, we don't have roach, but we do have shiners. The main way these guys get into lakes/ rivers here are from dumped  minnow buckets, although they are native to the US. I like fishing for these guys because they are a completely different type of fish compared to everything else I fish for. They have tiny mouths, may or may not be picky and they fight harder than bluegill pound for pound.
     I fish a pond that is chocked full of these little buggers and another pond I fish is experiencing a bass-food-crisis! I stocked a dozen 6-10 inchers in it today from the "chocked full" pond and hopefully after a few more stockings and time to breed, the food crisis will come to an end. I fished with #14 fly tying "J hooks"  baited with one crappie nibble pellet to catch them, they are a lot of fun on light tackle and are active when bluegills slow down in cooler weather. So next time you are having a tough day on a local lake, hit a couple brush piles with some small hooks and worm, you may find an unexpected surprise waiting for you! Thanks for reading!

 

Here is a decent sized one I caught today, note the bright orange fins, very pretty,and in the summer they have a golden tint opposed to the silver-white on this guy.