Canals and rivers of great or small width make up the large part of the waters preferred by this funny fish. It is here that the technique of common roach fishing with hemp grains proves to be more effective and fun.
It is always with the triggered hemp grain that larger common roach are taken in large quantities and in the stagnant waters this technique requires great precision. In rivers, flowing water makes things easier, but emotions are the same ...
You can fish with hemp all year round, but it is during summer that this technique proves to be more effective, roughly from June to September.
Roubaisienne
The put over rod, with a short flag line (float-line distance) is the only technique that can be used: the retrieve must take place immediately to the perception of the touch and the fragility of the trigger does not allow launching.
In small canals, but also in large, navigable ones, the ideal fishing distance is between 5 and 7 meters, a distance that combines a sufficient depth to the possibility of throwing the hemp grains into the water by hand. Beyond this measure one must use the sling to bait.
However, in large navigable canals, the common roach has a tendency to station by the shore, especially in summer, so it is not worth to go and look for it at 13 meters.
Fineness and lightness
This applies to most of the fishing, from which an inevitable axiom derives: the more the line is fine, light and balanced, the more touches and catches will be numerous.
In still waters, we calculate a tenth of a gram per meter of depth, no more, in river, it depends on the strength of the water flow, but we must always try to fish as light as possible. Of course with a heavier line you "feel" better what you do, but this also applies to fish ...
In still waters, a rig of 0.06 or 0.07 is essential. Depending on the grain hemp size, a hook from 18 to 20, round, thin wire and short stem is perfect. Hook may look big in relation to the diameter of the rig, but is proportionate to the size of the bait.
The most important thing is to have a light hook and the stem must be short so as not to stick out too much.
At the moment of the bite, fish sucks the grain, but at the slightest resistance it expels it. Therefore, it is advisable to balance the float up to the extreme creating a soft and discreet plumbing.
When a line is badly calibrated, we always witness the same scene: a timid bite and then nothing more. In fact, the common roach begins to suck, but stops the movement as soon as it feels the slightest resistance.
For this, we need a float with carbon stem that ensures stability, offering strength and a minimum chance of tangling. The fiber antenna, with a plumbing carried to the limit of excess, allows optimal sensitivity.
Lure baiting
With hemp, the secret of touches regularity is the lure baiting that must be regular, precise and light: at every drop of line the fisherman must give four or five hemp grains always in the same spot.
Regular, because if launches slow down, fish move away. Precise, because if grains are scattered, common roach are dispersed and the lack of bait concentration on the bottom attracts much less. Finally, the recall must be well proportioned: as light as possible.
This is the fundamental principle of hemp fishing.
Once the fish is in place, what makes it profitable is the competition that establishes itself among the fish for the conquest of the grains. We need to get it right to get the fish on the spot and to keep the competition between fish.
Fishing Height
Without a doubt, in a fishing based on lure baiting, practiced in summer, it is common for the fish to rise in half water. In this case fishing becomes extremely technical and must be retrieved in a very timely manner. Fisherman must also follow the fish during the ascent movement.
On the contrary, when fish is held near the bottom, it may be common to see some touches by fishing grazing the ground, but it will be much better to fish resting from 10 to 15 cm.
This is explained by the fact that when common roach collect the grains laid on the bottom, those presented even a few millimeters from it will turn out to be suspicious.
A good catching technique allows to multiply the number of touches. We must therefore make regular, slow and light recall that move the float by a few millimeters.
A speed fishing
Who discovers hemp fishing is generally surprised by the cadence of the bites once the fish is in place: impossible to have a higher rhythm with other baits, not even with the ver de vase.
Since fishing precision must also be maintained at a high rate of touches, fishing with hemp becomes an excellent speed school.
A simple and effective groundbait
You can make a nice catch of common roach with hemp even without an initial baiting, but also only with free grains. That being said, some good groundbait allows you to get the fish faster. The principle of the groundbait is the same whether you fish with hemp, ver de vase or maggots. It has the function of bait vector and of stimulation for the fish to eat the bait chosen.
Therefore, cooked and minced hemp is the essential component of the composition. Better to avoid the toasted hemp that attracts small fish and helps to distribute them over the whole thickness of water.
It is not worth to prepare a full bucket of it: from 500 to 600 grams of dry groundbait is sufficient for a fishing session. Here is a simple and effective recipe: 60 cl of minced hemp, 40 cl of dark bread, 20 cl of white bread, 20 cl of biscuit, 20 cl of corn flour, 15 cl of coconut (to avoid in case of fast water flow).
The right procedure
Put minced hemp into a saucepan with two liters of water and 20 g of vanilla sugar. Bring to a boil and let it retreat until obtaining a kind of thick porridge. When water is largely evaporated, mix the still boiled cooked hemp with the other flours. Residual cooking water must allow the groundbait to be moistened.
It is the hot wetting of flours that makes the groundbait strong by avoiding the addition of PV1 or other gluing ingredients. To fish in the most flowing waters, we need to increase the quantity of white bread by decreasing, until it is completely eliminated, the dark bread together, naturally, with the coconut.
About fifteen large balls like a nut are enough to attract the common roach very quickly on the spot causing them to eat hemp.
Preparation of the grains for triggering and baiting
Soak the hemp about eight hours in warm water (300 grams are sufficient for a fishing session). Rinse the seeds and put in a saucepan covering with cold water and adding two teaspoons of sugar.
Cook over low heat until most of the seeds open and protrude the germ. Bring to boiling for two or three minutes. Dip the seeds in cold water to stop the cooking process, rinse thoroughly and keep in the fridge covered with cold water.
For a longer preservation, salt the grains, but it is better to always prepare fresh grains because they hold the hook better.
For beginners, the main problem with this fishing technique is to trigger the grains. The most commonly used method is to let the hook pass below the germ, pass through the grain and let the tip come out from the opposite side of the germ.
Another way is to put the hook in the "back" of the grain and to make the tip parallel to the germ. The first method makes eating easier to retrieve, decreases the number of empty retrieve and allows a slower retrieving action. The second requires a more precise and more technical fishing, but you see many more bites. Therefore, it is better to strive in preparing this trigger.
Warning: it is always better to have a nice white germ that protrudes from the grain for the trigger!
So, if you have well-populated waters of common roach or scardinius, but also of small carp and crucian, there is the opportunity to try one of the most enjoyable fishing session that we practice in Belgium.
Right or wrong
Some trick and secrets to fish better with hemp
1) Avoid putting fouillis or pinkies to recall the fish. Too often, occasional practitioners with hemp also put the fouillis, ver de vase or maggots in the groundbait. To avoid: Common roach seems disturbed by the cohabitation of plant and animal bait.
2) Avoid overbaiting. We have noticed that too much nourishment or too many grains are harmful to the emulation necessary to make the fish eat. It is necessary to give parsimoniously to be able to correct the shot if we realize that we are baiting too much or too little.
3) Bait regularly. In a based on the baiting fishing session, if you lose the cadence, you lose the fish. You must therefore be regular, like a Swiss clock. The hemp that is thrown into the water is more essential than that put on the hook!
4) Crushing the barb. In order to gain valuable time and trigger effectively, you can crush the barb of the hook. Unlike the animal bait kept by the barb, there is no risk of losing the grain.
5) Crushing the grains for baiting. When the fish is well placed on the spot, you can crush the hemp grains by sticking with your fingers to make the germ come out well. Since common roach prefers grains with a nice white germ, they will eat grains first.