Roach Float fishing — Grand Union Canal

Set up a straight waggler (insert-crystal type) shotted to leave a small tip showing, fished 2-3ft overdepth to just tick bottom, targeting the far-bank shelf or any visible crease/slack near boat moorings. Cast slightly beyond your feeding spot, let the float settle, and hold back gently as it trots through to straighten the line and present the bait naturally just off bottom. Feed a few maggots or a pinch of micro pellets every put-in to draw roach into a tight small area rather than spreading them, and start on single or double maggot on a size 18-16 hook, moving up to caster if you get missed bites from small fish or bleak.

• —Mid-April on the Grand Union means water is warming into the 8-11°C range but roach are still fairly lethargic and hold near structure like moored boats, reed fringes, and the far shelf rather than roaming open water
• —Canals like this are typically clear and slow-flowing with little current, so a light waggler with small shot down the line gives natural fall and better bite detection than a stick float rig here
• —Roach feed most confidently once the sun has been up a while and warmed the upper layers slightly, hence the late-morning to early-afternoon window rather than dawn
• —No live EA data was available, so this assumes typical stable canal levels and clarity for the date rather than any flood or coloured-water scenario
• —Loose feeding little and often suits roach's cautious, shoaling feeding style far better than one big introduction, especially on pressured towpath stretches