Roach fish: what the path looks like and what it eats, size and where it lives
Roach (family Cyprinidae) is a common fish found in almost all rivers, floodplain reservoirs, reservoirs and lakes in the center of Europe and Asia Minor. This is the most common type of fish and can often be seen entering ponds when they fill up from surface water sources. Because of its ubiquity, it is of interest to fishermen.
Description of the fish
The road fish is a common inhabitant of Europe east of the Pyrenees, southern England and the Alpine Range, as well as the Aral and Caspian Seas and the rivers of Siberia and Central Asia.She prefers to gather in groups in water bodies with a weak current near snags or overhanging trees covered with aquatic vegetation.
In lakes tends to stay near shallow areas that are warmed by sunlight. It avoids swampy or silt-filled areas of reservoirs. Small roach fish are not afraid of people, while larger specimens are usually more cautious.
Before winter arrives, fish will gather in flocks, trying to swim away to deeper waters. They will stay there for the entire winter season. When the ice melts and the water level rises, they can be seen on the floodplains and in any adjacent water bodies.
The structure of the body and its features
You can distinguish this fish from other similar ones by the pharyngeal teeth, which are located in one row on each side (from 6 to 5 teeth, respectively) and are devoid of notches. The body of common roach is covered with relatively large scales, from 45 to 40 along the lateral line.The mouth is located at the tip of the snout, and the dorsal fin begins near where the pelvic fins begin.
The back of the fish is dark, sometimes it looks greenish or bluish. Its underside and sides are silver in color. The pectoral fins are yellowish, the ventral and pelvic fins are red, and the caudal and dorsal fins are grayish green with a faint reddish tint. The fish's eyes have a yellow iris with a red spot on it. Occasionally there are individuals with yellow eyes and fins, as well as golden scales on the back and sides with a reddish tinge.
Rudd and roach are quite similar, the main difference between them is the color of the spot on the eyes; in roach it is blood red, and in rudd it is just red. The number of soft feathers on their dorsal fins also varies, with 10 to 12 for roach and 8 to 9 for rudd. In addition, there are hybrid variants that show characteristics taken from both species.
Classification
This fish species can be found in freshwater, semi-freshwater and s altwater habitats. The best-known freshwater subspecies are the Siberian, common and chebak. In non-freshwater habitats, the Azov-Black Sea roach (or ram), Caspian and Aral roaches are found. At the same time, they all look about the same, with the exception of some features that were mentioned above.
Features of roach life
Roach usually exist in schools, usually with one mature fish in the center and numerous juveniles around it. Schools of fish live near the coastline, and their fry can often be seen in shallow water, where they prefer to feed. The level of fish activity is not related to the time of day.
Diet
The diet of fish includes both vegetable and animal flesh. They consume seeds, filamentous algae and other aquatic vegetation.After emerging from the yolk sac, the larvae feed on rotifers before moving on to insect larvae, crustaceans and higher algae.
The young then feed on softer aquatic vegetation in addition to crustaceans and small bloodworms. As they grow older, their interest shifts towards shellfish, with crustaceans, insect larvae, water mites and worms being of secondary importance.
The types of food eaten by roaches and their size varies depending on whether the fish live in deep water or shallow water, or in rivers or reservoirs.
Spawning
Sexual development occurs within two to three years. Breeding starts in spring when the water temperature reaches 8°C and is most active between 10°C and 12°C. Spawning occurs vigorously in quiet, densely vegetated coastal zones of lakes or rivers.Before spawning, males of this species are distinguished by pearl-like growths on the scales, which make them rough to the touch. However, after mating, this rash is gone.
Spawning occurs in areas where last year's aquatic vegetation and roots of plants such as reeds and willows are present. In these places, there is usually little or no water flow at all. Embryos in eggs take one to two weeks to develop. After hatching, the larvae first remain in place, and then, having begun to feed, move to shallow water near the banks of ponds.
Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionThese fish grow slowly and when they reach adulthood the males are usually slightly smaller than the females.Where it applies
In Europe, especially in the north, roach have been treated as trash fish since the 1970s and are rarely eaten. Only larger roach are sold, and at a very low price. Most of it is used for feed and even for the production of biodiesel.
In Russia, a semi-anadromous subspecies is caught for commercial purposes, including ram and roach. This type of fish is mass-produced only in Siberia, while in other places it is used for recreational fishing.
Fishing Features
When the water is clear, the best time to fish for rams is from May to June, when the fish lay their eggs, as well as in the days before and after spawning. In Russia during this period, fishing is prohibited in most areas. In spring time, it is more productive to fish in the afternoon because it gives the water a chance to warm up. When summer comes, roach can usually be caught in greater numbers at sunrise.
Roach is attracted to a variety of baits, such as worms, bloodworms. In the summer and early autumn months, it can also be caught using maggot, steamed wheat, greens, dough, semolina, pearl barley, and even bark beetle larvae.Bread is a popular bait for this fish, but recently anglers have had success using corn.
Roach can be found in spring, summer and autumn in ponds where water hardly moves, near aquatic plants. She likes warm water with a sandy bottom. In reservoirs and lakes, it usually keeps near the coastline, hiding in depressions, pits or bays. When fishing for roach on large rivers during the summer months, it is best to stay close to the shoreline.
What gear to use
The most common approach to roach fishing with a rod is to use a light rod and thin line (0.2-0.1 mm) with a sensitive float, as well as hooks up to size 5 (depending on the bait). For catching large river roach going with the flow, it is better to do it from a boat or from the shore. Roach in large bodies of water, such as the Dnieper, is usually caught using bottom tackle.
Winter fishing
Roach is a popular target for ice fishing during the winter as they are active throughout the year and are found in abundance in the waters.
Roach fishing activity usually starts three to four days after strong ice forms on the waters. Large and medium-sized fish are found at depths of 1.5 to 2 meters in places with various ledges, pits and other bottom irregularities. She can survive the cold season near the mouths of small rivers, streams, near bushes, around snags.
As a rule, fish do not like to move from their winter habitats. Therefore, it will be possible to find large roach in the same places as last year.
If you catch roach in winter in an unfamiliar reservoir or river, then the best strategy is to throw several lines into holes created at a distance of 10-15 meters from each other and lure the fish. December and February is a particularly difficult time for ice fishing as the fish become lethargic and stay in the deepest parts of the water, so it is important to correctly identify where they are.Once that is determined, chances are half the battle is won. However, whether she can be interested in the bait remains to be seen.
Roach fishing in winter is highly dependent on weather conditions. You should not go to the reservoir when there is a pressure surge, as the activity of the fish is lower. The most ideal time for roach fishing is during the thaw. Roach can be caught throughout the day, but it is especially active in the morning and evening hours with good bait.
In February, roach become more active and mobile, which forces more anglers to go out on the ice, resulting in more catches until all the ice melts.
Catching roach in winter requires delicate gear, as bites are usually not noticeable. The fishing line should be 0.15 to 0.08 mm thick and thicker only at great depths (up to 0.20 mm). Hooks should be small, usually 3 or 2.5, and the sharpness of their point is of great importance; if they are not sharp enough, the fish can easily slip off them.
In winter, a mormyshka with a single hook is used to catch roach. Many anglers choose float fishing with a rod that has a stiff but light float that can detect even the slightest bite of a fish on a bait.
To attract fish to the place of fishing and keep them there, anglers use different mixtures of bait. This is due to the fact that fish usually look for food in the water column. Therefore, the bait used for catching roach in winter should be loose and create like a food cloud in the water.
Bait, bought or made at home, may include breadcrumbs, millet and semolina, bran. For holes with a shallow depth, it is thrown directly into the water, however, at greater depths, special feeders are used to “scatter” bait in the lower layers of the water.
