The roach or roach lives in most bodies of water; it can be found both in rivers and lakes, and in small streams. It lives in large lakes, but it can rarely be found in ponds and small enclosed bodies of water where there is no current.
The main predators that hunt roach are pike perch and pike.
It feeds on small crustaceans that it finds between algae and stones. Does not refuse snails, insects, mussels, worms and other zooplankton.
These are schooling fish.
In the summer, they move in large flocks throughout the reservoir in search of food. In winter, they gather in deep areas (pits) and spend the winter there. Common data:
| Name: | Roach, scientific name Rulilus rutilus |
| Family: | Cyprinidae, subfamily whitefish; |
| Spreading: | Europe (including Russia), Central and Northern Asia; |
| Habitat: | stagnant and slow-flowing ponds; |
| Maximum size: | body length 55 cm, weight 2.5 kg; |
| Maximum lifespan: | 20 years. |
It is used by fishermen as live bait to attract predators such as catfish, pike, pike perch and perch.
Underwater photography, Video: Youtube/Jan Kepič
General characteristics of roach
This representative of the Karpov family has a number of distinctive features that can be seen in the photo of the roach:
- The back is dark in color with a greenish tint.
- The remaining parts of the body are predominantly gray in color with a glossy sheen.
- The lower fins are orange in color, while the dorsal and caudal sections are darker in color.
- The body is covered with large scales.
- Additional teeth are located on the sides of the mouth.
The age of puberty occurs in the 3rd (sometimes the fifth) year of life. Spawning begins in early spring and ends at the end of May. An important criterion for spawning is the water temperature of 8 degrees.
Roaches attach eggs to plants to protect their offspring from predatory fish. Young offspring appear after 14 days and begin to feed on small plankton on their own.
After the end of spawning, the fish leaves stagnant reservoirs and begins to build up a fat layer. The smallest nuances of structure and appearance depend on the type of roach. There are about 17 subspecies of this group (for example, Alpine or Spanish roach).
Social structure and reproduction
Photo: Little roach
Sexual maturity in males and females of roaches occurs at different times; in males it comes at the age of two to four years, in females - from four to five. The spawning period occurs at the end of April and lasts throughout May. For reproduction, roaches choose places where there are underwater thickets; creeks, shallow waters, flooded meadows, and bottom areas of rivers with rapid currents are also suitable for this process. During the mating season, roaches can be seen jumping out of the water, creating splashes. Males try to follow females everywhere.
When the water warms up to 10 degrees plus, the males’ clothing acquires a roughness, which is created by light tubercles appearing on the body. In schools, females spend about two weeks touching such rough sides of males, which prompts them to lay eggs that have a pale yellowish color. One female can have from 10 to 200 thousand of them, the diameter of the eggs varies from one to one and a half millimeters. In bodies of water where there is no current, the eggs stick to weeds, reeds, and the roots of coastal trees. They are held in current waters by willow moss and stones.
The incubation period ranges from 4 to 12 days; when born, the fry have a length of 4 to 6 mm. Babies up to one month of age are in the bottom thickets, feeding and hiding from predatory ill-wishers. Fry are better suited to waters where the current is completely sluggish or absent (pond, swamp). Young fish prefer shallow water areas, and their growth rate is quite slow. The average lifespan of a roach is about 20 years, during which considerable period it usually reaches a length of forty centimeters.
Interesting fact: In rivers near power plants, the spawning period of roach can take place even in January, this is explained by the presence of warm wastewater.
Roach habitat
The roach's distribution area is quite extensive and includes all of central Europe, the countries of Asia Minor, and the Crimean peninsula. The most widespread fish is in the Black and Azov Seas. Young animals live in the coastal zone, but adults prefer to feed in deep waters.
In the summer months, representatives of the family can be seen at the very surface of the water, where it feeds on animal food. In the second half of autumn, roach goes into the deep layers of reservoirs, located closer to bottom snags, thickets of algae, and stones.
Classification
Numerous subspecies are divided into freshwater representatives that never leave rivers and reservoirs with fresh water, they are called resident fish, and those who prefer to live in brackish water.
Freshwater subspecies:
- Common roach. The fish is small in size, barely reaching 30 cm. It lives in the Caspian and Azov seas, in Lake Chebakule.
- Chebak or Siberian roach is a commercial fish that is caught on an industrial scale. It differs from other species in its rapid growth and reproduction. Its habitat is fresh water bodies of the Urals and Siberia.
Non-freshwater species:
- The Aral roach is a schooling fish found in the basins of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. The size reaches 40 cm, the maximum weight is 1200 g.
- The Caspian roach is a commercial fish that lives in the Caspian Sea and goes to the waters of the Volga for spawning and wintering. It can be distinguished from roach by its dark gray fins with a black border. It grows up to 30 cm, weight - 1500 g.
- The Azov-Black Sea ram is also a commercial semi-anadromous fish that lives in the Azov and Black Seas. It goes into river waters to spawn. On average it grows up to 35 cm, but there are specimens 50 cm long and weighing 2 kg. The fish is larger than the common roach and has thicker teeth.
| Average length, cm | Average weight, kg | Number of scales in the lateral line, pcs. | |
| Common roach | 50 | 1,5 | 40-45 |
| Chebak | 35 | 0,9 | 40-45 |
| Taran | 25-30 | 2 | 48-52 |
| Vobla | 30 | 1,5 | 41-48 |
Diet
The nature of the roach's diet is closer to predatory fish, but it can also snack on algae.
Among the usual diet of fish it should be noted:
- Tadpoles.
- Small shellfish.
- Bloodworm.
- Worms.
- Insect larvae floating on the surface of the water.
- Fry of other fish species.
- Seaweed.
Roach fry feed on small invertebrates, larvae and pupae of mosquitoes, other insects, and daphnia crustaceans. The diet may contain various single-celled organisms.
Lifestyle Features
To successfully catch roach, you need to understand the lifestyle of this fish representative:
- Roaches live exclusively in flocks. As a rule, in a flock there is one adult individual, around which there are many fry.
- Schools of fish stay in the coastal zone. Fry can be seen in shallow water, and large individuals hide in bottom holes and recesses.
- In the water, the roach occupies areas overgrown with cattails and thick grass. Sometimes fishing can be observed on the border with clean water.
- For the winter, the entire flock goes into deep waters, and after the ice cover disappears, it returns to the area along the coast. A moving flock can be seen from afar, however, roaches can also be easily spooked.
- The activity of fish does not depend on the time of day. Roaches feed on both plant foods and small invertebrate animals.
In summer, for successful fishing, you should select bait more carefully, since roaches do not have difficulty choosing food.
In this case, fishing will begin from a depth of 2-3 meters. In autumn, when the amount of food decreases significantly, fish go for almost any bait.
Cooking recipes
Many fishermen successfully catch this fish, but few of them know how to cook roach? By and large, they don’t need this, because the wives do the cooking. Here are some interesting recipes.
The simplest dish is roach cutlets. Since this fish is small, it is not at all necessary to remove bones from it; it is enough to remove the entrails, wash it, and cut off the head and fins. The carcasses prepared in this way are passed through a meat grinder several times, after which a little lard (1:6), a couple of slices of a soaked loaf, an egg, chopped onion and garlic, ground pepper, and salt are added to the resulting minced meat. The amount of the last four ingredients is to taste. Cooking consists of three stages. First, you need to form cutlets from the minced meat, then roll the pieces in breadcrumbs and fry on both sides over low heat using vegetable oil. Each side takes approximately 4-5 minutes. When the roach cutlets acquire a golden crust, they can be removed.
Another fish delicacy is dried roach, especially if it contains caviar. To do this, take fish weighing up to 0.5 kg. In the spring, you don’t have to gut it, since there is no greenery in the stomach at this time of year, which gives a bitter taste. The fish, washed from mucus, is first salted in an enamel container, generously sprinkling each row of carcasses with coarse salt. To make them better salted, place a plate on top, and place a heavy load (a brick or a jar of water) on it. After 2 days of salting, the fish is soaked in cold water for 2-3 hours. When the fish starts to float, it means it’s time to take it out of the water and prepare it for drying, namely, dip it in a solution of 3 percent vinegar, the purpose of which is to repel flies. Roach is dried in the open air at a temperature of 18-20 degrees. Depending on its size, this may take from 1 to 4 weeks. After this, it should “ripen” for the same amount of time in a fabric bag in a cool room.
Roach baked on coals turns out to be very tasty. As they say, in nature and with smoke. You can cook it this way right on the banks of a river or lake. To do this, the fish is cleaned, the gills are removed, washed and cut into portions. Rub each piece with salt and pepper, add a little butter and wrap it in foil. In this form, they are buried in hot ashes so that the smoldering coals are on top. Half an hour of tedious waiting, and the dish is ready! The “smoky” fish can be decorated with herbs, and the best side dish for it is considered to be jacket potatoes baked in the same way.
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Natural enemies of roach
In their natural habitat, roaches have certain enemies:
- Perch and pike attack young fish and fish during the spawning period.
- The eggs are actively eaten by eels.
- The predatory pike perch, lurking in the coastal thickets, is not averse to feasting on roach.
In the summer, when roaches feed at the very surface of the water, the fish are attacked by birds of prey: cormorants, herons, kingfishers.
Features of fishing by season
Features of fishing for roach depend on the season of the year:
- Spring is recognized as the best time for roach fishing. Representatives of the family exhibit gluttony either before spawning or after spawning. In early spring, reeds and algae have not yet filled the entire coastal space, which makes the task much easier for fishermen. You can find schools of roach in areas well warmed by the sun.
- Summer fishing should be slightly shifted to evening or early morning. During hot periods, the fish prefers to feed at dusk or at night. Due to the particular timidity of the representative of the carp family, it would be wise to use a feeder with long-distance casting, or give preference to fishing from a boat.
- In the autumn, fish move deeper in order to accumulate a sufficient amount of protein in their tissues. Successful fishing can be observed using traditional bottom gear.
Catching roach in winter is most successful on frosty and sunny days. At the height of the season, you will need to bait the fish. Immediately before the ice melts, the roach is most active and prepares for spawning.
Description
The roach has a long, slightly laterally flattened body structure. The back is black, with a bluish or greenish tint. Silvery scales with fairly wide plates. The dorsal and anal fins are dark, the others are tinged with red. The eyes are orange with a scarlet spot at the top. The mouth is equipped with five to six pharyngeal teeth.
During spawning, the male is covered with epithelial tubercles (“pearl rash”) - the nuptial plumage and looks rough, like a file.
Residential individuals grow to a length of 35 centimeters and a weight of up to 1 kilogram. Semi-through forms are larger: length up to 51 centimeters and weight up to 2 kilograms. Specimens of larger sizes were caught in Chebakul.
How long does a roach live? Its maximum lifespan reaches 20 years.
What to feed a roach
One of the most important stages of any fishing is to properly feed the fish. It is necessary to choose a fertilizer such that the mass immediately disintegrates in the water into many small particles.
A cloud of powder or small scattering of food will attract the attention of roaches.
The most rational types of feeding for roaches are recognized:
- Fish feed and crushed breadcrumbs.
- You can use boiled or canned corn and pearl barley.
- In the autumn, bloodworms, maggots, and chopped worms are perfect.
- A reasonable amount of vanilla or anise should be added to ready-made feed mixtures, which also help attract fish.
The consistency of the feed mass is also important. A fairly dense and viscous fertilizer disintegrates well on the surface of the water. To obtain the desired density and friability, you can add soil from a pond.
Lures
| Season: | Lures: |
| Spring: | maggot, caddis larva, worms, sometimes plant baits work |
| Summer: | corn, barley, star pasta, (sometimes peas), maggots, ant larvae, maggot larvae, dung and other worms, bread, salted bread, dough, semolina |
| Autumn: | maggot, lard, worm, mealworm |
| Winter: | maggot, bloodworm, lard, worm, mealworm |
Pellets with a diameter of up to 4 mm can be used practically at any time.
Tip: roach loves various attractants, so any bait can be pre-treated with them. Anise and hemp scents are suitable.
Live baits can be tossed with breadcrumbs, coconut flour or peanut flour. You can try using colored maggots, but it depends more on the color of the water in the pond.
To improve the game and increase the attractiveness of the bait, you can try using scented foam balls. They are put on the hook by lifting it to the eye of the hook, and then the bait is put on.
On many reservoirs, instead of hooks, winter jigs work better.
Selection of fishing attachments
In natural habitats, roaches prefer animal food to plant food. Therefore, it is better to use bloodworms as a bait. A good catch is observed when using maggots, earthworms, leeches, grasshoppers and other small insects.
If the fisherman’s choice is on plant foods, it is better to take boiled pearl barley or corn. In early June, pieces of seaweed are often used.
