Dace
- Thread starter Aknib
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First trott through 2019 was a dace ......
Second trott was a smal chub...
Third trott was a small barbel....
Forgot to say, I bought that reel just after the closed season and that was it's first outing. It was a new model from youngs "a river specialist", great reel which has a variable drag so you can tighten it up if the river is powerful and pulling line from the reel.
I got another of ebay recently and they been selling for much below the rrp!
Second trott was a smal chub...
Third trott was a small barbel....
Forgot to say, I bought that reel just after the closed season and that was it's first outing. It was a new model from youngs "a river specialist", great reel which has a variable drag so you can tighten it up if the river is powerful and pulling line from the reel.
I got another of ebay recently and they been selling for much below the rrp!
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I like to consider myself a bit of a dab hand at catching a weight of small dace, they are the primary target for me in matches on the Gt Ouse around Bedford and the upper Warks Avon (my two main venues throughout the summer months). I can usually catch them even when they are darting around in the upper layers, when lots of anglers struggle.
I’ve also had framing weights of them from the Severn and Wye in to the mid 20s ... although not quite the colossal weights that you sometimes see at Hereford.
On the Trent and Thames I’ve not Seen the same numbers.
In terms of size ... I’m looking at a 4oz fish as a good one, except on the Wye.
On those four dace rivers that I fish there is a common pattern:
1. Relatively short lifecycle , from tiny dace (half to one ounce) to 5 to the pound size in about three years, then two years later bust until the next cycle.
2. Migration from shallows to deeps when the clocks go back. Hence the huge shoals at Hereford in the winter.
I’ve also had framing weights of them from the Severn and Wye in to the mid 20s ... although not quite the colossal weights that you sometimes see at Hereford.
On the Trent and Thames I’ve not Seen the same numbers.
In terms of size ... I’m looking at a 4oz fish as a good one, except on the Wye.
On those four dace rivers that I fish there is a common pattern:
1. Relatively short lifecycle , from tiny dace (half to one ounce) to 5 to the pound size in about three years, then two years later bust until the next cycle.
2. Migration from shallows to deeps when the clocks go back. Hence the huge shoals at Hereford in the winter.
Julian Peacock
Member
I’m partial to the odd dabble for Dace during the winter and my local rivers, Ivel, Flit, Hiz & Hit all hold them. I had a few short sessions this backend trying to catch a big girl but really struggled. Nearly all the fish I caught, from 3 different rivers were males. My PB is 13oz and I truly would like a genuine pound plusser, locally caught.
Best method for me is red maggot on a 20 underneath a feather light stick float trotted on an 11ft Matchpro ultralight and a Bowler Okuma using a braid mainline. This is a ridiculously light outfit and every dip of the float strikes silver!
Best method for me is red maggot on a 20 underneath a feather light stick float trotted on an 11ft Matchpro ultralight and a Bowler Okuma using a braid mainline. This is a ridiculously light outfit and every dip of the float strikes silver!
Great fish. Back in the day the Wey held some really good ones and I regret not giving it a good go.
When I was a kid I used to fish a little Kent Chalkstream that had loads of them. In the summer we would wade on to the shallows and freeline maggots into the slightly deep water. A handful of maggots would have the swim erupting with Dace as they demolished them as they drifted down and you would try and follow your hookbait but they would snatch at it so fast you missed almost all of them.
I remember I hit upon the sneeky if a little unsporting idea of typing multiple hooks to my line and freelined 6 or 7 maggots in one go …like a handful of free bait drifting down …that worked ! …almost every throw a coconut but of course we were just kids back then.
When I was a kid I used to fish a little Kent Chalkstream that had loads of them. In the summer we would wade on to the shallows and freeline maggots into the slightly deep water. A handful of maggots would have the swim erupting with Dace as they demolished them as they drifted down and you would try and follow your hookbait but they would snatch at it so fast you missed almost all of them.
I remember I hit upon the sneeky if a little unsporting idea of typing multiple hooks to my line and freelined 6 or 7 maggots in one go …like a handful of free bait drifting down …that worked ! …almost every throw a coconut but of course we were just kids back then.
I'm a little surprised that nobody has already mentioned the Ribble (apologies if you have but I missed it). There has been a real explosion in numbers over the past 4 years or so and, judging by the videos on Youtube of people catching dace elsewhere, the average size on the Ribble is excellent. As an aside, after using barbless hooks for 99.9% of my fishing over the past 30-40 years I do find that I need microbarbed for the dace.
I watched this some time ago Kev, thought the river was too slow for this method even though he caught well enough. I just cannot get behind the wheel of long whips or poles. short whips are great fun, but poles, sorry. One of the better video is of a guy fishing a tiny stream back end, it was a fish a chuck on a short 3/4 meter whip, the water being 18'' deep. If I can find it, think his name was Adrian someone I'll post it up, big dace too. Sorry just watch this, not the Cadence video I remembered.