The Dace Man

[Chris Plumb]

Like Gray - I've been thumbing through my latest edition of Waterlog. They've got a feature on Dennis Flack - rightly called The Dace Man having spent a goodly portion of his angling career trying to get a British Record.

 

His career total of 1lb+ fish is 98 and he's come with-in 6 drams of the British Record of 1lb 4oz 8dr on a day when he had 2 fish over 1lb 4oz. The article has a picture accompanying the piece which shows a net of 12, 1lbers all caught from the same swim in one session. AWESOME!

 

Chris

 

[ 22 April 2002, 08:05 PM: Message edited by: Chris Plumb ]

[Gray-Catchpole]

it is without doubt a great read chris, the whole magazine is, the quality of it is great, its no wonder it takes two month`s to put together, i cant flick through it though, it drags me in, like crabtree did when i was a kid(second time round) cheers chris for putting me onto this fine work.

[Spindle]

I've got every copy of Waterlog, and I read, and re-read them, over and over again.

I start by flicking through looking for pictures of rods and reels (sad tackle tart as always), then read Chris Yates' Waterlog piece, then try and read all the other stories. Then I get the sense that I'm illiterate and can't understand all the long words. Then I look at some more pictures.

After about two months of this I've just about got through the magazine and then the next one falls through the letterbox and I start again!!

 

With regards to the Dace Man, what a great man. Fantastic too that somebody can be so dedicated to a fish that many wouldn't even give a second glance to in this age of big is best, Barbel is King (or is it carp again?).

[Peter Waller]

Dennis is a 'real' angler, and a very wise gent to boot. Although I suspect that he probably was non to keen on me noisily lure fishing an area of river that was his territory, in reality, I was made very welcome. Thought I had the river to myself & up popped Dennis! More like I nearly tripped over him. But then the Brotherhood of the Angle does still exist, sometimes. I've only met him the once, a lovely man. Its a few years ago now, but I was glad that I had met him. He writes some very wise letters to Anglers Mail.

 

Yes, the dace is a magic fish. As a kid I went to school at a place called Taverham Hall, on the River Wensum. I look back now, some 40 years. We had some fine dace, probably the finest dace fishing in Norfolk, at the time. A 3/4 pounder was common place. A pounder not so rare. We used to weigh 'em, little realising what we were actually catching. We had the river practically to ourselves, certainly we were the only coarse anglers at the time who fished it. I have a horrible feeling, dread actually, that some pretty big dace ended their lives as live baits. Yes, the piking was pretty good too. And this was to kids who didn't try so very hard, we had it on a plate. It was a 'trout' river so the excellent dace fishing was largely ignored. I was so lucky! Spoilt rotten when I look back on the opportunities that I had! My love of dace has remained to this day but, regretfully, a dace is now a rare fish on the Broads, atleast on the lower reaches where I tend to fish.

 

[ 23 April 2002, 12:12 AM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

[Chris Plumb]

Spindle/Peter,

 

Big dace are still worthy quarry in 'my book' and catching them has been elbowing in on my grayling fishing these past 2 or 3 winters. I thought I'd cracked it too with a couple of pounders and a dozen or so just under from the U Kennet in the last 3 years. Reading about DF though and I realise I've still got a loooong way to go!

 

Has certainly whetted the appetite for next February!!

 

Chris

[Spindle]

One thing I've promised myself this year is to try fly-fishing for them. On the Gt. Ouse there are loads of small dace and I believe they will readily take a dry.