Big dace

[The Flying Tench]

I've read in the past that to target big dace you need to avoid the fast runnning 'typical' dace swims and fish slower more roachy swims. But I don't often hear of people catching big dace when they are after roach, and anglers on the Kennet local to me often seem to get quite big dace (say up to 12 oz) as part of a net of ordinary dace from quite fast water.

 

Has anyone any views on this? And what is the best bait for big dace? Is it best to fish maggot, and fish through all the small ones, or is a bait such as sweetcorn preferable?

[Guest tigger]

I've read in the past that to target big dace you need to avoid the fast runnning 'typical' dace swims and fish slower more roachy swims. But I don't often hear of people catching big dace when they are after roach, and anglers on the Kennet local to me often seem to get quite big dace (say up to 12 oz) as part of a net of ordinary dace from quite fast water.

 

Has anyone any views on this? And what is the best bait for big dace? Is it best to fish maggot, and fish through all the small ones, or is a bait such as sweetcorn preferable?

 

 

I've had quite a few Dace over the 1lb mark recently and caught most of them trotting maggot and caster. I was using up to size 14's hooks tied directly to my mainline of 6lb. The reason for the quite heavy line was the fact that the water is full of snags. I used red and white maggots on the hook and varied the ammount from one maggot up to a dozen squashed onto my hook. The flow of water I caught them in was fast in some swims and slow in others. I did catch a few large ones using the feeder, again with maggot or maggot and caster.

Edited October 16, 2008 by tigger

[Anderoo]

Hi John

 

I've got limited experience with dace but they are one of my favourite species. I'd class anything over 8oz 'big'. About this time last year we (me and Rich) caught several crackers up to 10oz. I guess it's different up North, but a pound dace around here is extremely rare!

 

We had most success in the shallow, streamy sections where you'd expect to find trout rather than roach. However, that was only on dull, overcast days. We tried again in sunnier weather and they'd grouped up and sulked away in the deeper depressions at the end of the shallow runs.

 

The bigger ones were also very localised. In some stretches they came one after the other, in others (which looked identical) it was barren. So a certain amount of trial and error was needed to find them.

 

We just used maggots and fished through the little chublets and smaller dace. Great fun! Stannding in the middle of the 'river' in wellies, trotting an avon float downstream over 12" of streamy water

[bluerinse]

the only thing I can add is that on the river arrow the dace are on the shallows during the summer and in the deeps in the winter regardless of size.

[Chris Plumb]

Hi John

 

I've got limited experience with dace but they are one of my favourite species. I'd class anything over 8oz 'big'. About this time last year we (me and Rich) caught several crackers up to 10oz. I guess it's different up North, but a pound dace around here is extremely rare!

 

We had most success in the shallow, streamy sections where you'd expect to find trout rather than roach. However, that was only on dull, overcast days. We tried again in sunnier weather and they'd grouped up and sulked away in the deeper depressions at the end of the shallow runs.

 

The bigger ones were also very localised. In some stretches they came one after the other, in others (which looked identical) it was barren. So a certain amount of trial and error was needed to find them.

 

We just used maggots and fished through the little chublets and smaller dace. Great fun! Stannding in the middle of the 'river' in wellies, trotting an avon float downstream over 12" of streamy water

 

 

Um - can't add too much to that!!! Mirrors my experiences on the Kennet especially about them being shoaled up - and often in different spots each year - so you've got to put the leg work in to find them. I've expereienced both shoals of fish of all sizes where a clonking 12ozer may be followed by one a ¼ of that and (unfortunately rarer) times where the same year class are shoaled together and every fish a whopper! Trout are an occupational hazard as they seem to occupy the same type of swim.

HOWEVER I can think of 2 'hot' dace swims I would always try and fish if I were on the venue and both could be described as slower more roachy swims. Both are over gravel and have good cover from common reed in the margins - both are quite narrow carriers too where the water slows just a tad and gets a bit deeper (by just a few inches) It was from such a swim that I had my best ever days angling on the Kennet - 7th Feb 03 (can still remember the date!). I had 8 dace over 13oz including 3 pounders and a PB of 1-2. Also had roach of 1.15, & 2.11 from the same spot. The dace and roach are PB's to this day! I've had dace over a pound (single fish) on two other occaisions from here.

 

 

C.

[JV44]

Catch them towards the tails of weir pools on the Thames in the summer but not as big as the fish from the kennet by the sound of it,Wintertime they are found in deep areas of the main river.

Often see a large flat bottomed Aluminium punt moored across the river with guys fishing stick float and catching,The next weekend i motored over the same spot with the finder on and right there was a massive ball of prey fish nothing upstream or downstream for hundreds of metres to speak of but a massive lump of fish showing on an otherwise barren area of river.

The question is why there as the bottom of the Thames in the middle is a fairly flat and even 10` with no features or cover as such but they can normally be found there or close to that area,Not there when the river is up in major flood mode though just when she is at normal winter level so where do they go when its flooding?.

Obviously the big ball of fish are not just dace but from what i saw the guys in the punt were catching more of them than Roach for eg,After asking if it was ok we moored alongside them and trotted lives and i would have bet my house on action but just as well i didnt because we didnt even get a touch.

Fishing every time i think i have worked it out it throws a curve ball steve.

[The Flying Tench]

I've had quite a few Dace over the 1lb mark recently

 

Amazing stuff, Tigger - which river is that?

 

Thanks everyone for really helpful replies.

 

John

[Guest tigger]

Amazing stuff, Tigger - which river is that?

 

Thanks everyone for really helpful replies.

 

John

 

 

 

It's just a small local river not really fished much at all John. It's funny really sometimes you can go and just catch Dace of 3 to 4 ounce and then other days you strike it lucky and bump into the larger ones. I must addmit I was surprised that Dace where able to suck in a hook with a dozen maggots on it but even the 3 to 4 oz ones take 6 to 8 maggots no probs. I've only caught them on maggot and caster even though I've tried other baits. They don't seem hook/line shy at all unlike the Roach which are really cafty in comparison. Somtimes when Trotting a float or even when feeder fishing I get quick bites either to quick to hit or even to strike at and when I retreive my hook the maggots are sucked to just skins. But eventually when I do manage to hook one it's a Roach, the Dace just take my bait without any apparant suspision. I've found on another much larger river local to me the Dace don't seem to mess about either and just try to swallow the bait without any caution or fear. Maybe the Dace in other waters are more causious and maybe are more difficult to catch. People say they feed ok in the cold weather but on my local river they just seem to vanish and it's as though they don't exist at all until it warms up again.

Edited October 17, 2008 by tigger

[The Flying Tench]

I've just realised I've an important question remaining. How long do you guys carry on catching bite-a-chuck small dace before you decide to move on? I must admit, when I get to about 10 it all starts to seem a bit pointless and I move on. But that may be by big mistake! I was reading someone's blog recently and they had a nice bag of mainly dace up to 10oz - but then they mentioned that they had about 200 fish! Yoiks! For some reason it just doesn't appeal to me pulling out endless small fish, but I can see that maybe I give up too soon.

[Chris Plumb]

I've just realised I've an important question remaining. How long do you guys carry on catching bite-a-chuck small dace before you decide to move on? I must admit, when I get to about 10 it all starts to seem a bit pointless and I move on. But that may be by big mistake! I was reading someone's blog recently and they had a nice bag of mainly dace up to 10oz - but then they mentioned that they had about 200 fish! Yoiks! For some reason it just doesn't appeal to me pulling out endless small fish, but I can see that maybe I give up too soon.

 

Difficult one to answer - I guess if I get a few good-uns say around 6oz I may be encouraged to give it an hour or so. Having said that I can remember a session Paul and I had on the M Kennet. We 'shared' the same small(ish) pool all day had around 100 dace between us from a few inches upto (and including 1lb). Conditions weren't great that day - and rather than move around we opted to fish this swim as it was near the car! Was some time before the bigger fished showed - long after I would have moved on.

 

 

C.