The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Thanks for all the info, I really missed out then because this was landed Xmas eve in really high coloured water.
I went and found a huge shoal a few days ago after having a cancellation at work. They we're taking crust like carp. I had three not much smaller than that, but all felt like sandpaper and looked like they were about to burst. Followed by two good size trout.

Then I managed to fall in the river. Its no deeper than 3 feet but I was soacked from the shoulders down. iPhone and car keys in pocket. Not the best afternoon.

Iv been try to plan my fishing session. Dace get dec-feb.

Dace spawn early compared to roach and chub hence no hybrids but if they spawned a few weeks later then they'd be possible. It's also easy to tell the dace sexes apart this time of year the fat ones with slime are females, the rough sandpapery ones are males.

River Roach wrote:Thanks for all the info, I really missed out then because this was landed Xmas eve in really high coloured water.
I went and found a huge shoal a few days ago after having a cancellation at work. They we're taking crust like carp. I had three not much smaller than that, but all felt like sandpaper and looked like they were about to burst. Followed by two good size trout.

Then I managed to fall in the river. Its no deeper than 3 feet but I was soacked from the shoulders down. iPhone and car keys in pocket. Not the best afternoon.

Iv been try to plan my fishing session. Dace get dec-feb.

Hi again Nice Roach,

I usually like to start my Dace "campaign" just a few days before Christmas as in normal years (maybe I should say , previous years?) we generally have had a few "high waters" around the first couple of weeks prior, which scour the old debris from the gravel spawning beds in the side waters. This year was a total "wash out" in more ways than one. Where I would normally fish it was under an extra four feet of water right up until a couple of weeks ago, the banks are still an absolute quagmire. It was far too dangerous to even consider it, not that it would have been worth it.
Well, tomorrow morning, I shall be out of the front door at 5am to pursue them one more time, whatever happens I'll enjoy it, it's going to be a "cane and pin" day and maybe, with a little smile from Lady Luck, I might yet "crack" the 1lb mark before my final day on Wednesday when I hope to finish with some nice big Grayling.

.....and next time you "take an early bath", I'd choose a warmer time of the year if I were you!


Good points to add concerning the differences in spawning times and the scale "feel" between the sexes, DaceAce.

Interesting.
I always thought Dace hybrids would be possible / i thought some of the dace i caught were hybrids.

Btw. a good way to determine wether its dace or a small chub are the fins, a dace has a concave backfin and a strongly "notched" (Sorry, missing the right english word ) tailfin.

Nevertheless, i still had some problems identifying them sometimes and therefore thought of hybrids.

Would you say this is a pure dace?


Just asking because if it is one its definately my PB, though i dont believe in weighing anymore

Looks like a dace to me G, what a lovely fish!

i must admit i would have weighed it. I used to catch very nice Roach and Dace fron the Rhine 20 years ago when I lived in Bonn.

Looks like you've got great fishing in Bavaria.

G

I also would say yes - about 1lb? It is very fat!

Beautiful fish - !!

Looks like a dace to me too - at least going by the concave dorsal and anal fins? <edit> Forgot to say it's very fine specimen, congratulations on its capture.

Looks like small chub! Only kidding! If it's not a dace then congrats, you've caught a new species that as yet has evaded all anglers from catching them!

Now that is a lovley specimen G

It's a long time since I needed to check, but from memory, if it has more than fifty scales along the lateral line, it's a dace (or barbel, pike, or bream, but none of the confuseables). Not sure about bleak, but it would take a lot to get me counting the scales on one of those.