A misty sunrise greeted me as I made my way across the field at Barton, on the way to the weir peg where I felt I had unfinished business due to being kicked off last week for a Brummie match. Again I was fishing for Dace, not something I have done a lot of since I used to catch them twenty years ago from the fast flowing water of the river Ure. I had reasonable success with them in my youth, catching them to the pound mark so my hopes were high for a big one today. Eight or Nine ounces seemed an acceptable target from the Avon.
I had no problem finding the Dace, a massive shoal of them, and managed to catch about 40/50, but they were all of virtually the same year group and weighed around an ounce apiece. I would have caught more but the Jack Pike kept picking off an easy meal. Five times they snatched my fish and bit through the 3lb mono every time. I did get one close to my bank but he disappeared as soon as he saw me.
Late in the day when I was running low on maggots I had my biggest Dace of the session, weighing a whole five ounces.
It bettered last weeks effort of four ounces but it will take me a long time to get a good 'un at this rate.
I also caught Gudgeon, Roach and Perch, one of which was the biggest fish of the day.
An enjoyable day angling.
Dace are a lovely fish and great fun on dry fly too! It's a long time since I went after big dace. To seriously target big dace the tactics are very different from catching them in their shoals. Big dace end up as solitary fish and instead of dashing about at all depths they become bottom feeders and like biggish baits.
ReplyDeleteThirty years or so ago, the Derbyshire Derwent, at Chatsworth, had some real giants. They could only be targeted between November 15th and March 14th. Strett pegged bread paste, less than a yard from the near edge anchored with a barley corn lead and two swan shot was the most effective approach but it was a slow business with bites sometimes coming only once or twice, if they came at all, in the icy cold, six hour sessions that were the order of the day...
Regular Rod
I had not thought of dry fly, thanks Rod, any particular fly you recommend?
ReplyDeleteAlso I thought a small worm might help with the bigger ones plus will try the bread paste.
Cheers
Well done Joe,
ReplyDeleteThats a good perch for all your efforts,
All the best,
http://paddy-swift.blogspot.com/
,,,Paddy,,,
That's a cute perch - they're v welcome on a day of catching the smaller stuff when a hard-fighting perch will often surprise you as the biggest fish of the day
ReplyDelete