THE DACE. 35 



THE DACE (Cyprinus leuciscus). 



The dace is an active and prolific little fish, slender and 

 graceful in its proportions. It seldom exceeds a pound in 

 weight, and in few rivers in England is it even taken up 

 to that weight : in the Thames a dace of half a pound is 

 unusually large, though I once remember taking thirteen 

 that weighed seven pounds, my companion having pre- 

 viously taken his share from the basket (which was the 

 product of our joint efforts), which consisted of a like 

 number as fine or finer ; all these fish were taken with the 

 tail of the lob-worm when we had baited for barbel Never 

 before or since, through many long years' experience, have 

 I seen such a take of dace on the Thames, nor one at all 

 approaching it for average size. In the Colne, and the 

 Hampshire Avon, and the Usk, however, I have often seen 

 dace that would weight full three quarters of a pound, and 

 even more. The dace is gregarious, and spawns in May 

 or June, and gets into fair condition again by the middle 

 of July. By August, on the Thames, they get on the 

 shallows, where they may be taken in large numbers, by 

 whipping with almost any small fly, or even with a single 

 gentle ; some people, to make the fly more attractive, 

 point the hook with a gentle ; others, as I have recom- 

 mended in roach-fishing, use a small shred of kid or wash- 

 leather. I have found the inner rind of a scrap of stringy 

 bacon answer the purpose better perhaps than either, 

 being a kind of compromise between the two; that is, 

 something to taste, and not liable to be whipped off. A 

 short stiff rod (about eight feet long) is the best for this 

 work. The line should not be too long, or it is not 

 manageable, as quick striking is the order of the day with 

 this very nimble fish. The flies should always be dressed 

 upon as large hooks as the angler can afford to dress them 



D 2 



