v FLY-FISHER'S AFTERMATH 77 



a dace-fly and vice versa, it is best to aim 

 specially at one or the other and to use 

 different sorts of tackle. 



Dace do not grow to a great size ; a fish 

 of a pound is an uncommonly large one, 

 and though I have heard of dace of a pound 

 and a half, I suspend judgment until I have 

 actually seen them. My own aspirations 

 (at present unrealised) do not go beyond 

 the pound. Fish up to three-quarters of 

 a pound, however, are fairly common in 

 some rivers, notably the Colne, the Kennet, 

 the Dorsetshire Stour, and some of the 

 tributaries of the Great Ouse. The Cam 

 is famous among anglers, first for the size 

 and beauty of its dace, and next because of 

 the town to which it gives its name, though 

 the great unthinking world would possibly 

 reverse the order. 



I have also seen very large dace in the 

 Test, the Wylye, and one or two other 

 famous trout streams. The small size of 

 the dace is no adequate criterion of its 

 fighting power. In my opinion a dace of 

 half a pound will fight as well as a grayling 

 of the same size, and that is as much as to 

 say as well as need be. Some one will no 



