A big dace of over a pound in weight is a very rare fish indeed, so when Roger Mellon banked this incredible 1lb 2oz specimen from a Thames tributary, he was understandably over the moon.
Fishing an area the fish often gather in the colder months, he decided to counter the gin-clear water with a cloudy bait mix consisting of liquidised bread, coconut milk and maggots.
"Instantly I could see bleak boiling the surface after I introduced 10 balls of the mix," he told us.
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Fearing the water would soon clear again, he took to the river to trot his float and shuffled his feet to send a further cloud downstream.
"The swim soon became alive with fish and the float was burying just seconds after casting," he said.
"I landed quality dace with every chuck, they all seemed to be over 10oz - superb fish.
"Then I hit into something much heavier and, as I netted the fish, I realised it was a massive dace!
"On the scales, it weighed 1lb 2oz.
"Four hours after starting I'd run out of bait, but what a session - 19lb of roach and dace, seven of these between 14oz and 1lb 2oz."
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