A DAY ticket stretch of the River Kennet has produced an incredible catch of dace which probably ranks among the best of all time.

The catch of 35 fish over 12 including ten over 1lb was taken from the river at Barton Court in Berkshire by RMC angling’s Ian Welsh and is pictured in this week’s Angler’s Mail.

His best fish went 1lb 4oz, just 4 dr off the British record taken way back in 1960 form the Little Ouse. He also had a fish of 1lb 2oz, two of 1lb 1oz and six weigh a pound.

The fish, which were shoaling up tightly possible in readiness for mating, were caught in a four hour sting between midday and 4pm on stick floatfished caster on a size 20 B611 hook and 1.2lb hooklength. He fed a pint of caster.

The dace has been in decline for many years because of cormorant predation so this catch comes as a welcome surprise,” said Total Fishing’s Gareth Purnell, who has a best dace of 15oz from the River Windrush. “They seem very susceptible to cormorants on big rivers because they live in the upper layers of the water, but obviously on smaller, shallower rivers like the Kennet they can still thrive.

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