100lb of dace from the Wye!

Just weeks after weighing in 97lb of Wye silverfish, under-25’s world No.1 Rory Jones has gone one better after bagging exactly 100lb of dace from the river in Hereford.

The catch is believed to be one of the biggest weights made up entirely of dace ever to be taken in the UK, and checks are currently underway to find out if there has been anything larger.

Before the draw there were two pegs Rory fancied, and incredibly it was one of these that he pulled out the bag.

“I told the lads that I fancied either peg 93 or 94, and when I drew peg 93, I couldn’t believe it.” Rory revealed.

“It’s one of the noted pegs on the river, where the bottom shallows by about four feet into a gravel run.

“I actually started the day hoping to catch roach, and I kicked off the peg with 10 balls of groundbait laced with a pint of caster, hemp and chopped worm, but I was quickly into quality dace.

“I therefore started loose feeding maggots to bring the fish shallow and began catching well using a pole stick on a six-metre whip.”

On occasions when the sunlight peaked through, Rory could see just how many fish were in his peg, but this didn’t mean they were easy to catch.

“Its remarkable how crafty dace are. There were so many fish in the peg, but at no stage were they suicidal.

“If my maggot was damaged at all I would run the float through and not get a touch.

“I hooked these by threading them up the shank of the hook, and if I presented them conventionally I would only land smaller fish.

“I actually caught best using a long hooklength, as the dace seemed to take my hookbait better without the resistance of a shot close to the hook.”

Long-shanked hooks were key to Rory’s success

Despite having so many dace in the peg, there were periods of the day where the fish backed off and Rory had to adapt.

“There was quite a big crowd of people watching me, and if anyone came too close you could tell as the shoal dropped downstream.

“When this happened, I balled in groundbait to create some noise to bring the fish back into the swim, after which I would catch them on the deck before bringing them shallow again with loosefed maggots.

“The sport was phenomenal, and whilst I didn’t keep count of my fish someone stood behind me and kept a tally. In 70 minutes, I landed 174 dace.

“By the end of the match my arm felt like it was going to drop off after swinging in so many fish!”

Rory caught on an elasticated six-metre whip, using an 8 x No. 4 Woody’s stick to fish through the water, as well as a Sensas Alberto float for fishing on the deck

Rory’s choice of float for fishing on the deck - a Sensas Alberto

“The Alberto was fished with No. 8 shot strung out shirt-button-style through the rig to catch in the deeper water, whilst the stick was over-shotted with a bulk.” Rory explained.

“I fished this by laying it in and holding it back, which helped to hit the quick bites. Some of the fish actually pulled the elastic out, just like carp do when fishing shallow!”

Rory used a Yellow Sensas Hollow elastic in his whip, a size 14 Sensas Feeling 3065 hook and 0.11mm line. This hook pattern was crucial in Rory’s approach, as its long shank allowed him to thread a maggot past the bend.