Is this the new British Record dace?

A RIVER angler thought he’d hit the jackpot when he slipped his net under a suspected 1lb 10oz British Record dace, but EA scientists have now confirmed his catch is in fact…an ide.

The pristine silverfish fell to the rod of 47-year-old John Stembridge who hooked into something entirely different whilst trotting maggots for roach on a stretch of the River Itchen.

He said: “I thought it was one of the big roach but when I netted it I instantly thought it was a record dace!

“It had all the characteristics although I must admit the head looked unusual.”

After John reported his catch to Angling Times a picture of the fish was sent to Nigel Hewlett and Alan Henshaw of the Environment Agency for confirmation.

Alan said: “Unfortunately the lateral line scale count of this fish is between 60 and 61, which puts it firmly in the ide camp. Dace typically have between 48 and 51 (Bagenal system) or between 45 and 55 scales (Maitland and Campbell system), depending on your source.”

John Stenbridge’s giant ‘dace’ sadly turned out to be an ide