River Lea throws up a monster dace

Trotting maggots between gravel bars on a stretch of the River Lea proved fruitful for Joe Royffe with the capture of this plump 1lb 8dr dace.

The Hertfordshire specimen ace fed a small pinch of maggots on every trot through to ensure regular bites from roach and dace throughout the day, although at 2pm he struck into a much larger fish.

“I received a very confident bite and I knew almost immediately that I was attached to a large dace,” he said.

“After a great scrap on light tackle and an exciting few moments, I was amazed at its size when it finally glided into the landing net – a fish that beat my previous best by 4oz.”