100lb-plus dace haul is a Wye record!
IT was tough going for some anglers hitting the banks after the return of match fishing post-lockdown. But despite tumbling temperatures and melting snow, the River Wye saw a new match record set.
Even with several feet of extra water the Herefordshire river can fish its head off, and running water maestro Hadrian Whittle demonstrated just that by winning the Hereford DAA open on the river through the city with a mammoth 125-10-0 of dace. That’s right, dace – 585 of them to be precise.
It’s reckoned to be the Wye’s biggest dace match weight ever. Daiwa man Hadrian had taken one look at the river after arriving at his peg 98 draw next to the town bridge and stuck his neck out by saying 100lb was on.
Five fast and furious hours later, he was proving himself right. The win also makes it three in a row for Hadrian on the Wye, including the prestigious Wye Champs.
“Did I think the river was capable of that type of weight? I did, mainly because everything seemed to be right in terms of the river level, the colour of the water and the fact that, owing to lockdown, not much bait had been going into the river,” he said.
At the peg
“As soon as I drew peg 98, I was installed as favourite. Looking at it, the colour was ideal to catch at short range and there was 4ft of extra water on, so all the stars were aligning, if you like, for a big dace weight.
“I’d walked the river a lot and had clocked that, on peg 98, you could catch dace really close in provided there was colour in the water. The peg was one that I’d always wanted to draw, but never had. To say I was looking forward to the start would be an understatement!
“I began fishing at around 6m to hand, but after half-an-hour moved in to 5m in around 4ft of water, as there were so many fish to catch and they were happy to be at close range. To do a big weight, I wanted to settle into a rhythm of cast, feed, strike and swing the fish in, but some of the dace were so big that it took some time to swing them in, even though I was using Grey Hydrolastic.”
The Wye peg where 100lb-plus of dace were caught
Runs of big fish
“The size of dace I was getting went up and down all the time. I’d catch a dozen small dace very fast and then clonk into a run of 6oz fish. Feeding was like clockwork, throwing in a ball of groundbait and soil full of casters each cast and then a handful of maggots over the top. This allowed me to catch either as soon as the float cocked or down my peg a little. Given the depth, I fished a 1.5g Sensas Alberto float with a double bulk and double maggot on a size 14 hook, really positive fishing that’s essential when you’re trying to catch a big weight.
“There were times when I was foul-hooking dace because there were so many fish in the swim. I tried fishing a foot off bottom, and the catch rate slowed right down. My next move was to cut out the loosefeed and rely on just that ball of groundbait each time. It solved the foul hooking, but still the catch rate was too slow, so I had to put up with losing the odd fish.”
The weigh-in
“I’d counted the fish and knew I had 100lb –I’ve always said that if you catch 500 dace on the Wye, that’s 100lb. I had well over that so was thinking getting on for 120lb, and I’d be amazed if that didn’t win!
“The final weight is believed to be the best dace match return from the Wye and probably in the UK. It was just one of those days to savour as they don’t come along that often. I believe 100lb of dace can be caught again this winter if conditions are right and the right angler is on the right peg. There are enough fish there of a big enough size.”
Hadrian and his bumper Wye dace haul
RiverFest Final shows the Trent's a silverfish Mecca!
SILVERFISH sport on the River Trent scaled new heights last week when dozens of anglers put together double-figure nets of roach, dace and perch during the RiverFest final.
The prestigious event, which was held on the Burton Joyce stretch in Nottinghamshire, had competitors and match officials comparing the venue’s impressive current form to that of the river’s match fishing heyday of the mid-1980s, when bumper weights were common.
The Trent fished really well in the RiverFest final
One of them was RiverFest’s chief organiser Dave Harrell, who reluctantly moved the final from the River Severn to the Trent for 2020 – a decision that ultimately proved fruitful.
Dave told us:
“I was a little apprehensive with the venue switch, but the results hammer home just how well the river is fishing for silvers at the moment.
“Roach and dace were caught by pretty much everyone competing, with bream, specimen perch and barbel also making an appearance.
“It reminded me of how prolific the Trent was in the 1980s when the power stations pumped warm water through the river. There then followed a spell in the doldrums when the stations were shut down in the 1990s, but it now looks as though the stocks have well and truly returned to the level of 30 or 40 years ago.
“To sustain a healthy head of fish you need good water quality, so I don’t think the Trent is in as bad a condition as some people seem to think.”
One angler who can vouch for the Trent’s current red-hot form is Nottingham lad Tom Noton, who angled his way into fourth place in the RiverFest final with an overall weight of 39lb 12oz.
He said:
“I’ve match fished the Trent for the past eight years and it’s been absolutely solid. The fish tend to shoal up in certain areas, but if you find them you’re in for a real red-letter day.
“Slightly milder winters over recent years have encouraged silverfish to thrive, which could be another reason why the sport has been so electric.”
Tom Norton’s 20lb 9oz bag of roach, dace and perch on day two
10,000 silvers donated to struggling clubs
It’s always fantastic to see the angling community come together and you’ll struggle to find a greater example of this than with Partridge Lakes and the Environment Agency.
They’ve helped preserve fishing on two struggling club waters with a massive donation of silverfish.
Nearly 10,000 roach, bream and gudgeon were netted by EA staff from Partridge’s Covey 5 match lake which were then stocked across Dunham Massey AC’s Heatley Mere and Knowsley Park AA’s White Man’s Dam fisheries – both of which have suffered from cormorant predation. The EA also added fish protection cages.
“Knowing the fish will once again bring joy to other anglers is the perfect end result,” said Partridge Lakes owner Barbara Ikin.
