Dace

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

You swing in a slim silver fish on the float and can’t tell whether it’s a dace, a small chub or a roach.

The dace fish (Leuciscus leuciscus) is a small, slender member of the carp family, nicknamed the “dart” for its speed. It is a shoal fish of fast, well-oxygenated rivers, according to the Canal & River Trust. Most adult dace measure 15 to 25cm, and anything over half a pound is a good one.

This guide covers dace identification (with a dace vs chub table), size and the current British record, where dace live, their year including the close season, and how to catch them. For the wider picture, see our guide to other UK coarse fish species.

Dace at a Glance: Key Facts

The table below covers what you need to size up a dace on the bank.

Fact	Detail
Scientific name	Leuciscus leuciscus, carp family (Cyprinidae)
Other name	Dart
Typical size	15 to 25cm long; about 200g is typical
Specimen	10oz (283g) or more is often treated as a specimen
British record	1lb 5oz 2dr (0.599kg), see the size section below
Diet	Water and flying insects, worms, snails and plant matter; feeds mainly near the bottom but rises to flies during hatches
Spawning	March to April, over shallow, fast-flowing gravel
Maturity	3 to 4 years; a female can carry up to about 9,500 eggs
Predators	Pike, zander and fish-eating birds
Lifespan	Sources vary, from around 6 to 16 years

That makes dace a key prey fish for river pike and zander.

Sources: Canal & River Trust, Avon Wildlife Trust, FishBase, Dr Mark Everard for the Canal & River Trust and the British Record (rod caught) Fish Committee.

Dace Identification: How to Tell Dace from Chub and Roach

The quickest way to tell a dace from a chub isn’t size or colour. It’s the shape of the edge of two fins.

Size and colour mislead because a big dace can look as solid as a small chub. Dr Mark Everard, who wrote a book on the species, says separating the two is hard until your eye is in. Work through these five checks in order:

Anal and dorsal fin edges. Concave (curving inwards) on a dace. Convex (bulging outwards) on chub and roach.
Mouth. Small and slightly downturned on a dace. A chub has a large, wide mouth.
Fin colour. Pale on a dace, often tinged coral or pink. Chub fins are a stronger red underneath, with a charcoal dorsal and tail.
Eye. Yellowish, with small dark flecks in the iris.
Body. Slender, with bright silver flanks and an olive or dark back.

For a quick dace vs chub comparison on the bank, use this table.

Feature	Dace	Chub
Anal fin edge	Concave	Convex
Dorsal fin edge	Concave	Convex
Mouth	Small, slightly downturned	Large and wide
Fin colour	Pale, coral or pink tinge	Red underneath, charcoal dorsal and tail
Body	Slim and silver	Thicker set
Size	Record 1lb 5oz 2dr	Grows much bigger

Roach cause the same confusion. Again, the fin edge is the reliable separator: a roach’s anal fin is convex, a dace’s is concave. Hybrids can blur these features, so a fish that ticks some boxes and not others may be a cross.

Silver bream are another silver fish that often gets misnamed. For a broader look at dace identification alongside other species, see how to identify UK freshwater fish.

If you are still unsure, check the anal fin first, then the mouth.

How Big Do Dace Get? Specimen Weights and the British Record

The heaviest dace on the British list weighs under a pound and a half. For most anglers, a pound dace is a fish of a lifetime.

The record is 1lb 5oz 2dr (0.599kg), caught by Simon Ashton from the River Wear in 2002, and is still listed on the British Record (rod caught) Fish Committee coarse list dated 30 January 2026. Some sites still credit an older 1960 Little Ouse fish, but the current BRFC list names the 2002 River Wear dace.

Most dace are 15 to 25cm long and weigh around 200g.

Everard’s “magic double”, a roach over 2lb and a dace over 1lb in one session, shows how rare a pound dace is.

A big dace is still a small, delicate fish. Weigh it quickly in a wet sling and get it back in the water promptly.

By Everard’s yardstick, anything over half a pound is a good dace fish, and 10oz or more is a genuine specimen.

Where Dace Live: UK Rivers, Streams and Canals

Dace have a reputation as a pure river fish. Yet some well-known dace waters on the Canal & River Trust network are canals.

Their natural home is fast, clean, well-oxygenated rivers and streams, where shoals hold near the surface and over gravel. Adults can travel tens of kilometres, often into small tributaries, before spawning (FishBase).

Dace are found in most rivers in England and Wales, except the far west and south-west, and they are rarer in Scotland. They were introduced to Ireland, thought to be through anglers using them as live bait, and have been established there since the early 1900s (Wikipedia).

Everard lists several river-linked canals where dace are common:

Llangollen Canal
Kennet & Avon Canal
Oxford Canal, near the confluence with the River Cherwell
Exeter Canal
Canals linked to the River Lee

Fishing rights vary by stretch, so check with the controlling club or the Canal & River Trust before you travel. Stillwaters are not where to start looking.

Best for: pacy rivers and river-fed canals. Skip if: you only have still, silty ponds nearby.

Dace Through the Year: Spawning, Winter Feeding and the Close Season

Some of the best dace fishing of the year comes in the depths of winter, when plenty of river anglers have packed up.

Dace keep feeding and growing through the cold months, and Everard notes they push into small streams ahead of spawning. They spawn in March and April over shallow, fast gravel, laying sticky, pale yellow eggs, while males hold small territories (FishBase). Some sources give February, but FishBase, the Canal & River Trust and the Wildlife Trusts do not support it.

That puts most spawning inside the river close season. The rules in England:

Rule	What it says	Source
Close season	No coarse fishing on rivers, 15 March to 15 June. Canals and most enclosed stillwaters stay open, subject to local byelaws.	GOV.UK
Daily river limit	15 small fish up to 20cm (a combined group including dace), measured snout to tail fork. Byelaws vary by region.	GOV.UK
Rod licence	Environment Agency licence needed from age 13. The 13 to 16 junior licence is free.	GOV.UK

In Wales, confirm with Natural Resources Wales. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, check with the relevant authority. Our guides to UK fishing close seasons and rod licence rules cover the detail.

How to Catch Dace: Float Tackle, Baits and Fly

Scale right down. Dace are greedy but small-mouthed, and the Canal & River Trust’s fisheries and angling manager recommends a light float, a size 20 hook and regular feeding.

Float fishing for dace

Set up a light float rig. Use a stick float on rivers or a light canal float. Under GOV.UK rules, lead weights are only allowed at 0.06g or less (shot sizes 14 to 8) or over 28.35g, so any shot in between must be non-lead (GOV.UK).
Bait a size 20 hook with a single maggot or a bread punch pellet.
Feed little and often with loose maggots or casters.
Strike fast. Dace bites are very quick.

On rivers, trotting is the classic method. Run the float down a steady, gravelly glide, holding back slightly so the bait drifts just ahead of it.

Best baits for dace

Bait	Why use it
Maggots	Catch the most dace (Canal & River Trust)
Bread punch or flake	The other main choice
Casters, hemp, tares, worms	Proven back-ups (Everard)
Sweetcorn	Can pick out bigger dace (Everard)
Luncheon meat	Occasional big-fish bait

The same light float approach also picks up skimmer bream on canals.

Fly fishing for dace

Dace rise readily during hatches. Everard suggests a gold-ribbed hare’s ear in sizes 12 to 14, or dry flies such as a grannom sedge or heron grey. Takes on the dry fly are very quick, so strike the moment the fly disappears.

If you only take one bait, take maggots.

Frequently asked questions

Is a dace a chub?

No. Dace and chub are separate species in the carp family. Dace have concave anal and dorsal fin edges, a smaller mouth and paler fins; chub have convex edges, a big mouth and redder fins.

What is the British record dace?

The British record dace is 1lb 5oz 2dr (0.599kg), caught by Simon Ashton from the River Wear in 2002. It is still listed on the British Record (rod caught) Fish Committee coarse list as at 30 January 2026.

Can you fish for dace in the close season?

Not on rivers in England between 15 March and 15 June. Canals and most enclosed stillwaters stay open, subject to local byelaws. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, check with the relevant authority.

What is the best bait for dace?

Maggots and bread punch on a size 20 hook are the most reliable dace baits, according to the Canal & River Trust. Sweetcorn can help pick out bigger fish.