Surrey angler Duncan Hayward has enjoyed a fish-filled season that ended on a high after slipping the net under this 1lb 1oz dace. It was caught from a Thames tributary on a maggot hookbait presented below an open-ended feeder.
He’d been pestered by tiny roach before receiving a more positive bite. Striking, he saw a big flash of silver on the surface but, after netting the fish in the dark, he wasn’t entirely sure of its identity. That was until he peered into the mesh at a huge dace!
It’s his new PB for the species and does, in Duncan’s words, cap a season he’ll ‘never top’.
Well done Duncan!