British record holder dace holder Simon Ashton has been on fine form recently after rolling back the years, searching for some specimen dace. After a red letter day on the River Ribble, he returned towards the back end of the season for another go and was rewarded with this 1lb specimen.
He was fishing with his daughter, Harper, when he banked the fish – the biggest he’s seen since landed his 1lb 5oz record from the River Wear over 20 years ago. The pair enjoyed a superb session, sharing a 38lb of quality fish on float tactics, with Simon tempting the ‘pounder’ on a triple maggot hookbait, fished over groundbait. When he first connected with the fish, Simon thought it was a chub, but couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the fish up close. In his own words, the fish was ‘pigeon-chested and as fat as butter’.
Well done Simon!