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Angler agonisingly close to ending 30-year quest

by Freddie Sandford |

Updated on16th January 2026 at 10.17am

While dace don’t grow huge compared to some of the other coarse fish in our rivers, catching one over the 1lb barrier is extremely difficult, a feat that few anglers will ever achieve in their lifetime.

To highlight just how challenging it can be, angler Tony Gibson has been trying to land such a dace for the past 30 years, and on a recent session, he came incredibly close to achieving it.

“I spent three days fishing for dace and roach on the Hampshire Avon, but rain and gusting winds made trotting difficult.”

“So, I walked the banks searching for sheltered areas. I’d landed a few dace to 10oz but found that they were in small shoals, so I’d catch a few before bites dried up. But, their dispersion turned out to be a blessing in disguise as, through regularly roving, I stumbled across a ‘super shoal’ of larger fish.

“I landed a dozen averaging 8oz, with the last fish being a 15oz 8dr PB!

“I thought I’d finally broken the 1lb barrier – something that I’ve been trying to do for over 30 years, but I was still very pleased.”

THE BEST FLOAT RODS WILL HELP YOU PRESENT YOUR BAIT PERFECTLY OIN RIVERS.

Tony with his new PB dace

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