🐟 Dace

A small, fast-moving river fish and one of the most sporting light-tackle targets in UK coarse fishing, known for shoaling in clean, fast water.

Slim, streamlined and silver, with a concave-edged anal fin that's a reliable way to distinguish it from the similar-looking chub, whose anal fin is convex. Rarely grows large, but makes up for it with speed and shoaling behaviour.

A clean-water specialist, found in faster-flowing, well-oxygenated rivers and streams across the UK. Its presence in numbers is often taken as a reasonable indicator of decent water quality on a given stretch.