Dace fish - description, photo, how and what is best to catch

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The dace is quite modest in size, but has extraordinary agility and mobility, so only an experienced fisherman can catch it. The excitement of fishing is serious, because here you need to show all your dexterity and agility. Let's try to figure out what kind of underwater life the dace leads, how it stands out among other fish, what it prefers for lunch, where it is constantly stationed and how it spawns?

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Yelets

The dace is a ray-finned fish and belongs to the family Cyprinidae, the order Cypriniformes and the genus Dace.

The most common is the common dace, but there are two more subspecies of this fish:

• the Kyrgyz dace has chosen the waters of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan;
• Siberian dace inhabited Siberian rivers.

There are also subspecies of fish belonging to the genus dace, among them are:

• Zeravshan dace;
• Transcaspian dace;
• Danilevsky dace;
• Talas dace.

Common characteristic features are common to all subspecies, but there are also specific differences. The Danilevsky dace has a dark gray or black ridge, and the scales on the sides are silver-gray. The fins located below are yellow-orange or yellow-red in color. The iris of the eye has a yellow-orange tint.

Video: Yelets

The Siberian dace has a dark green back and silvery sides. The color of the fins may be slightly reddish or completely whitish. The body shape of this fish is higher than that of an ordinary dace, the appearance of which we will describe in detail below. The Siberian is also distinguished by its terminal mouth.

It is worth noting that the appearance of dace and their dimensions are largely determined by the places of their permanent location and the presence of food supply in the reservoir. These fish are not distinguished by their large size and large shape. On average, the body length of a dace is about 15 cm.

Interesting fact: There is recorded data that the length of the largest dace caught was 40 cm, and its weight was equal to one kilogram.

What does a dace look like?

The dace has several characteristics and can be easily distinguished. The body is flattened on the sides, oblong in shape. The silver-blue scales are densely planted. The scales on the back have a blue tint.

The fins of the dace are gray in color, and the anal fin has a different pattern. The easiest way to distinguish a male from a female by eye is during the spawning period - the pattern on the male’s fins turns red, while the female’s becomes orange.

The common dace belongs to the carp family, has 2 subspecies, slightly different from each other in size and appearance, but the structure of the fish is the same:

1. Siberian dace. It mainly lives in natural rivers and lakes of Siberia, but is also actively bred on special farms.
2. Kyrgyz dace. Lives in water bodies of Kyrgyzstan.

Appearance and features

Photo: What a dace looks like

Dace is a freshwater fish that prefers rivers with clean water, rich in oxygen and a rocky bottom. As already mentioned, the most common sizes of fish range from 15 to 20 cm, and their weight rarely exceeds two hundred grams. The body of the dace is elongated and compressed from the sides, the overall predominant tone of the scales is silver. A darker bluish tint is noticeable on the back, and in the area of ​​the sides and belly the color of the fish is light.

The dorsal fin is truncated and the caudal fin is elongated, they are colored in dark colors, and the fins located in front, as well as the anal rear fin, have a gray tint with a reddish-yellow coating. There are no spots, stripes or other patterns in the color of the dace; a monochromatic silver color scheme predominates, only the ridge is darker in color.

Interesting fact: The color scheme of the fins changes depending on the age of the fish; it acquires a more yellow tone. During the spawning period, the male's anal fin turns deep red.

The head of the dace, relative to the size of its body, is proportional and slightly narrowed. The fish is distinguished by a small semi-lower mouth, in which a two-row arrangement of pharyngeal teeth is observed. The number of gill rakers in dace varies from 8 to 10 pieces. The fish has medium-sized scales; along the lateral line there can be from 45 to 55.

The iris of the common dace is black. The appearance of the dace is similar to the characteristic features of the chub, but the former is distinguished by a narrower body and head. There is also a characteristic notch on the anal gray-yellow fin of the dace, while in the chub it has a semicircular shape and a red color.

Where does the dace live?

Photo: Yelets in Russia

Dace likes small rivers, where the current is not so fast and the water is clean and transparent. You can also meet this fish in the waters of flowing lakes, in some floodplain reservoirs, which it sometimes visits. Dace love rocky or sandy bottom surfaces. Where the bottom is muddy, you will not see this nimble fish. On the territory of our country, dace inhabits river systems and lakes of the Baltic and other southern seas. The fish has chosen the Siberian and Far Eastern waters.

Thus, Siberian dace can be found in tributaries:

• Kolyma;
• Yenisei;
• Obi;
• Lena.

This species of dace chooses small rivers, gathering in them in numerous schools, which often displace other fish inhabitants. Dace do not live in river systems belonging to the Pacific basin.

Let's consider the distribution area of ​​dace, relative to its other subspecies:

• The Kyrgyz dace has chosen such rivers as the Nura, Chu, and Turgai. The fish lives in the waters of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan;
• Danilevsky dace can be found on the Don and Dnieper;
• Talas dace lives in the lower reaches of Talas, in the Ass River, in lakes Ashi-Kul and Bayli-Kul;
• the Zeravshan dace inhabited the Amu Darya, Zeravshan and Syr Darya;
• Trans-Caspian dace is caught in the waters of the Tedzhen and Murghab rivers.

In the territories of Belarus and Ukraine, dace inhabits:

• Western Dvina;
• Desna;
• Dnieper;
• Northern Donets.

In the western part of Europe, dace lives in lake and river systems of the Baltic, Black Sea and North Sea basins. You will not find it in the areas of the Balkan and Iberian Peninsulas. This fish is considered sedentary, but much depends on the quality and purity of the water. If this indicator changes for the worse, flocks of dace swim upstream, looking for clearer water.

Interesting fact: Dace loves seething riffles, because... in such places the water has a high oxygen content.

Now you know where dace is found. Let's see what he eats.

Natural habitat

On the territory of the Russian Federation, dace is searched for in small rivers and lakes of the Baltic basin and other southern seas. And also a large population lives in objects of the Siberian region and the Far East. In the last location, it is possible to catch the largest and heaviest representatives of the species, which are superior to their relatives in size and weight.

Finding dace in Ukraine and Belarus is problematic, although there is quite a lot of it in the Desna, Northern Donets, Dnieper and other large rivers. Local fishermen classify it as a separate subspecies “Danilevsky dace”. In fact, the fish is not much different from other representatives of the species, but its numbers are much smaller. The predator also massively inhabits the waters of the Don and Kuban.

In the countries of Western Europe, the silver fish lives in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea basins. Unfortunately, there is no predator in the southern regions, including the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas. And also due to changing climatic conditions, the population is declining in some central regions. In some of them, dace is classified as a rare, endangered species.

The same applies to areas of the Moscow region, where dace is listed in the Red Book and is of great value for ichthyofauna.

What does dace eat?

Photo: Dace in the water

The dace menu is quite varied; it includes dishes of both animal and plant origin. The latter are much smaller, but they are still present. Having a semi-lower mouth, the dace needs to swim tangentially, relative to the water surface, in order to quickly and deftly capture food.

The dace is very nimble and swift, so it is able to instantly pounce on anything edible that falls into the water. When dace feeds on the surface of the water, a small splash is heard, created by the fish's body when jumping.

In the summer, the fish diet consists mainly of all kinds of insects that live in the coastal zone (in tree crowns, bushes and grass near the water) and fall into the water. The dace also happily eats aquatic insects and their larvae.

So, fish like to snack:

• dragonflies;
• various beetles;
• butterflies;
• grasshoppers;
• flies;
• midges;
• bloodworm;
• mosquitoes;
• mayflies;
• Shitikami;
• caddis flies.

In winter, the menu mainly consists of:

• plankton;
• crustaceans;
• larvae;
• worms;
• rotifers;
• Daphnia, etc.

In the spring season, during high water, dace graze in floodplain meadows, where they also feast on worms, all kinds of bugs and larvae. As for plant foods, dace prefers to dine on filamentous algae, loves all kinds of cereals (oats, rye, wheat), and loves corn. All this can be judged by the contents of the stomachs of those fish that were caught.

Interesting fact: When the spawning period ends, dace begin to eat off, actively eating the eggs of other fish, causing them great harm.

If we talk about fishing, the tastes of dace change depending on the season. In spring, he likes worms, at the very beginning of summer he likes to eat caddisflies, and at the end of summer he prefers grasshoppers. Anglers should take note of this. Due to its selectivity to various baits, dace is considered a difficult catch; to catch it you need to try hard and study its habits.

Natural habitats

Dace is a nimble little fish. Like many similar species, it prefers clean water - such that the bottom with pebbles appears transparent. Where fish most often settle is in small rivers and drainages, where they can easily mix with the fast current. Schools of them usually tend to swim closer to the bottom, but can also swim higher if they are lured by fishermen with bait, or they simply notice insects on the surface of the water.

1. On the territory of the Russian Federation, this species has inhabited the rivers and lakes of the Baltic Sea, as well as the seas of the southern regions, and lives in the water currents of the Far East and the Urals - these fish, for some reason, are significantly larger in size and number than their relatives from the western corners of the country. For example, individuals of a non-standard size for them have become increasingly common - up to 37 cm in length and weighing up to 1 kg, despite the fact that the average weight of this fish usually does not exceed 200-300 grams.
2. Desna, Northern Donets, Western Dvina, Dnieper are the habitats of dace in Ukraine and Belarus. Local fish are slightly different from ordinary ones in appearance and, perhaps, in name - L. Danilevsky’s dace. However, its numbers are relatively small. Fishermen also meet Danilevsky on the Don.
3. It is not easy to catch dace in Western Europe - here it inhabits only a few rivers and lakes of the Baltic and Black Sea systems, but you definitely won’t find them on the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas. Surprisingly, in most countries of this piece of the continent, they are classified as rare species.

Photo 1. Bay of a small river.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Dace fish

Based on its fish diet, dace can easily be classified as a predator, and therefore it behaves accordingly: it waits in the stream of water, hiding behind various stones, bottom mounds, and snags. The fish instantly attacks insects swimming past or falling into the water. The dace also likes to hunt insects that fly low, almost at the very surface of the water. The fish, catching them, jumps out slightly, creating a small splash on the water surface.

Interesting fact: Dace can be called a schooling fish. Especially young fish, two- and three-year-old individuals live collectively, only older fish can live alone or in groups containing from 2 to 5 dace.

In the summer, when spawning ends, dace tend to the depths, staying near the bottom most of the time, and this is how they spend almost the entire summer. On the surface they can be seen only at dawn and at dusk, especially on bright moonlit nights, when fish hunt for swarms of insects clustered above the water surface. In search of food, dace can leave deep water and swim closer to rifts and reaches; when the fish are satisfied, they return back.

With the arrival of autumn, dace exist at a depth of 2 to 4 meters, and when it gets very cold, winter is approaching, they move to underwater holes, flocking into numerous flocks that hardly move, they are not looking for food at this time, so they cannot be caught by fishermen . Only with the onset of prolonged thaws do dace begin to move sluggishly, looking for food.

Fish revival occurs in February-March; before the start of the spawning period, dace leave their wintering holes. If we talk about the character and morals of the dace, then this fish can be called very mobile, nimble, active and quite smart. This small aquatic creature is no stranger to agility and speed. This is evidenced by various observations of fishing enthusiasts.

Interesting fact: If a fisherman discovers a place where dace is constantly stationed, he will only be able to catch 3 or 4 fish. The dace will immediately understand that it is better not to touch the bait and will swim away to another area. In order for the bite to continue, the angler needs to constantly change where he casts his fishing rod.

A little more about habitats

The rocky bottom and shallow water attract this fish for fattening. Early in the morning here you can catch more than one family of these fish by fly fishing, satisfying the fisherman’s pride. When fishing like this, don’t be too lazy to fish shallows with riffles. If the bait does not bring you the long-awaited trophy, try holding it and playing a little, imitating the movement of an insect that has fallen into the water.

The beginning of summer for this fish is marked by being at a depth of half a meter; For catching dace in these conditions, a dried fly is suitable. Dace, in addition, is also a predator, so you can try to catch it using a zero spinner. The bait must be kept near the bottom. Once hooked, the dace resists for a long time.

A couple of good tips:

1. With the beginning of spring, the first trophy in the form of dace should be looked for on those rivers that have cleared of turbidity.
2. Do not rush to hook, remember that the fish first tastes the bait and then takes it.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: River fish dace

Dace become sexually mature closer to the age of three, by which time they grow to 10 or 12 cm. Schools of fish begin to rise upstream as soon as the spring ice drift begins. During a flood, dace swim into small tributaries where the water is clean and clear, and the spawning season begins, which begins in the first couple of spring months. During this period, the water should warm up to five degrees plus, sometimes more. If the weather does not cooperate and the water is still cold, then the wedding fish season will be postponed for some time.

During spawning, there is noise on the river; numerous flocks are active and splash in the coastal zone. Spawning is performed at a time, this process takes from 3 to 5 days. The female lays whitish and fairly large eggs on bottom stones and aquatic plants. One egg reaches 2 mm in diameter. The fertility of these fish is considered low. Females, 10 to 17 cm long, lay from 2 to 17 thousand eggs.

After one or two weeks, the fry begin to hatch and stay in coastal waters, where the current is calmer. Growing to a length of five centimeters, the young swim to the area of ​​rifts for permanent settlement. Until the age of two years, the fish grows very rapidly, then growth occurs too slowly. By four or five years of age, dace have hardly increased in size at all.

Interesting fact: Single specimens of dace reach thirty centimeters in length; with such a length, their age varies from 8 to 10 years, and their weight ranges from 350 to 500 grams.

Choosing gear and methods of catching dace

You can catch dace with any type of gear, but the most effective for fishing them are light float rods.

On small rivers, you can use a Bolognese rod 2 m long. The reel needs to be small, inertia-free or inertia-wire with thin monofilament line 0.18 mm, leashes 0.14-0.16, hook - No. 2-4 according to the Russian classification.

To catch fish in fast-flowing rivers, experienced fishermen use 4 g round-shaped floats, which are designed for the current, they are surrounded by 2 lead pellets in accordance with their carrying capacity; in a reservoir with a calm current, you can use an oblong-shaped float with an elongated keel.

Dace is caught from the bottom or close to it, less often - from the surface of the river. They mainly use line fishing, that is, they release the equipment with the current, while allowing the fishing line to be released from the reel. The following have proven themselves well as baits:

• maggot;
• bloodworm;
• grasshopper;
• earthworm;
• large fly;
• gadfly.

In the warm season, you can’t do without fishing with a spinning rod. It is recommended to use an ultralight rod, thin fishing line and small bait.

With such gear you can catch silver fish close to the shore on narrow rivers, springs, or from a boat. To cast a fly or streamer over a long distance, weighted floats - sbirulino - are used.

Natural enemies of dace

Photo: What a dace looks like

Although the dace is a predator, it is very small in size, so it has a lot of enemies in natural wild conditions. Larger predatory fish such as catfish, pike, and pike perch are not averse to snacking on dace. Don’t forget that dace jump out of the water when they catch insects flying over it, so at these moments they can easily become a snack for fish-eating birds (for example, seagulls).

Fish are often overcome by various ailments and ailments that are associated with helminths living in fish organisms, which is why their lifespan is significantly reduced.

Dace suffer from:

• echinochasmosis;
• opisthorchiasis;
• diphyllobothriasis.

These diseases can be dangerous for people, but correct heat treatment and high-quality salting correct everything. One of the most insidious enemies of dace can be considered a person who harms fish, both directly and indirectly. People catch these fish, but not in large quantities.

Dace is not a commercial fish, so it is caught purely by chance or for sporting interest. Most of all, humans harm the happy life of fish by polluting the environment as a whole, including water bodies. There are fewer and fewer clear and clean rivers left, and the dace can exist in precisely such waters, so it often dies while in dirty water, or swims away, looking for more suitable places for permanent deployment.

Population and species status

Photo: Siberian dace

The distribution area of ​​the dace is quite extensive, but almost everywhere this fish species is becoming scarce and rare. Year after year, there are fewer and fewer clean, untouched reservoirs, which is why dace is becoming very rare, because it quickly dies in dirty waters.

Dace are not a commercial fish species, so they are not caught on a large scale. People cause damage to fish stocks by interfering with natural biotopes, polluting water bodies, dumping wastewater, pesticides, and oil products into them. A large number of fish die precisely because of poor quality water. In the south of Europe (Balkans), dace can no longer be found. In the waters of the central regions of our country, the number of this fish has also become extremely small. In some states, dace is considered very rare and even endangered.

Siberian dace is also experiencing a population decline. Back in the fifties of the last century, there were huge quantities of this small fish in the Transbaikal rivers. When it spawned in the shallows, due to its large numbers, even the bottom was not noticeable; the dace went to spawn in such dense schools. Now the population size of these fish has decreased enormously, because... The condition of water resources has deteriorated significantly. In this regard, it can be argued that dace needs special protective measures to preserve and stabilize fish numbers.

Spawning and feeding

The fish finally matures by the age of 3; By this time, the dace is a full-fledged specimen with a length of 10-15 cm. Active spawning begins in early spring. The required water temperature for this is 11 degrees. 19 thousand eggs is the average fertility of dace. The fish actively spawns on underwater vegetation and sandy soil with elements of clay.

Migrations over vast distances are not typical for this fish. Dace is not a schooling representative of cyprinids. In the mornings, fish can be found on the rifts, and in the evening, dace hides in the depths, in holes near the banks. Often, a large population of dace can be found on the spawning grounds of other fish, where it feeds on other people’s eggs. During the period when mosquitoes and mayflies fly out on a large scale, dace feeds from the surface. These feedings are well known to experienced fishermen, who determine that it is a dace by the characteristic sound with which it emerges for food.

The dace does not disdain mosquito larvae and deep-sea algae, which it absorbs directly from the bottom. In shallow waters, dace eats anything that moves and resembles an insect. This type of fish is a big fan of water purity, so it does not tolerate pollution and at the first sign of this it changes its area of ​​residence. The lower percentage of oxygen in the water, which occurs when the water column warms up, forces the dace to actively search for parking areas. They can be holes near stones, rifts - always with cold water and plenty of oxygen.