Dace
Also called Common dace, Dace minnow
Dace are slim minnows that live in rivers and streams. They are common prey for trout and other freshwater predators.
- Group
- Baitfish
- Category
- Entomology & forage
- Level
- Intermediate
- Water
- Freshwater
Last updated
What Dace means
In a river context, “dace” usually means one of several small minnow species, such as longnose dace and blacknose dace (genus Rhinichthys) in North America. They are streamlined, silver to olive fish that hold in current and feed on aquatic insect larvae and other small invertebrates.
Anglers mention dace because predators eat them. Trout, char, and larger warmwater fish will pin them against banks, seams, and shallow gravel, especially where there is steady current and cover.
For fly selection, dace are a “generic minnow” profile. Patterns with a slim baitfish silhouette and subtle flash are the usual match, rather than a deep-bodied shad shape or a wide sculpin head.
Why it matters on the water
Knowing what a dace looks like keeps streamer choices honest. If the river’s bait is narrow and bright, a thin minnow pattern in light colors often reads truer than a bulky, dark streamer.
It also helps with where to look. Dace spend time in the same places predators hunt, current edges, tailouts, and along undercut or grassy banks, so seeing dace in the shallows is a real clue that a baitfish program is in play.
Read next
- BaitfishSmall forage fish that predators eat, like minnows, shad, smelt, and mullet. In fly fishing, “baitfish” also means the food source a streamer is meant to imitate.
- Clouser MinnowA weighted baitfish streamer with lead or brass eyes that make it ride hook-point-up. It’s used in fresh or salt water to imitate small fish and move quickly through current.
- SculpinA sculpin is a small bottom-dwelling fish with a wide head and big pectoral fins. Trout and bass eat them, and many streamers are tied to imitate their shape and movement.
- StreamerA streamer is a fly meant to be moved to imitate a baitfish, leech, sculpin, or crayfish. It is often fished with strips, swings, or a steady retrieve, but it can also be dead-drifted.