Nase

Quick facts

How to identify it

A slender, spindle-shaped fish with a blunt, rounded snout that overhangs a straight, inferior mouth; the lower lip is edged with a hard, horny plate used to scrape stones. The back is dark grey-green, the flanks bright silver, and the pelvic, anal and tail fins are washed with orange-red — the dorsal is grey. Scales are medium-sized and the belly lining is black, visible when a fish is cleaned. Small nase are confused with chub, dace and roach, but none of those has the downward-facing, hard-lipped mouth. Barbel share the same water but carry four barbels and a fleshy mouth.

Where it lives

Nase are fish of the barbel and grayling zones: medium to large rivers with gravel or stone bottoms, strong current and cool, clean, well-oxygenated water. They graze algae on the upstream faces of stones in riffles and glides, shelter behind boulders and in deeper runs, and gather in large shoals in deep, slower holes in winter. Weirs, bridge pools and the tails of rapids concentrate them. They are sensitive to pollution and river regulation, and healthy stocks now survive mainly in free-flowing stretches of Danube tributaries and Alpine foothill rivers. Still water holds them only by accident.

Season and behaviour

Nase spawn early, in March–April, when water reaches 8–10 °C: shoals migrate upstream to shallow gravel riffles and the males develop rough spawning tubercles. Many countries protect this run with a spring closed season. After spawning the fish disperse and feed on algae through summer, when they are hard to tempt. The classic nase season is autumn to early spring — from October through February, when shoals pack into deep, slow holes and take small baits readily even at 2–4 °C. Cold, clear, stable water is ideal; they feed in daylight, with the best bites around midday in winter.

Fishing methods

Trotting a float down a deep, steady run is the traditional method: a 4–5 m match or bolognese rod, a 2–6 g float, main line around 0.14 mm and a fine hooklink to a size 14–18 hook, with the bait dragging slowly along the bottom. Nase bites are fast dips, so strike at every movement. A light feeder or a simple ledger with a small groundbait feeder scores in deeper, faster water where a float is hard to control. Fly anglers take nase on small weighted nymphs and caddis imitations dead-drifted along the bottom. Introduce groundbait in small, frequent doses to hold the shoal without overfeeding it.

Baits and lures

Small, natural baits win: white and red maggots, casters, small redworms and pieces of earthworm, bloodworm, and bread paste or dough. Green algae wound around a small hook mimics their natural food and is a proven summer bait, as is a thin strip of cheese. Groundbait should be dark, fine and slightly sticky so it reaches the bottom in current; add a little bloodworm or chopped worm. Keep baits small — a single maggot on a size 16 often outfishes anything bigger.

Tips from the bank

1. 01In winter, look for the deepest, slowest hole below a riffle — the whole shoal is usually stacked in one spot.
2. 02Set the float so the bait trundles along the bottom; nase feed head-down and rarely rise for a bait.
3. 03Strike on every dip of the float — nase bites are quick and the hook must be set before the bait is spat out.
4. 04Feed little and often with dark, sticky groundbait rather than one big dump that spooks the shoal.
5. 05Use a fine hooklink (0.08–0.12 mm) and small hooks; nase are wary in clear, cold water.
6. 06Fish the middle of the day in winter, when the water warms a degree and the shoal starts moving.
7. 07Handle nase with wet hands and return them quickly — they are fragile out of water.

Where to catch Nase

Waters where Shoalmap's fishing reports list Nase.

• Banjska reka
• Kikindski Kanal
• Čik
• Lim
• Beli vir
• Rokov potok
• Akumulacija Panonija
• Šodroš
• Dunav
• Kapitanski rit
• Čik
• Malokamenički potok
• Krivaja
• Topčiderska reka
• Grbovica
• Mali potok
• Glibovac
• Velebitsko jezero
• Mali Begej
• Tisa
• Mika jezero
• Mrtva Tisa
• Garajevac
• Budžak
• Timiș
• Mala bara
• Krivaja
• Palić-Ludaš
• Čik
• Krivaja

Related species

• Barbel
  Barbus barbus

  The bronze powerhouse of fast, gravel-bottomed rivers.

• Chub
  Squalius cephalus

  The big-mouthed, all-year opportunist of rivers and streams — it eats almost anything.

• Roach
  Rutilus rutilus

  The silver shoal fish that keeps float anglers busy all year round.

• Grayling
  Thymallus thymallus

  The sail-finned lady of clean, fast-flowing rivers.

Frequently asked questions