At the beginning, Jacob had 8 fish
Alex had 7 * 8 = <<7*8=56>>56 fish
After knocking the bucket over, Alex was left with 56 - 23 = <<56-23=33>>33 fish left.
The final amount caught by Jacob to beat Alex by 1 fish is 33 +1 = <<33+1=34>>34 fish.
Then Jacob needs to catch 34 - 8 = <<34-8=26>>26 fish more.
#### 26