Ever had one of those days...

where the fishing gods smile on you and actually make it easy for a change? Went down to D.C. to do some shad fishing - neighbor had to go in to work for a few hours so we didn't even get on the road until 9:00; traffic was bad, as usual and we didn't get on the water until 10:00. Weatherman gave us a beautiful sunny spring day, when what we wanted was clouds and maybe a little rain; shad usually don't care for bright sunshine. So with all of this against us, I figured we'd get a few and just have a pleasant day to b.s. Surprisingly, we had steady action the whole day, I got a bunch, he got more - I did give him the prime spot in the back of the boat! Makes up for all the tough days ahead. Sorry, no pics.

Regards,
Scott

Sweet!!!!!! Sounds like you guys had a good day on the water :)

Thanks, we did. Not quite as epic as your scouting trip from the other day, but it will do; great report, by the way. I always enjoy updates to yours, Kelly's and John's adventures.

Regards,
Scott

How big are the shad running, Scott?

Dave,

I got one white (American) shad last week that went about 3-3.5 lbs, which isn't bad, although I've seen them twice that size. We caught all hickories yesterday; they went about 1.5 lb, with some closer to 2. Not big fish, but they put a nice bend in a 6 wt and jump like their cousins, tarpon.

Regards,
Scott

.... but I don't know diddly about shad and hickories. I have a vague recollection of shad being a big thing in the Connecticut River when I lived in the Hartford area thirty plus years ago, but beyond that, I can spell it and that's about it.

Are you fishing one of the rivers in the D.C. area ?? or on the salt ??

John

P.S. Please stay friends with the fishing gods so when you come to Montana this summer they are in a good mood !! We're gonna need all the help we can get.

John,

I've been doing my shad fishing right on the Potomac River in D.C., upstream from Georgetown University. There's a place (Fletcher's Boathouse) that's been renting rowboats for I don't know how many years now; take one out, find a spot to squeeze in (it gets busy when the shad and striped bass come up for the spawning run), drop anchor (an old rock) and have at it with a 250 gr sinking head and heavily weighted flies on a 6wt - I really do "duck" when I "chuck"; no desire to get plunked in the head with this rig. I am making many offerings to the fishing gods - sacrificed half a pork tenderloin on the grill last night when I tried to mix cooking with gardening and lost track of what I was doing; hope they enjoyed it. Try to keep some water in the rivers for me; by the time I get there all of the trout on Rock Creek, the Bitterroot and Clark Fork are going to know you on a first name basis.

Regards,
Scott