OK I know that this might be a bit early but I need to think ahead and plan accordingly.
Does any one have expirience with fly fishing for american shad during the spring run.
I went after them once long time ago with the spinning gear and did not had much luck.
I am interested in fly patterns but mostly in fishing methods - lines, depths presentations etc.
I have a small boat so fishing from the bank or boat in not an issue.
I’m only about 45 minutes driving from two differnt spots on Delaware river.
Trout season and shad run happen at the same time here and I was going for trout since it was more convinint for me but this year I would like to land few shad.
I used to do a lot of Shad fishing, on the Columbia River, here, in Oregon MikieF. But, anymore, it’s become SO popular that it’s now a “bring your own rock to stand on”, type fishery and that’s not my idea of “a good time”!
But, Shad on a 5 wt. fly rod IS a real blast, I’m sure you’ll love it once you get into them heavily!!
As for “methods”, there isn’t a lot to it, on the Columbia River. We’d fish, right below the spill way to one of the many dams on the river and it was basically, just a “chuck it and drift it”, situation. (1/4 mile, below the spill ways).
Because of the sheer size of the Columbia, distance was somewhat important, as far as getting out and away from the rip-rap rocky shore we stood on, so your fly wasn’t immediately after casting… swept right back to your feet!
So, we used 6wt. lines, on our 5wt. rods to overload them. I built my own shooting heads, also, for a little bit more distance. 9’ x 4x tapered leader, with a slow sink rate tip.
Casting, upstream,(60 to 70 feet) then allowing your line to make a full swing, down below you. Stripped it in, in short, but rapid jerks and 99.5% of the shad we’d catch, would come on this stripping in approach. But, you need to cast upstream, FIRST, to allow your fly time to sink. By the time, the fly was below you, it’d be at the right depth, for the strip retrieve. (about, 3-4 feet below the surface).
And, THAT, was about “it”!! It worked, great, on my river, here, but I don’t know of course about your own home waters and how they’d do it back there!!?!!
If your game dept. makes daily “fish counts”, on your river, check these out for several days ahead of your planned trip. You should be able to see the counts go up and up, daily and when they seem to be in “a 1,000 fish per day, passing a check point”, that’s the time to head for the water. Shad “school” like almost no, other, fish and when they’re packed in these schools, they’ll fight over your fly!!
Well, that’s about all I can give you, on “Oregon Shad” anyway!
Here’s the ONLY fly, we ever used for Shad out here. Worked like a charm so never saw a reason to change!?!
I suggest sinking line, casting upstream and allowing all the time possiable for the line to sink. Most hits come on the swing. I also let the line dangle and feed it, allowing it to go downstream for a while.
I have fished the Columbia R. and it is a bit different than many other river shad fisheries. As stated BIG, FAST water.
On more normal river venues, as in the American R. and the Russian R. here on the west coast, these bugs in a size #10 seem to work QUITE well in the clear and smaller waters of these rivers. Just like the big river though, you still need to get down…generally. If the water gets a bit turbid, these same bugs tied in chartreuse and “stren yellow” work real well.
TL and have fun…
…lee s.
Contact Dale at the Orvis shop in Richmond. Not only do they tie up a special fly for the shad run up the James, he is hands down an expert at the tactics. From what I remember of my time there, think heavy sinking lines out in the middle of the large navigable lanes. They come up in schools, and once your into one, just keep casting out. I think the VA DNR has a shad cam also, and I used to love sneaking a peak while at work and watching. It would be nothing for action for 5 or 10 minutes, then a school would come thru and the screen was filled. It was pretty neat, also got to play name that fish as everything else you could imagine would swim by, Musky, Gar, SM, etc.
Those Shad flies from what I remember had yarn bodies with a parachute like top and the yarn would pulsate in the currernt on the sinking line and drive the shad nuts. I just never had access to a boat to go try it.
