Shad season

Warm water, salt water and more. Talk about it here!
martalus
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:39 pm

Great article on NJ shad

Post by martalus » Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:25 pm

https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/fishi ... are-river/


Here is a great article by the Garden's state's own Joe Cermele that really captures the essence of shad fishing on the Big D.

I was out again last in DC on the Potomac-they shad (mostly hickory, close cousin to the American shad) were running thick and the white perch also were starting to arrive. It was one of those magical mild spring nights with strikes and fish just about every casts. Strangley there were only two other people fishing in my secret little cove-I helped one Russian kid that I met last year catch some fish and I had my daughter and her friend catching them too.
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kennyp2339
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Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2020 10:08 am

Re: Shad season

Post by kennyp2339 » Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:29 am

Finally had the time and decent weather to get out on the Delaware at Namanock campsite off of old mine rd (north of Digman Ferry Bridge) very nice stretch of river but both myself and neighbor didnt catch a thing lol, I was using a double rig (chartreuse dart w/ silver spoon & red bead) I think there were a few things that were against me (having no experience other then reading and watching youtube videos) #1 difficult to reach the main channel here, I walked up by the island were the river splits, wadded out to water just above my waist and the current was pretty strong, but still couldnt get into the main channel with casting, and I was launching them, #2 amount of weight on the rig, I think due to the current I wasnt getting the lures deep enough? Idk, #3 the weather, maybe the fish were turned off, it did warm up to near 60 yesterday but it was cloudy w/ sprinkles and we had colder weather on Friday and Saturday, Saturday night was down in the low to mid 30's after a warm week 7 day before.
So I didnt have the best luck, but I got out there and made it into the river, I really enjoyed it and it was a nice way to spend a Sunday, I little exploring, a little fishing, lots of 1st's for adventure.

martalus
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:39 pm

Re: Shad season

Post by martalus » Mon Apr 19, 2021 9:36 am

Glad you were able to get out-as I like to say, you have a 100 percent of catching zero fish on your couch! Some of those things may have been a factor (getting your rig to sink, being able to cast to the main current/current seam). Also weather might play a slight factor, but as long as water temps are above 50 or so, shouldn't be a major factor. The main thing though is being at the right spot when pods of fish are moving through. Without that on the ground (or on the water as it were), intel, I think it can be hit or miss. I have found the same thing here on the Potomac-some days/hours are gangbusters with everyone catching fish, and other hours/days just picking a few fish or none at all. Since they move in schools, a spot can be on fire one day but not necessarily the next. For some inspiration, here is a Ken Beam video of some intense shad action on the Big D (looks to be below the gap, near the Columbia bridge if I had to guess.) Also there is some tips in the video description. Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFOF8jF1gtg

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Rusty Spinner
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Re: Shad season

Post by Rusty Spinner » Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:16 pm

I fished from a buddy's boat in the Delaware yesterday and went 11 for 17 on shad. Not a hot bite, but most got skunked, so I was happy. A few roe, but mostly bucks.
"A sinking fly is closer to Hell" - Unknown

martalus
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Re: Shad season

Post by martalus » Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:39 am

As they say, a good day shad fishing can spoil you for the rest of the year. 11 fish is a good number-enough action to be interesting but not boring-when it starts to get to be every cast or every other cast, its a little much! When we fished the delaware by boat one April, we werent even casting-we had salmon rods rigged up with flutter spoons in rod holders out the back of the boat-I think we caught over a 100 fish in a couple hours-it was a fun experience, but not my type of fishing-I like casting, working the angles, figuring out how much weight is required, where to cast, etc.

My brother is down in DC for the weekend-we are heading out after lunch for shad and white perch-I have reports they were running thick two days ago-water temp dropped like 10 degrees, but hopefully rebounds this afternoon with fish turning on today and tomorrow!

martalus
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:39 pm

Re: Shad season

Post by martalus » Sun Apr 25, 2021 6:17 pm

We had a decent afternoon on Friday with a steady pick of small hickory shad above Fletchers cove on the Potomac in DC. Saturday morning we hit the tidal basin and got a few white perch to fry up, but tide was low and nothing spectacular. Saturday afternoon we got a bad medical prognosis for our dad and hit fletchers again in a somber mood. It was crowded and we had to hike a bit to find a good looking rocky point. The shad gods smiled upon us and for three hours we caught dozens and dozens of large hickory and some Americans thrown in. There were so many herons, comorants, ospreys, and what looked to be a golden eagle or a very large red tailed hawk picking off fish. We had to leave at 6 with sore hands and arms from so many hard fighting shad. Lesson learned-when water is really deep-like 30-60 feet, use an egg sinker and a small split shot above your tandem rig. This allowed us to cast the light jig/spoon tandem rig a mile and let it sink way down. My bro even got two blue catfish. A bit of a sad afternoon but the fishing was one of the top trips of our lives.
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