Shad Fishing???

[pmcgeanflynoc]

I have alot of questions about fishing for hickory shad. what time of year are they most abundant? What size rod/line should i use? What type of fly should I use? the reason I ask is because i heard somewhere that they like to come i early close to this time of year? and i have caught them while catching mass amounts of bluefish so i assume they can be caught on the fly though i may be wrong.

[jemche]

6 or 7 weight would prob be good. small chart clousers. behind my dad's office, SOOON. maybe we can do it SOON. the run is supposed to happen SOON. LETS DO IT!

[pmcgeanflynoc]

Is your dads office near that river in Salisbury cause i always caught them at the inlets in OC and IR

[jemche]

YES, I THINK THEY ARE IN THE SALT THROUGHT OUT THE SUMMER AND MAYBE MARCH. I AM PRETTY SURE THEY ARE BEHIND MY DADS OFFICE. I KNOW THE PERCH DEF. ARE.

[OneMoreCast]

Hey bud,
They act different around you guys. We get a run up the potomac and tribs of the susky. Both of those rivers are totally different.. For right now, I'd focus on how deep they are and what time of day it is. They are very light sensitive. Here's an old picture of one of my shad boxes... Just make sure your fly is in the right zone. After that, switch colors until you are steady catchin. When it slows down, start switching colors again. The color they see best will change with the angle of the sun over the water.

[pmcgeanflynoc]

OMC how big are the shad that you usually catch?

[Lineas Tenso]

www.ffflyfishers.org Check out the message board "shad/stripers"

Hicks don't require heavy tackle; 4 or 5 wt rod, intermediate cold water fly line or sink tip. For flies use bead heads up to 1/0. I've found the larger flies attract larger and MORE fish as it is easier for the shad to find the fly in the dirty spring time water. My favorite shad fly is a 1/0 red-white seaducer with plenty of pearl flash-a-bou. You'll also catch stripers on this pattern.

Lineas tenso

[OneMoreCast]

They are mostly hickories... same ones you guys see. Potomac=larger fish on average 17" and up. Susky...avg fish around 15" On the potomac, every once in a while you will catch an american and they could be 5lbs and maybe larger. I doubt you guys will see american shad in your area but I could be wrong.

[jemche]

i think the are all hickorys..........