The Shad are Running and Mayflies are Hatching

I finally made it fishing. On Saturday I headed out to check out the little lake my daughter and I found last week. It was pretty rough going walking the bank and extremely treacherous wading so I only managed about an hour of fishing and saw no sign of a fish. I’ll go back with the float tube when things warm up a bit and give it a thorough going over.

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It was a cold and blustery day with no fish to show for it but it was still a triumph for me. Only a few short months ago I was being admitted to the hospital for heart surgery and remember wondering if I’d ever be able to walk the woods or fish again.
Before getting too braggy, I have to admit I fished an hour and needed a two hour nap afterwards.
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Hey, I’m calling it a win.

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The next day was Sunday and feeling pretty good, I headed out to Elmsdale to see if the shad were in yet. The answer is; they definitely are starting to run. I was rigged for trout fishing and didn’t get close to them but just knowing they are there has me pumped. I’ll go back this weekend with a full sinking line and some shad flies.


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There were a few trout rising here and there to a sporadic hatch of Hendrickson Mayflies. These are a biggish fly; light, opaque, brown or grey with a bit of yellow on the underside of the abdomen. I have never seen them on this particular water before but the trout were not shy about smacking them. I’ll make sure to always have a few in my spring fly box from now on.

That is always the conflict on the Nine Mile or the Shubie; do you rig light for trout or heavy for shad. You can’t really fish them both at once. At least, I have not figured out how to yet.

I walked a good portion of the bank and saw a few shad being caught on darts by the spin fishermen. Didn’t see many fly fishers and no hook-ups on the fly.

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Yahoo, the lying season is upon us.