Shad on the Fly 2010

Wow, check out this picture. Sure glad I took a minute to tie up some pink and gold flies.

My friend Aaron and I hit the Nine Mile after work the other day and had the whole place to ourselves.

We looked over a few of the higher pools but decided to walk the mile or so to the spot where I had been fishing with some success the last few times I'd been out.

It turned out to be a good decision.

The technique in these long deep pools without too much current is to cast across and down stream about 45 degrees. Let the fly sink and the line straighten out. Then, let the fly dangle on the straight line for a few seconds before starting a medium fast stripping retrieve.

Sometimes the fish will take on the swing, sometimes on the dangle but most often they will take on the first strip or two. They will of course surprise you often enough to make the above not really very good advice.

Here is the good advice: Be ready for a take any time your fly is in the water.

You gotta' love shad fishing on the fly!

Shad on the fly

big shad on a pink fly

Some people asked me to talk a bit more about Shad on the fly.

Here is the basic set-up I use early in the season. An eight-weight rod with a sinking line and a very short leader, about four to six feet of straight, six pound mono.

The flies are unique to the business of catching Shad but would probably work for warm water Small Mouth Bass too.

 I'll add a picture of one of the simplest to tie. It is not a coincidence that this is the fly I use most often.

If you don't lose a handful by catching on bottom you are not fishing deep enough. That's the only secret to the game that I know.

shad fly -try lots of different colours

Get the fly deep. I try and look for places where the current will carry my fly deep into a pool and slowly raise it. Fish will usually take on the rise. If they don't, let it dangle at the end of the cast and give it a few twitches. They will sometimes take there.

If no takes just retrieve it in varying patterns of short and long strips with lots of pauses to let the fly get deep. That's about it.

You will see the schools of fish moving around the water and can figure out how to intercept them.

 I like an overcast day for Shad fishing or on a bright day early morning and evenings.

I'll go to a light, five-weight set up as the water warms and the river starts to drop back from the early spring freshets. A big Shad on a five weight is a real hoot.

 The world angling record for American shad weighed 5.1 kg (11.2 lb) and was caught in the Connecticut River, Massachusetts, in 1986. The average I see is between four and six pounds at a guess.

 Shad fishing is very social with loads of anglers on the banks. It is about the opposite of a trout fishing trip to the back woods. Not a lot of subtlety or craft just a load fun and a great way to introduce a beginner to fly-fishing.

 It is also a great way to start to teach someone about salmon fishing. We all know that getting a salmon to take is only a part of the game. Being able to land one is a major challenge too, especially for someone who has never experienced a big, feisty fish on a fly rod.