Nova Scotia Shad Run 2008

All right, so I heard through the grapevine that the Shad run is just getting started.

The spot I am heading to this weekend is a great place for trout and by turns, Striped Bass, Shad and the odd Smallmouth Bass.

The problem for me is deciding which I am going to go after. The techniques I use for Shad pretty well guarantee that nothing else will touch the fly, the same for Striped Bass and Trout, although I do occasionally fluke a Smallmouth when targeting Brookies.

I have been anxiously awaiting this year's Shad run because I have a new system figured out that I cannot wait to try.

Here is the thing; traditionally Shad were not regarded as a game fish- around here anyway. They ran in huge numbers and were netted for commercial use or jigged by dragging a weighted treble hook through the thick schools by rod and reel anglers.

Some of the catch was eaten but many Shad were just flung up onto the bank to die and there, were left to rot.

That has all changed in the last fifteen or twenty years. Spin fishermen started using darts to fair hook them and fly fishermen discovered that they would take a deep-sunk fly. When hooked, the fight is spectacular and once enjoyed it is hard not to go again at every opportunity.

The laws have been beefed up as well. It is illegal to purposely foul-hook this wonderful, new’ish, game fish.