Shad Flies and Some Experiments

I have been thinking about flies for Shad fishing in the last few days. The main flies I have been using for the last couple of years have been an ultra simple thing with heavy lead eyes in a bunch of different colours. Quick and easy to tie it sinks like a stone and catches a few fish. The problem is that it isn't really a great fly.

When fish are the least bit selective, I'm just out there practising my casting.

So here is what I've been doing. I've been thinking back to the basic flies and colours I've used over the years and am tying a few variations of each style to see how much difference the separate pieces make. The idea is to still have a simple quick to tie fly but one that actually works a bit better than what I've settled on over the last few seasons.

Here is an example of a simple red and white fly version of a shad dart. Some with buck tail, some with crystal flash, some with lead wire, some with bead eyes, and so on. All variations of the same fly.

I'm still going to keep it simple, using a basic pattern with different colours, weights and tails. I've got another week or two before the run hits to get a bunch tied but it should be an interesting season.