| NCC-TU Presents The 2020 Shad Report No. 2 Signs of Progress March 20, 2020 The rainfall over the Potomac watershed Wednesday night was just the ticket. At Fletcher’s Cove, low flow and crystal clear water had hampered the preseason hickory shad bite. Early blossoms around the city had raised our expectations but the fish didn’t take the hint. Idle cormorants were as disappointed as the first anglers to appear by shore and kayak. Now, on this first full day of spring, the river is replenished and the shad run is picking up at last. Yesterday, Morgan Mericle caught ten hickory shad from his kayak within sight of the Fletcher’s dock. At the same time, our friend John Kuriawa and son Alex found similar success from shore down at Walker’s Point (above). These signs of progress in the run confirm the importance of current as a stimulant, and the notion that turbidity can actually be too low. The mild freshet coming through will improve flow and color over the next several days. The predicted rain will be a plus. Despite the return of cold weather tomorrow, fishing will continue to improve until the runs peak in April. A much needed escape awaits anglers if only we can come. Before the rain, the few notable catches of hickory shad were upstream where there is always more current. Last Sunday, after the Tidal Potomac Fly Rodder “Casting Church,” Regan Burmeister walked up along the DC shoreline to claim a boulder out near the flow. Wading this stretch of the Potomac is not for the faint at heart, but these guys teach proper respect for the river. The photo of Burmeister from the TPFR forum (above) captures the excitement of “first shad” about as well as any I’ve seen. Burmeister says the fish was “caught using an intermediate spey line with 10 ft. of T-14 as the sink tip.” I didn’t mean to bury the lead, but the first few of my very favorite fish have already been caught. On March 10th, the day after our first Shad Report, Peter Fritsch walked down to Walker’s point to try his luck on the big rock. Hundreds of casts later, his reward for hard labor was just one shad -- not the leaping variety he expected but a larger upgrade. The first American shad of 2020 was his and is seen with Fritsch in the selfie below. Another nice American was taken last Saturday by Jeffrey Kovar at Gordon’s Rock, also his only fish of the day. (Read to the bottom to see what could be in store for our waters soon.) This is very early for the first American shad but we’ve seen it before. After the warm winter of 2017, I reported that a catch on March 9th probably set a record for the earliest ever. The river flow was as low as this year with similar water temps. The first hickory shad was taken that same day and was also recognized as the earliest anyone could recall. That means Chris Campo’s first catch this year on the 7th is now tops. Turning to the greater concerns of the day, our look at the progress of the shad run and local angling opportunities will inevitably be impacted by the coronavirus epidemic. Fletcher’s Boathouse will not open tomorrow as originally planned but hopes to do so next Saturday. Concessioner GSI/Boating In needs time to work out procedures for safely serving the public during the current crisis. You are urged to purchase fishing licenses online this year. Snack offerings may be somewhat limited. Whenever rowboats are made available for fishing, new rental rates for 2020 will be in effect -- check here for details. So far, DC has not issued a stay at home order and the National Park Service has kept most parks open. Let’s do our part to help avoid a shutdown. It is important for park users to follow all guidelines for staying safe when visiting Fletcher’s Cove. Social distancing is mandatory and easy to achieve given the rugged nature of our river bank. At the same time, you must exercise good sense on the rocks and boulders. Emergency response teams will have plenty to do without rescuing anglers injured along the shore, as Connor Lynch witnessed last weekend above Chain Bridge (above). Friends of Fletcher’s Cove has cancelled the public event planned for next Saturday at the Cove. Instead, you are invited to an online celebration of the new season on Facebook Live, at 8:00 a.m. You will also want to check out the new FFC social media presence on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . We thank FFC for the great progress achieved over the winter toward saving our cherished access to the Potomac River. Finally, I want to introduce readers to our new “roving reporter” for shad fishing up and down the coast. I mentioned meeting Bill Gordon last time and think we can all benefit from his vast knowledge of American shad fishing. We’ll check in with him regularly to see how other rivers are performing, particularly the Delaware, his home base. Bill landed 31 hickories yesterday on the Susquehanna River below Conowingo Dam. Last Monday he sent word of great fishing in North Carolina on both the Tar and Roanoke rivers. The photo above is from the Tar in Rocky Mount. Bill said he and his son Willy “absolutely crushed shad all weekend! Fantastic run down there in both numbers and size of the shad!” Coming here soon? Mark Binsted VP, NCC-TU Join Us! Visit our website |
The rainfall over the Potomac watershed Wednesday night was just the ticket. At Fletcher’s Cove, low flow and crystal clear water had hampered the preseason hickory shad bite. Early blossoms around the city had raised our expectations but the fish didn’t take the hint. Idle cormorants were as disappointed as the first anglers to appear by shore and kayak. Now, on this first full day of spring, the river is replenished and the shad run is picking up at last. | |
Yesterday, Morgan Mericle caught ten hickory shad from his kayak within sight of the Fletcher’s dock. At the same time, our friend John Kuriawa and son Alex found similar success from shore down at Walker’s Point (above). These signs of progress in the run confirm the importance of current as a stimulant, and the notion that turbidity can actually be too low. The mild freshet coming through will improve flow and color over the next several days. The predicted rain will be a plus. Despite the return of cold weather tomorrow, fishing will continue to improve until the runs peak in April. A much needed escape awaits anglers if only we can come. | |
Before the rain, the few notable catches of hickory shad were upstream where there is always more current. Last Sunday, after the Tidal Potomac Fly Rodder “Casting Church,” Regan Burmeister walked up along the DC shoreline to claim a boulder out near the flow. Wading this stretch of the Potomac is not for the faint at heart, but these guys teach proper respect for the river. The photo of Burmeister from the TPFR forum (above) captures the excitement of “first shad” about as well as any I’ve seen. Burmeister says the fish was “caught using an intermediate spey line with 10 ft. of T-14 as the sink tip.”
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I didn’t mean to bury the lead, but the first few of my very favorite fish have already been caught. On March 10th, the day after our first Shad Report, Peter Fritsch walked down to Walker’s point to try his luck on the big rock. Hundreds of casts later, his reward for hard labor was just one shad -- not the leaping variety he expected but a larger upgrade. The first American shad of 2020 was his and is seen with Fritsch in the selfie below. Another nice American was taken last Saturday by Jeffrey Kovar at Gordon’s Rock, also his only fish of the day. (Read to the bottom to see what could be in store for our waters soon.) | |
This is very early for the first American shad but we’ve seen it before. After the warm winter of 2017, I reported that a catch on March 9th probably set a record for the earliest ever. The river flow was as low as this year with similar water temps. The first hickory shad was taken that same day and was also recognized as the earliest anyone could recall. That means Chris Campo’s first catch this year on the 7th is now tops. | |
Turning to the greater concerns of the day, our look at the progress of the shad run and local angling opportunities will inevitably be impacted by the coronavirus epidemic. Fletcher’s Boathouse will not open tomorrow as originally planned but hopes to do so next Saturday. Concessioner GSI/Boating In needs time to work out procedures for safely serving the public during the current crisis. You are urged to purchase fishing licenses online this year. Snack offerings may be somewhat limited. Whenever rowboats are made available for fishing, new rental rates for 2020 will be in effect -- check here for details. | |
So far, DC has not issued a stay at home order and the National Park Service has kept most parks open. Let’s do our part to help avoid a shutdown. It is important for park users to follow all guidelines for staying safe when visiting Fletcher’s Cove. Social distancing is mandatory and easy to achieve given the rugged nature of our river bank. At the same time, you must exercise good sense on the rocks and boulders. Emergency response teams will have plenty to do without rescuing anglers injured along the shore, as Connor Lynch witnessed last weekend above Chain Bridge (above). | |
Friends of Fletcher’s Cove has cancelled the public event planned for next Saturday at the Cove. Instead, you are invited to an online celebration of the new season on Facebook Live, at 8:00 a.m. You will also want to check out the new FFC social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We thank FFC for the great progress achieved over the winter toward saving our cherished access to the Potomac River. | |
Finally, I want to introduce readers to our new “roving reporter” for shad fishing up and down the coast. I mentioned meeting Bill Gordon last time and think we can all benefit from his vast knowledge of American shad fishing. We’ll check in with him regularly to see how other rivers are performing, particularly the Delaware, his home base. Bill landed 31 hickories yesterday on the Susquehanna River below Conowingo Dam. Last Monday he sent word of great fishing in North Carolina on both the Tar and Roanoke rivers. The photo above is from the Tar in Rocky Mount. Bill said he and his son Willy “absolutely crushed shad all weekend! Fantastic run down there in both numbers and size of the shad!” | |
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