| NCC-TU Presents The 2021 Shad Report No. 6 Emotional Problems April 26, 2021 The hickory shad bonanza continues everywhere you throw a line. Just grab a rock or drop an anchor. The Potomac run is always amazing but this year may be the best yet. After fielding a steady stream of superlatives from departing anglers on Tuesday (4/20), I felt we certainly had reached a peak. When the cold weather dropped water temperatures by six degrees in 48 hours, it seemed possible that a lull would become a decline. Catches were down when the strong winds made fishing difficult on Wednesday and Thursday, but shad remained surprisingly active. Josephine Stump caught her first shad ever (below) before the "winds got crazy," wrote her dad Jamie. Mike Bailey said they were deep and responding to slow retrieves in the calm of Saturday morning, from the smallest bucks to huge roes. By yesterday afternoon water temps had spiked to 58 degrees and the Boathouse reported hickory shad catches back to normal, insane levels. Full speed ahead. Except for the truly addicted, many hickory shad fishers have reached a level of contentment with the run and are ready to move on. Meanwhile, some of us American shad fans are experiencing mixed emotions. We are happy to have had some good success early but are also getting anxious as we wait for these storied gamefish to get better organized. American shad have mostly gone missing since high water arrived two weeks ago. It’s past time for massive schools to infiltrate the Fletcher’s Cove area and shove their hickory cousins upstream. Should we be concerned about the run? One of my favorite sections of “The Founding Fish” recounts John McPhee’s extended conversation with biologist Boyd Kynard, a specialist in fish behavior. Kynard says American shad are "fish with emotional problems.” Mostly they are fearful, afraid of variation and the unknown. The bottom structure of the Potomac at Fletcher’s Cove presents our shad with their first significant obstacle in the form of a pronounced ledge, a massive boulder field and many shallow passageways through swirling currents. The photo below hints at this structure. While they pause to assess any confusing variation, according to Kynard, the shad “swim around in circles” until the school collectively decides how to move on. That’s good for anglers at Fletcher’s but not when water temperatures take a dive. The temperature drop, like the recent high water, was yet another problem confronting the schools, slowing their progress and shutting off the bite. American shad need 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit to complete their purpose in fresh water. While temperatures remained in the fifties last week, shad probably circled patiently in deep water to assess this unexpected development, perhaps dropping back downriver. They were in no mood to strike because they were in no position to spawn. In case you are wondering, that photo was taken yesterday from the first George Washington Memorial Parkway overlook. I highly recommend stopping there if you find yourself heading north on the parkway. Bob Smith did just that on Saturday, April 10, the last day I caught an American roe. Anchored on “the shelf,” I had taken several bucks, then finally felt the heft of a powerful female. As soon as the fish swam away from the net my phone rang. It was a voice from above, not from God, but soothing nonetheless. “That looked like a nice one.” Smith was on his way to a job and wanted to see how shad fishing was going, his binoculars ready. I turned my gaze to the top of the cliff where a man in a yellow jacket was waving at me. On that same day our old NCC-TU buddy Andy Spence was on the water with his five-year-old son Grady. Spence was active on our board for many years until marriage and children interfered. We had many meetings in his law firm’s conference room, from there planning our annual National Capital Angling Show, always a monumental endeavor. I ran across Spence last week at the Boathouse and found him very happy about his new life raising two sons. He agreed to share this photo (above) of Grady’s nice American shad, taken from a rowboat out in the boulder field. My own three sons are grown, of course, but a recent addition to the family brings renewed happiness and fond memories of young children. Adeline Binsted has just turned five months old and is starting to roll around. We recently traveled to Norfolk to visit our first grandchild, and proud parents Derek and Alyssa, where I took the opportunity to introduce the tyke to American shad. I decided it’s much too early to regale her with McPhee’s story about the two-and-a-half hour battle with a Delaware roe. But as you can see, Adeline already likes the book. Next time I’ll bring a fly rod to show her. Too soon? We expect great things from American shad this week and will return with an update. But don't wait for us! The rapid warmup should get the run moving and rods bending again, finally. Mark Binsted NCC-TU Visit our website |
The hickory shad bonanza continues everywhere you throw a line. Just grab a rock or drop an anchor. The Potomac run is always amazing but this year may be the best yet. After fielding a steady stream of superlatives from departing anglers on Tuesday (4/20), I felt we certainly had reached a peak. When the cold weather dropped water temperatures by six degrees in 48 hours, it seemed possible that a lull would become a decline. Catches were down when the strong winds made fishing difficult on Wednesday and Thursday, but shad remained surprisingly active. Josephine Stump caught her first shad ever (below) before the "winds got crazy," wrote her dad Jamie. Mike Bailey said they were deep and responding to slow retrieves in the calm of Saturday morning, from the smallest bucks to huge roes. By yesterday afternoon water temps had spiked to 58 degrees and the Boathouse reported hickory shad catches back to normal, insane levels. Full speed ahead. | |
Except for the truly addicted, many hickory shad fishers have reached a level of contentment with the run and are ready to move on. Meanwhile, some of us American shad fans are experiencing mixed emotions. We are happy to have had some good success early but are also getting anxious as we wait for these storied gamefish to get better organized. American shad have mostly gone missing since high water arrived two weeks ago. It’s past time for massive schools to infiltrate the Fletcher’s Cove area and shove their hickory cousins upstream. Should we be concerned about the run? | |
One of my favorite sections of “The Founding Fish” recounts John McPhee’s extended conversation with biologist Boyd Kynard, a specialist in fish behavior. Kynard says American shad are "fish with emotional problems.” Mostly they are fearful, afraid of variation and the unknown. The bottom structure of the Potomac at Fletcher’s Cove presents our shad with their first significant obstacle in the form of a pronounced ledge, a massive boulder field and many shallow passageways through swirling currents. The photo below hints at this structure. | |
While they pause to assess any confusing variation, according to Kynard, the shad “swim around in circles” until the school collectively decides how to move on. That’s good for anglers at Fletcher’s but not when water temperatures take a dive. The temperature drop, like the recent high water, was yet another problem confronting the schools, slowing their progress and shutting off the bite. American shad need 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit to complete their purpose in fresh water. While temperatures remained in the fifties last week, shad probably circled patiently in deep water to assess this unexpected development, perhaps dropping back downriver. They were in no mood to strike because they were in no position to spawn. | |
In case you are wondering, that photo was taken yesterday from the first George Washington Memorial Parkway overlook. I highly recommend stopping there if you find yourself heading north on the parkway. Bob Smith did just that on Saturday, April 10, the last day I caught an American roe. Anchored on “the shelf,” I had taken several bucks, then finally felt the heft of a powerful female. As soon as the fish swam away from the net my phone rang. It was a voice from above, not from God, but soothing nonetheless. “That looked like a nice one.” Smith was on his way to a job and wanted to see how shad fishing was going, his binoculars ready. I turned my gaze to the top of the cliff where a man in a yellow jacket was waving at me. | |
On that same day our old NCC-TU buddy Andy Spence was on the water with his five-year-old son Grady. Spence was active on our board for many years until marriage and children interfered. We had many meetings in his law firm’s conference room, from there planning our annual National Capital Angling Show, always a monumental endeavor. I ran across Spence last week at the Boathouse and found him very happy about his new life raising two sons. He agreed to share this photo (above) of Grady’s nice American shad, taken from a rowboat out in the boulder field. | |
My own three sons are grown, of course, but a recent addition to the family brings renewed happiness and fond memories of young children. Adeline Binsted has just turned five months old and is starting to roll around. We recently traveled to Norfolk to visit our first grandchild, and proud parents Derek and Alyssa, where I took the opportunity to introduce the tyke to American shad. I decided it’s much too early to regale her with McPhee’s story about the two-and-a-half hour battle with a Delaware roe. But as you can see, Adeline already likes the book. Next time I’ll bring a fly rod to show her. Too soon? | |
We expect great things from American shad this week and will return with an update. But don't wait for us! The rapid warmup should get the run moving and rods bending again, finally. | |
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