| NCC-TU Presents The 2018 Shad Report No. 5 Shad Whisperers May 2, 2018 The peak of the Potomac River shad run is here. After many delays for high water and turbidity, the river is in great shape for the foreseeable future. Even a few days of 90-degree weather will not likely be detrimental. So far this week, hickory shad have been hitting from boat and shore like a second season has begun. American shad are present in unprecedented numbers and have stacked up in many of the favorite holes. Fishing was excellent in April for both shads between the freshets. There is even more to come in May. This week began with a nice American catch from shore by young Phillip (above), expertly guided by Josh Cohn. Yesterday, an incoming tide stirred up a frenzy of strikes in the morning, straight out from the Boathouse dock. Mike Bailey and Sandy Burk fished the same line from separate rowboats, amidst non-stop chatter and friendly jibes. They fought American shad together at one point. Tom Akins was back and anchored nearby. The Northern Virginia TU member had rammed my boat in strong wind last Thursday, pushing me off anchor and drawing much laughter, so I threatened retaliation. Akins gets the prize for the most interesting catch-of-the-day, a stringer holding two striped bass. One fish was dead but Tom revived the other as he muttered repeatedly, “this is a first.” I certainly hope so. It’s been quite a season for fly fishing at Fletcher’s Cove. Last Tuesday, Paul Hagen and his dog Izzie came down at dawn to land a few American shad with his little trout net, a sight we look forward to every year (above). Akins moved around a lot on Thursday morning and found an American shad every time. Joel Johnson took out a writer and podcaster from Drake magazine in the afternoon, leaving him very impressed with our angling oasis in the city. Yesterday, Chris Wood, President and CEO of TU, did much the same for a lucky guest who had won Wood’s silent auction trip at the NCC-TU Shad Night. I turned around at one point to find our fearless leader dancing around the boat with a feisty American shad. One recent visitor to Fletcher’s Cove noticed that everyone he saw out on the water held fly rods. He wondered out loud, “is this normal?” Last Tuesday, I observed an elegant, fully bundled fly fisherman landing an American shad as I rowed back from fishing below Walkers Point. He was anchored very close to shore, which offered some protection from the same nasty east wind that made my upriver rowing so effortless. Something about the way he smoothly netted the fish made me want to learn more about the guy. He seemed at peace with his surroundings, more so than usual. The mystery angler returned on Thursday, when the wind came from the opposite direction, this time blowing hard downriver. I rowed down to throw a line and get to know him a little, even though the return trip against very strong wind gusts would be strenuous. When I arrived he was fighting a shad (below). It was Michael Fritz, a regular customer of the Boathouse who operates under the radar. Our conversation revealed a curious mind, much wisdom from years of river experience, and a soft-spoken, friendly manner. As we talked, Fritz was offering American shad an assortment of brightly colored trout flies, tied on three at a time, and they were taking them. His hare’s ear nymph, olive with a green flash back, seemed to be producing the best, but Fritz also caught shad on white zebra midges. He’ll use tiny white shad darts but when he loses them all he experiments. He has found that white wooly buggers work well and yesterday added a size 18 purple bead head to his arsenal. It is amazing that big American shad stay on a hook that small, but Fritz says they do. Fritz thinks outside the box, and after a lifetime of angling has gotten to know fish and how they behave. We can learn from his example by slowing down. He spends all day on the river and stays in one area, becoming better acquainted with his immediate environment: the rocks, currents and patterns of the tides. He adjusts his anchorage to account for how shad react to changes in the flow. Time also gives Fritz more opportunities to experiment. The idea that small darts or flies appeal to roe shad is commonly believed but not always practiced, certainly not to his extreme. On Thursday evening, Fritz met up with another great shad whisperer, Mike Alper, at the tackle shop. I wish I had recorded that conversation! As they wrapped up it occurred to Fritz that Alper’s use of a wooden float with spinning gear in shallow water might have a parallel in his way of fly fishing. When the time is right, he’s going to give strike indicators a try. Both Mikes returned yesterday with phenomenal results. Fritz had reached a personal best twenty-eight American shad on the fly. He made adjustments in boat positioning to deal with the changing river and could not believe how stacked-up the shad were once he found them. Alper did what he does with his several spinning rods, documented in our Shad Reports numerous times. (The file photo above gives you the idea.) He also found a huge school of shad, but they were out on the edge of the main current, a bit closer to DC than he likes and therefore even deeper than usual—he measured bottom at twenty feet. This area will get easier to manage as the river drops, but yesterday Alper adjusted by adding four-quarter ounce split shots (yes, one ounce!) to his line and back reeling twenty-four feet of line out from the stern. It worked for fifty Americans, including a few doubles and multiple rod battles. The exhausted anglers shared their day and drove into the night. This time I wish I had taken a photo. Last Friday brought more high water and the cancellation of the Nation’s River event at Fletcher’s Cove. Fortunately, morning activities at the DOEE Aquatic Resource Education Center (AREC) proceeded as scheduled. With Director Tommy Wells on hand, Danny Ryan, DC’s chief fisheries biologist, gave an excellent presentation on the work of his team on the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. The agency and our fishery are in good hands. We were given a tour of the American shad hatchery at an opportune time, the morning after an incredibly successful fishing trip to gill net breeding stock. Ryan said that his team caught 118 “ripe” roes and 36 bucks, testing the capacity of the AREC hatchery. The photo above shows the fertilized eggs developing in jars before the fry hatch and spill over into the large tubs. Baby shad are then chemically marked and released into the upper Anacostia in about five days. The adult shad that “died for science” are studied to discover their origins and possible connection with area hatchery operations. Shad harvesting for restoration draws Ryan’s team, and others from Maryland DNR and US Fish and Wildlife, to an area near Fort Belvoir and Marshall Hall. Jim Cummins, Sandy Burk and Brad Harley also worked these waters on Sunday night, under a beautiful full moon, for the Anacostia Watershed Society’s classroom hatchery program. The largest shad spawning grounds on the Potomac are found there, so I have often wondered about sport fishing opportunities on the same big water. Mount Vernon residents Mike Kerr and Christina Ritchie took me up on the challenge and had a great day of fishing from shore at the mouth of Little Hunting Creek. They caught small stripers and hickory shad on an outgoing tide. Christina’s large roe hickory was impressive, seen with the happy angler below. The quest for an American shad on hook and line continues near the home of the country’s first and only shad fishing president. You might need a boat. Mark Binsted Sign Up Join Us! The National Capital Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders and CCA Maryland's Greater Washington Chapter are proud to present the first annual Tidal Potomac Slam fishing tournament. A multi-week event, compete for great prizes and bragging rights, while helping to support Friends of Fletcher’s Cove in its quest to restore the Cove and protect this unique urban fishing resource for generations to come. Sponsored by Sweetwater Brewing, RepYourWater, Costa Sunglasses, District Angling and Engel Coolers, the Tidal Potomac Slam is a celebration of the arrival of Spring and all of the migratory species that return each year to our Nation’s River! So join the fun and get in on this year’s Shadness Madness! Visit our website |
The peak of the Potomac River shad run is here. After many delays for high water and turbidity, the river is in great shape for the foreseeable future. Even a few days of 90-degree weather will not likely be detrimental. So far this week, hickory shad have been hitting from boat and shore like a second season has begun. American shad are present in unprecedented numbers and have stacked up in many of the favorite holes. Fishing was excellent in April for both shads between the freshets. There is even more to come in May. | |
This week began with a nice American catch from shore by young Phillip (above), expertly guided by Josh Cohn. Yesterday, an incoming tide stirred up a frenzy of strikes in the morning, straight out from the Boathouse dock. Mike Bailey and Sandy Burk fished the same line from separate rowboats, amidst non-stop chatter and friendly jibes. They fought American shad together at one point. Tom Akins was back and anchored nearby. The Northern Virginia TU member had rammed my boat in strong wind last Thursday, pushing me off anchor and drawing much laughter, so I threatened retaliation. Akins gets the prize for the most interesting catch-of-the-day, a stringer holding two striped bass. One fish was dead but Tom revived the other as he muttered repeatedly, “this is a first.” I certainly hope so. | |
It’s been quite a season for fly fishing at Fletcher’s Cove. Last Tuesday, Paul Hagen and his dog Izzie came down at dawn to land a few American shad with his little trout net, a sight we look forward to every year (above). Akins moved around a lot on Thursday morning and found an American shad every time. Joel Johnson took out a writer and podcaster from Drake magazine in the afternoon, leaving him very impressed with our angling oasis in the city. Yesterday, Chris Wood, President and CEO of TU, did much the same for a lucky guest who had won Wood’s silent auction trip at the NCC-TU Shad Night. I turned around at one point to find our fearless leader dancing around the boat with a feisty American shad. One recent visitor to Fletcher’s Cove noticed that everyone he saw out on the water held fly rods. He wondered out loud, “is this normal?” | |
Last Tuesday, I observed an elegant, fully bundled fly fisherman landing an American shad as I rowed back from fishing below Walkers Point. He was anchored very close to shore, which offered some protection from the same nasty east wind that made my upriver rowing so effortless. Something about the way he smoothly netted the fish made me want to learn more about the guy. He seemed at peace with his surroundings, more so than usual. The mystery angler returned on Thursday, when the wind came from the opposite direction, this time blowing hard downriver. I rowed down to throw a line and get to know him a little, even though the return trip against very strong wind gusts would be strenuous. When I arrived he was fighting a shad (below). | |
It was Michael Fritz, a regular customer of the Boathouse who operates under the radar. Our conversation revealed a curious mind, much wisdom from years of river experience, and a soft-spoken, friendly manner. As we talked, Fritz was offering American shad an assortment of brightly colored trout flies, tied on three at a time, and they were taking them. His hare’s ear nymph, olive with a green flash back, seemed to be producing the best, but Fritz also caught shad on white zebra midges. He’ll use tiny white shad darts but when he loses them all he experiments. He has found that white wooly buggers work well and yesterday added a size 18 purple bead head to his arsenal. It is amazing that big American shad stay on a hook that small, but Fritz says they do. | |
Fritz thinks outside the box, and after a lifetime of angling has gotten to know fish and how they behave. We can learn from his example by slowing down. He spends all day on the river and stays in one area, becoming better acquainted with his immediate environment: the rocks, currents and patterns of the tides. He adjusts his anchorage to account for how shad react to changes in the flow. Time also gives Fritz more opportunities to experiment. The idea that small darts or flies appeal to roe shad is commonly believed but not always practiced, certainly not to his extreme. On Thursday evening, Fritz met up with another great shad whisperer, Mike Alper, at the tackle shop. I wish I had recorded that conversation! As they wrapped up it occurred to Fritz that Alper’s use of a wooden float with spinning gear in shallow water might have a parallel in his way of fly fishing. When the time is right, he’s going to give strike indicators a try. | |
Both Mikes returned yesterday with phenomenal results. Fritz had reached a personal best twenty-eight American shad on the fly. He made adjustments in boat positioning to deal with the changing river and could not believe how stacked-up the shad were once he found them. Alper did what he does with his several spinning rods, documented in our Shad Reports numerous times. (The file photo above gives you the idea.) He also found a huge school of shad, but they were out on the edge of the main current, a bit closer to DC than he likes and therefore even deeper than usual—he measured bottom at twenty feet. This area will get easier to manage as the river drops, but yesterday Alper adjusted by adding four-quarter ounce split shots (yes, one ounce!) to his line and back reeling twenty-four feet of line out from the stern. It worked for fifty Americans, including a few doubles and multiple rod battles. The exhausted anglers shared their day and drove into the night. This time I wish I had taken a photo. | |
Last Friday brought more high water and the cancellation of the Nation’s River event at Fletcher’s Cove. Fortunately, morning activities at the DOEE Aquatic Resource Education Center (AREC) proceeded as scheduled. With Director Tommy Wells on hand, Danny Ryan, DC’s chief fisheries biologist, gave an excellent presentation on the work of his team on the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. The agency and our fishery are in good hands. We were given a tour of the American shad hatchery at an opportune time, the morning after an incredibly successful fishing trip to gill net breeding stock. Ryan said that his team caught 118 “ripe” roes and 36 bucks, testing the capacity of the AREC hatchery. The photo above shows the fertilized eggs developing in jars before the fry hatch and spill over into the large tubs. Baby shad are then chemically marked and released into the upper Anacostia in about five days. The adult shad that “died for science” are studied to discover their origins and possible connection with area hatchery operations. | |
Shad harvesting for restoration draws Ryan’s team, and others from Maryland DNR and US Fish and Wildlife, to an area near Fort Belvoir and Marshall Hall. Jim Cummins, Sandy Burk and Brad Harley also worked these waters on Sunday night, under a beautiful full moon, for the Anacostia Watershed Society’s classroom hatchery program. The largest shad spawning grounds on the Potomac are found there, so I have often wondered about sport fishing opportunities on the same big water. Mount Vernon residents Mike Kerr and Christina Ritchie took me up on the challenge and had a great day of fishing from shore at the mouth of Little Hunting Creek. They caught small stripers and hickory shad on an outgoing tide. Christina’s large roe hickory was impressive, seen with the happy angler below. The quest for an American shad on hook and line continues near the home of the country’s first and only shad fishing president. You might need a boat.
Mark Binsted
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The National Capital Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders and CCA Maryland's Greater Washington Chapter are proud to present the first annual Tidal Potomac Slam fishing tournament. A multi-week event, compete for great prizes and bragging rights, while helping to support Friends of Fletcher’s Cove in its quest to restore the Cove and protect this unique urban fishing resource for generations to come.
Sponsored by Sweetwater Brewing, RepYourWater, Costa Sunglasses, District Angling and Engel Coolers, the Tidal Potomac Slam is a celebration of the arrival of Spring and all of the migratory species that return each year to our Nation’s River! So join the fun and get in on this year’s Shadness Madness!
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