| NCC-TU Presents The 2019 Shad Report No. 4 The Rock Moved April 25, 2019 Two recent storm systems have raised and muddied the Potomac for eleven days, and more rain will fall over the watershed tomorrow. Yesterday afternoon, water clarity had improved enough for a strong hickory shad bite to resume along the Gordon’s Rock shoreline. Boats will probably be available at Fletcher’s Cove on Friday but weekend rentals are uncertain. This report looks back to better times two weeks ago to show the potential for great American shad fishing to come, when water conditions finally improve. On Tuesday, April 9, Bob Smith came down to Fletcher’s Cove for an evening of American shad fishing. In any year, the second week of April is a great time to start focusing on the larger shad species. Even with a brand new trolling motor installed, Smith anchored within site of the Boathouse shop to make the most of the time remaining. It was fun to watch the full bend in his Livingston fiberglass fly rod, its translucent fiberglass blank flashing the golden color of the setting sun. But what was causing the bend: hickory or American? As it happens in the boulder field, Smith’s “Bobby-Joe shad stick” flies caught bottom a few times before adjustments were made. Knowing how shad gather in the swirling currents among the boulders, Smith decided to make his presentation on either side of the offending rock below his boat. The line soon tightened again with another apparent snag, only this time the rock moved. American shad don’t always clobber the fly like hickory shad but have a lot more to say afterward. The more stationary and weighty the take, deep in the water column, the more likely you have an American. Larger roes often pause to plan their next move, using the current to put a nice bend in your rod and a grin on your face. Smith looks forward to this snag-turns-into-a-shad surprise every year. What follows is “good strong pullage,” as Mike Fritz would aptly describe it on Wednesday. He should know because there were several nice roes among the thirty American shad he landed with his fly rod, just a day after Smith broke the ice. The run was developing quickly. On Fritz’s tip, I grabbed my fly rod and raced out on Thursday morning to have one of my best outings ever. Smith returned with Grizzly on Sunday (the 14th), just before the first fateful rainstorm, and later texted the photo above of a roe that “gave a good account of itself.” For some of the accomplished spin fishermen we follow, the rocks moving soon became an avalanche. Jim Stables explored much of the Cove area from his kayak during the first weeks of the run, partly because a favorite hole for American shad was not producing. By Friday (the 12th) he had settled on a spot upstream of the Gordon’s Rock shoreline, within view of the many anglers catching hickory shad. But Stables and his friend Brett Davis, in a separate kayak, were parked over a huge school of American shad, consisting primarily of the early arriving males. “We were quietly laughing at our luck and it was luck,” Stables later wrote in an email. “It was quite the workout and truthfully I was exhausted...I can’t even guess how many I lost.” Large roe fish were few, but both anglers topped 100 American shad and had many doubles, Davis accomplishing the feat in only six hours of fishing. John Kuriawa and Phil Kerchner arrived to their favorite hole downstream from the Boathouse early Sunday morning (the 14th) for a very full day of shad fishing. Getting right to the numbers, Kuriawa reported over 150 shad with more than fifty Americans in the bunch, as well as a surprising number of river herring. A typical day for these two experts, but this time Kuriawa gives credit to Captain Phil for ditching tandem shad darts in favor of flashy, fluorescent colored grubs, seen below. Giddy from a day of breakfast beers, good food and nonstop action, he later waxed poetic in his entertaining email to friends: “None too happy to be fed our lures, the sinewy and salty alosines darted, leaped, sounded, rolled, and raced across the compass, often but not always to our hands or net.” A nice roe that did make it to the boat is seen with Kerchner in the photo above. The first good week of American shad fishing seems like a distant memory now, but past experience tells us not to worry too much about the run. Based on the impressive showing of males early on, it is likely that huge numbers of shad have continued to stage during the delay in fishing, including the large roes we seek. It is clear to any visitor that the Potomac is bursting with life right now. When flow and turbidity levels finally improve in the Fletcher’s Cove area, spawning will resume at full speed and fishing should be excellent. The run will peak quickly, but we expect to find American shad in the river throughout the month of May, and barring a heat wave, into early June. Mark Binsted VP, NCC-TU 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 second 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 District Angling, Traeger Grills, RepYourWater, Speedwell Law, Computer Showcase, and the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership , 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 |
Two recent storm systems have raised and muddied the Potomac for eleven days, and more rain will fall over the watershed tomorrow. Yesterday afternoon, water clarity had improved enough for a strong hickory shad bite to resume along the Gordon’s Rock shoreline. Boats will probably be available at Fletcher’s Cove on Friday but weekend rentals are uncertain. This report looks back to better times two weeks ago to show the potential for great American shad fishing to come, when water conditions finally improve. | |
On Tuesday, April 9, Bob Smith came down to Fletcher’s Cove for an evening of American shad fishing. In any year, the second week of April is a great time to start focusing on the larger shad species. Even with a brand new trolling motor installed, Smith anchored within site of the Boathouse shop to make the most of the time remaining. It was fun to watch the full bend in his Livingston fiberglass fly rod, its translucent fiberglass blank flashing the golden color of the setting sun. But what was causing the bend: hickory or American? As it happens in the boulder field, Smith’s “Bobby-Joe shad stick” flies caught bottom a few times before adjustments were made. Knowing how shad gather in the swirling currents among the boulders, Smith decided to make his presentation on either side of the offending rock below his boat. The line soon tightened again with another apparent snag, only this time the rock moved. | |
American shad don’t always clobber the fly like hickory shad but have a lot more to say afterward. The more stationary and weighty the take, deep in the water column, the more likely you have an American. Larger roes often pause to plan their next move, using the current to put a nice bend in your rod and a grin on your face. Smith looks forward to this snag-turns-into-a-shad surprise every year. What follows is “good strong pullage,” as Mike Fritz would aptly describe it on Wednesday. He should know because there were several nice roes among the thirty American shad he landed with his fly rod, just a day after Smith broke the ice. The run was developing quickly. On Fritz’s tip, I grabbed my fly rod and raced out on Thursday morning to have one of my best outings ever. Smith returned with Grizzly on Sunday (the 14th), just before the first fateful rainstorm, and later texted the photo above of a roe that “gave a good account of itself.” | |
For some of the accomplished spin fishermen we follow, the rocks moving soon became an avalanche. Jim Stables explored much of the Cove area from his kayak during the first weeks of the run, partly because a favorite hole for American shad was not producing. By Friday (the 12th) he had settled on a spot upstream of the Gordon’s Rock shoreline, within view of the many anglers catching hickory shad. But Stables and his friend Brett Davis, in a separate kayak, were parked over a huge school of American shad, consisting primarily of the early arriving males. “We were quietly laughing at our luck and it was luck,” Stables later wrote in an email. “It was quite the workout and truthfully I was exhausted...I can’t even guess how many I lost.” Large roe fish were few, but both anglers topped 100 American shad and had many doubles, Davis accomplishing the feat in only six hours of fishing. | |
John Kuriawa and Phil Kerchner arrived to their favorite hole downstream from the Boathouse early Sunday morning (the 14th) for a very full day of shad fishing. Getting right to the numbers, Kuriawa reported over 150 shad with more than fifty Americans in the bunch, as well as a surprising number of river herring. A typical day for these two experts, but this time Kuriawa gives credit to Captain Phil for ditching tandem shad darts in favor of flashy, fluorescent colored grubs, seen below. Giddy from a day of breakfast beers, good food and nonstop action, he later waxed poetic in his entertaining email to friends: “None too happy to be fed our lures, the sinewy and salty alosines darted, leaped, sounded, rolled, and raced across the compass, often but not always to our hands or net.” A nice roe that did make it to the boat is seen with Kerchner in the photo above. | |
The first good week of American shad fishing seems like a distant memory now, but past experience tells us not to worry too much about the run. Based on the impressive showing of males early on, it is likely that huge numbers of shad have continued to stage during the delay in fishing, including the large roes we seek. It is clear to any visitor that the Potomac is bursting with life right now. When flow and turbidity levels finally improve in the Fletcher’s Cove area, spawning will resume at full speed and fishing should be excellent. The run will peak quickly, but we expect to find American shad in the river throughout the month of May, and barring a heat wave, into early June. | |
|
|
The National Capital Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders and CCA Maryland's Greater Washington Chapter are proud to present the second 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 District Angling, Traeger Grills, RepYourWater, Speedwell Law, Computer Showcase, and the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Partnership , 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!
| |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
