1.May: It was nice to skate out of work a little early today. I was at the Wall a little after 4:15 pm, and there was a good crowd of regulars, who reported that things had slowed down with the tide/current. As usual, I used my U/L set up, and about 10 minutes into casting practice, I felt the familiar bump of an alewife, but it didn't stick. Which was good, because right after it dropped my rig, I had a tap, and tug. Tug became pull, and it ran off some drag, I turned its head, and it ran off a little more. We played cat and mouse for a few minutes, while it dove deep, and I tried to get it closer to the net. Eventually I won the tug of war, and a middling buck and I had our Kodak™ moment before he was released. Not 10 minutes later, I hooked up again, and this one had some back to it. It ran off down river, and the drag sang. I thought I might have snagged, or foul hooked it for the way it kept taking line. I'd gain a yard of line, only to lose 2 or 3, and it made about a half dozen of those runs before we got it close to the Wall. I had to let it tire itself before taking it near the net. I got another Kodak™ moment with a nice long, thick buck, and sent him back into the river.

After that, things were mostly quiet. A couple of more shad were hooked, and brought to the net, and a couple of others were lost, but the action was slow over the next 45 minutes or so. By 5:30, only a few alewives were cooperating, and I headed home for supper. It was a good day to be out, and the company was good.

I've got a few things that will keep me away from the river for the next couple or 3 days. Maybe Sunday I'll get a chance at it. Tight lines!

Terminal Tackle: 1 oz drail over a 3-1/2', 10# flouro leader, and hammered silver willow leaf in red and white, with a black dot.