6.May: Other commitments kept me away from the river for the last 4 days, hence the radio silence. Today I was at the Wall by 4:45 pm, and found almost 20 folx lining the wall. The weather was perfect, mild, and no breeze. Reports were it was a slow day, although Cissy reportedly caught 2 stripers on willow leaves; one at 34.5", and another at 29"! The water was up a couple of feet from the rain, mostly clear, and the current was fair. Some flotsam was on the water, but not bad. So I joined the throng, and put my arm in a cast. A 1 oz weight was all I required, so I stayed with my tried and true U/L set up.

I could feel the alewives bumping my rig on most casts, and every once in a while one stuck. They weren't abundant, but they were a bit of a pest. Shad were landed or lost at intervals, one here, another there. About an hour after I started casting practice, I had a solid hit. After a little skirmish, he came to the net, where he promptly snared the hook. It took some effort to get the barb out of the netting without cutting it. A middling little buck and I had our Kodak™ moment. I wanted to throw him back, but he was out of the water so long, I didn't think he would make it, so I donated it to someone who asked if he could have it. By 6:15 about half the crowd had moved on, and I moseyed on home for supper about 6:30. At least I caught my vitamin shad. Most of the fish today, including Cissy's stripers were caught close to the Wall.

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. That traditional color seems to get it's fair share of attention.

Tight lines!