I'm back, and it's time for another round of my favorite game fish, SHAD! I know how much y'all have missed me...

With the warmer temps, I couldn't stand it any longer, and I had to go out to scout my favorite haunts. Jack Frost was good to us this year, bless his pointy little icicles, the banks at Bissell, and Bart's are looking good, even if the water is a little high yet.

Bissell was marginally fishable, the water was mostly clear, and free of debris but there wasn't much current. And while the water wasn't up into the parking lot, it had staked a claim to a fair part of the ramp. I didn't waste any time there, and headed over to Bart's.

While the Farm'y was up, it wasn't too bad or hard to fish. Especially above the RR bridge, where the water was only up to the feet of the trees closest to the water. I had plenty of room to stand and, more importantly, cast. Water was clear but moving languidly. I forgot my thermometer so, no surface temp but the water looked cold, and probably was due to the recent rain. (I doubt there is any snow melt contributing to the runoff.)

It was a beautiful morning to be out for about an hour, just before 10 to 11:20-ish. Nice and warm in the sun, with little to no breeze. And nobody around except passersby, a few of whom stopped to chat. In brief, I took casting practice today. I didn't really expect anything, and when a fat bug treading water mid-stream floated by entirely unmolested, it confirmed what I expected: no fish today. Maybe tomorrow morning, we'll see if I can steal an hour or two.

Important stuff, tackle: one-piece UglyStick U/L rod, Penn 4200 SS reel spooled with 10# Power Pro. Terminal tackle: 5/8 oz drail, ~4-1/2' leader of 8# Flouro over silver willows (I tried a yellow with black dot, and a green/white with black dot). I love this set up, it casts like a dream, and I can throw it all day long!

I'm looking forward to this year's run, and can't wait for the ladies to make an appearance--tight lines!

I love these shad reports, keep them up.

I need to get out this year, it's been 25 years since I've caught one or had shad roe.

On Monday, 21.March I headed out for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and took casting practice at Bart's, and down at the Bissell--no fish today. And I didn't see anybody else fishing, no one on shore, no trailers in the parking lots.

I spent a little over an hour at Bart's above the RR bridge. In spite of the recent weather event there wasn't much evidence of the "Nor'easter". Except for the chill breeze blowing down the river, it was actually kind of pleasant. The water was neither higher nor lower than my last outing, it was clear, and the current was about the lack-luster same, with the exception that the breeze was making the surface look like the river was moving faster than it was, in fact. Surface temp was about 45º F, I'm sure it was colder at depth.

I headed over to the Bissell off E. Barber St for a little over 30 minutes, and it was about all I could take there. The wind was blowing down the ramp to the river, and it was cold. It also caused my leader/willow to foul on the weight and main line too often. Water was moving slowly, fairly clear (a little silty), and about 6" over the 2nd cleat. Except for the wind, fish-able.

Terminal tackle:
Farm'y: 3/8 oz drail over 2-1/2' of 8# flouro, silver willow w/orange & a black dot, and silver w/yellow/red & black dot.
CT R: 3/4 oz drail over the same leader, and silver willow w yellow/red & black dot.

I've been out twice since my last post, and had nothing to report except rumors of shad. And then there was today.

I fished up above the RR bridge behind Bart's from about 11:am to 1:15pm. The water was only up a little from my last post, it was clear, and moving pretty good. The day was warm, and the breeze wasn't bad, unlike in the parking lot where it was blustery. About 20 mins after my first cast, I C&R a dinky little buck, hardly over a pound. I had a decent hit a little while later but after a few cranks, and a couple of head shakes, it was gone. About noon time I had a solid hook up, making the drag sing a little, and stripping some line on 3 or 4 runs. He put up a decent fight with a lot of head shaking, and some acrobatics for good measure. He was also C&R, and ran almost 3 lbs. Life is good!

A couple of other regulars joined me before I had to skate on out of there. Gary got nada, and ? (I can't remember his name) also landed 2 decent bucks on his lunch break.

I went back for about 45 mins mid-afternoon, after my appointment but struck out. Radio got nothing, and Steve (regular) managed one before I got there.

Terminal tackle: 3/8 oz drail over a 2-1/2', 8# flouro leader, and a small hammered silver willow painted green/white with a black dot.

Tight lines!

Great news but hope this weather didnt mess anything up to bad.