No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
I went down to the Bissell by 4:15 pm, finding one lone fisherman on the bank who said he had C&R a couple of roes before I arrived. He wanted bucks for the smoker. Another regular showed up as I was rigging up. The river was at about the same level as yesterday, the water was a little clearer, and the current a little more robust, but I still didn't need more than 3/4 oz of weight to hold the bottom. The biggest issue was the wind gusts, it was cold. At least the wind was out of the W to NW, blowing down the ramp from behind us. With a good gust (35-40 mph), we could get almost an extra 10 yds distance on the cast.
About 4:45 pm, the first guy caught a middling buck for his smoker, and a few other regulars showed up shortly after that to make an even half dozen. Not much happened until about 5:30 pm, when one of my compatriots of Shad Nation hooked up, and he C&R a small roe. Within minutes, a young shadaholic hooked up, and another small roe was C&R after a Kodak Moment™. Then a different young shadaholic was hit hard on a long cast, and hooked up for a strong fight in the current. After a few short runs, and almost 3 minutes, he got a middling roe to the net for a release. I hooked up right after the release, and netted a small roe, and after a Kodak Moment™ she was released, too. There was a lull in the action for a while, but by 6:pm another small roe was C&R. By 6:10 I was cold and hungry, and packed it in. Before I left, I noticed everybody else packing up, and heading home, too. Yeah, it was cold.
Today was a good day! Tomorrow I think I'll hit the Wall again. It can get crowded on the ramp, more so than at Bart's. And I lose more tackle at Bissell than anywhere else. Tight lines!
Oh yeah, my winning leaf today was hammered silver, in white with 4 red spots. I also saw shad caught on pink w/black dot, and chartreuse w/red or orange dot. Pretty much anything bright and flashy. YMMV, and invariably will...
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
Late report. I got stuck at work yesterday until almost 4:30 pm, so I bailed on going to the Wall, and arrived at the Bissell by 4:45. Four regulars were working the bank, and as I set up, was told "you missed a good run a little while ago." Perfect. Timing is everything, and what I ain't got. At least the water was nice and clear, down less than 1' from Wednesday, and the current was good; 3/4 oz was weight enough. It was breezy, but not as hard or cold as yesterday. And ten minutes after I started my casting practice, one of the regulars got into it for a brief tussle with a small buck, which was promptly released. A little while later, another shadaholic C&R a very small roe. By 5:30, I hooked my first shad a small buck that hit fairly close to the bank. It was a short tussle, and he was released after a Kodak Moment™. I used a hammered silver, in white w/4 red dots to catch him.
It seemed that the shad, while small, were being caught, and mostly released at intervals of 15-20 minutes. At 5 mins to 6:pm. I got hit way out in the river, but with a few rapid headshakes and no real "back" to it, I thought it was an alewife at first. It got a little "heavier", and more "back" as it got closer to shore, perhaps a white perch. It was a small schoolie, maybe 11" or 12", but nice and thick. Its last meal was hanging out of its face with the willow leaf (the same hammered silver, white w/4 red dots). We had a Kodak Moment™, and back it went to grow up. Less than 10 mins later, I had another shad on the hook, buck buck #2. It also hit fairly close to the bank, but it had more fight in it than the first shad. Once we got it in the net, it was obvious it had been spawning or escaped the netters, as its sides were bruised, and some scales were missing. It gave me a Kodak Moment™, and back he went; he fell to a "Ukrainian Leaf" (blue over yellow w/black dot). By this point, the meeting of shadaholics had grown to half a dozen on the bank, and a few more sitting around the picnic table jawing. And the others around me continued to catch shad at intervals. No double hooksets, but often enough to keep us anchored to the bank. At 6:20, I hooked my 3rd shad for the day, Slava Ukraini! She hit hard far from the bank, put her head down, and stripped line right away. She tried 3 or 4 runs down river, but I was able to turn her before I got to my backing. It looked doubtful for a bit, until she turned to run upstream, and I was able to recover a lot of the line she took from the beginning. Eventually, after 3 or 4 minutes that seemed longer, we got her in the net. She looked to be about 3.5#, with good, vibrant color. After our Kodak Moment™, she took right off for deeper water. 20 mins later, one of the younger shadaholics got hit by a freight train, it just stopped him and stripped line on a long run to much complaint from his drag. Eventually he landed what turned out to be the largest roe of the day, 4.02#. He rued that he had caught it today, and not tomorrow morning for the Derby, but ultimately it was released unharmed after a Kodak Moment™. She also fell to the Ukrainian leaf.
By this time it was almost 7:pm, and while the shad were still cooperating, we were tired and hungry. So glad I missed that good run earlier, LOL! And most of the guys, and the one lady, were going out early today for the Shad Derby. Good timing for it this year, the shad are in, and it should be interesting. I am not in the Derby, I'm heading to TN to visit my son and DIL for the weekend. If you are fishing the Derby, good luck and tight lines!
earl bird
Member
Registered: 01/25/06
Posts: 1658
Loc: Terryville
Excellent report. As a former(many, many years ago)shad fisherman of the Enfield Dam area ( which I believe no longer exists), although we also did fish behind Bart's, it brings back many memories. We used to go there two to three times a week, and when the shad were there, it was unbelievable. They would congregate below the dam, and on a good day, we had a fish on every two to three casts. At that time we used shad darts. Are they used at all now? Actually I believe that I still have some. Keep the reports coming after your trip. We always found that around Mothers' Day was peak fishing time for shad.
Fishing: the art of casting, trolling, jigging, or spinning while freezing, sweating, swatting, or swearing. Henry Beard and Roy McKie
"Politically correct" was initially coined by Leon Trotsky to refer favorably to those whose views remained in sync with the ever-shifting Bolshevik Party line. This was important, as "not PC" people risked prison or death.
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
3rd.May, 4:30 pm after work, at the Wall. Approx. a 1/2 dozen fishing, about evenly split between chunk dunkers, and shadaholics. The water was down a little from my last outing on Friday, 29th.April, clear, and at about dead high tide, the current was virtually slack. By all reports today was s-l-o-w, but there were a few fresh scales from earlier in the day. On my first cast I picked up a blue back right next to the Wall, by 5:O'Clock I had C&R a second, and Bill C had one himself. By the time I left about 6:20 pm, only 3 shad had been hooked. Two were lost before they came to the Wall and a net, and only one landed in a net.
If it doesn't rain heavy tomorrow afternoon, I will give it another try. Otherwise, I won't be out again until next week. I'm going away for a second weekend, if work doesn't kill me first...
MikeV
Member
Registered: 07/07/03
Posts: 2439
Loc: Tolland
Glad to hear you got some fish. I am hoping the shad get going big time next week with the warmer weather. I am starting to think about what to chase this week end. Having gone 0 for 2 the last 2 weekends on the Blackfish/Striper trips. I know it will be fresh water. I just can't decide if I want to do Largemouth in a lake, Smallmouth on the river, or a dedicated Shad trip. Reports like yours and the weather will help me decide. Thanks for your frequent and detailed shad reports. You put in the time and effort. You should be reaping the rewards very soon.
Don D
Member
Registered: 01/03/02
Posts: 7203
Loc: Bristol, CT
Thanks for the reports. As Early Bird said many fond memories of fishing the Enfield Dam with my dad. 100 fish days were not unusual. Dad even won a prize in the derby one year. Seems the shad were bigger back then. Might just be an old man's bad memory. A few years back my bro and I did good trolling the Farmy from Barts to the mouth of the Ct River.
If there are fish to catch. I'll be there to my end.
#1830372 - 05/06/2206:35 PM
Re: SHAD! 2022
[Re: Don D]
earl bird
Member
Registered: 01/25/06
Posts: 1658
Loc: Terryville
Originally Posted By: Don D
Thanks for the reports. As Early Bird said many fond memories of fishing the Enfield Dam with my dad. 100 fish days were not unusual. Dad even won a prize in the derby one year. Seems the shad were bigger back then. Might just be an old man's bad memory. A few years back my bro and I did good trolling the Farmy from Barts to the mouth of the Ct River.
Don, you are correct. I used to fish the Enfield Dam with my father and my brother. There was a ladder going down to a narrow area (No Trespassing Sign there, which some people ignored) just below the dam where the fishing was great. Thankfully no one fell in there or it would have been over. Those were the days!! Maybe I fished next to you on that narrow ledge?? Remember that we used to have to pay 25 cents at the booth to be able to access the area?
Fishing: the art of casting, trolling, jigging, or spinning while freezing, sweating, swatting, or swearing. Henry Beard and Roy McKie
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1376
8th.May, Happy Mother's Day to the Mothers out there.
Arrived at the Wall ~11:20 am, to only 3 people working the bank, 1 was soaking chunks. Bill C had 3 shad in his cooler, and had been there since ~8:am. The wind was whipping down from Hartford, making the water choppy, and a bit turbid. The current was fair, and combined with the stiff breeze, we wanted 1.5 oz weight to reach the bottom. We caught a handful of alewives each, and I managed a fat yellow perch, but the shad were few and far between. We each had a few bumps, and on of the regulars hooked up 3 times but didn't get one to the net. Finally, about 2:30 pm, Bill landed one small roe. The wind seemed to be pitching up a bit, and we all called it a day.
Hopefully the wind abates overnight, and tomorrow is warmer. It was cold in the wind, even with layers. Hopefully, the weather warms up later in the week, as forecast. Tight lines!