Hey Now, it's time to restore order to my corner of the world, and convene this year's Shadaholic Shiit Show! To that end, I've been scouting a few of the old haunts.

FB, aka: Meta, told me that 4 years ago today, we were catching shad. However, the water has been too high, turbid, and cold. And those nice days we had recently, all fell during working hours. I stopped by Bart's today, and while it looked fish-able, it was too cold and breezy with the high water, and slack-luster current for my liking. So, no fish today, or yesterday, or last week.

OTOH, I did get to catch up with a few shadaholics up on the sidewalk. Bill C, and Dylan were flapping their gums, while one of the young neophytes was taking casting practice on the bank below. Radio joined us, shortly.

With the forecast for up to 3" of rain Saturday, it looks like it might be a little while before we get any shad. Hopefully little is the operative word, and it's about time to dust off the gear.

I'll use the same set ups as I've used the last 10, or 100 years or so. Except the Penn 4200ss has been moved on the roster from starter to reliever. The anti-reverse hasn't worked in years, and it just feels loose all over; it's good to have a back up. I was leaning toward a Pflueger President XT25, but apparently the latest model no longer has an anti-reverse switch--at least the one I saw at Cabela's didn't. Deal breaker. So, today I picked up a Shimano Sahara FJ 1000 as my starter, and spooled it with about 80 yards of 15# PowerPro. I hope the drag is as good as the old Penn's is...

It's going to be a good year. Tight lines!

First trip report of the season. Arrived behind Bart's just after 11:am, the river was clear, but higher than Snoop Dog. I had the place to myself. The wind was running down stream to Loomis, but it wasn't particularly cold. Water temp was about 45ºF, but there wasn't much current besides the wind pushing the surface water.

About 11:45 or so, a neophyte made an appearance, he introduced himself as Kieran. We were jawing as he rigged up, and the Guy in the Fish Hat, Jerry pulled up and joined us on the sidewalk. By 12:30 Ernie had joined us, and Sissy, Rick and Dylan appeared. We had a quorum, and convened the first of many sessions of the Shadaholics Unanimous meetings. There was some fishing, much talk, and no shad, or anything else for that matter.

Reports over the last week were that Dylan had hooked a couple, and Bill C had brought one to the bank, but lost it at his feet. I don't think either of them landed a shad, yet. They're starting to show up, and if it stops raining every few days and the water comes down a little, or at least gets flowing better, it shouldn't be long. I hope...

Tackle:
Rod: one-piece Ugly Stik, 4'6" U/L Pro
Reel: I retired to backup the Penn 4200SS, and sprung for a new reel, a Shimano Sahara FJ 1000. It's spooled with 15# Power Pro (Hi-Viz Yellow).

Terminal Tackle: 1 oz drail over a 3', 10# flouro leader, and willow leaf, hammered silver in yellow with black dots.

Keep those reports coming. Love reading them. Good luck on the season.

7.April: I pulled up behind Bart's just before 12:noon to see 5 arms in casts. The water was clear, had nice current, and had fallen about 2' over the last couple or 3 days. Dylan reported a water temp about 43ºF, which I confirmed a couple of hours later to see if it had risen a smidge with the sun beating down. It didn't. :shrug:

It didn't take me long to join them, and get into the rhythm. Casting practice was very good today. Catching, not so much. Dylan had been there since about 9:am, and nobody had hooked up, until Keegan caught a shiner--ambitious little thing! That was the only thing I saw up until I left about 3:30 pm. It was nice to be out with old friends, and catching up with a few other shadaholics who stopped by to chat, and see if it was worth the trouble of getting their tackle together. It wasn't today, perhaps tomorrow, or Tuesday when things really warm up, but it doesn't really matter. It beats sitting on the couch, or crunching a keyboard. YMMV, and invariably will...

Tackle:
Rod: one-piece Ugly Stik, 4'6" U/L Pro
Reel: I retired the Penn 4200SS, and sprung for a new reel, a Shimano Sahara FJ 1000. It's spooled with 15# Power Pro (Hi-Viz Yellow).

Terminal Tackle: 1 oz drail over a 3', 10# flouro leader, and hammered gold willow leaf in pink and white, with a black dot.

8.April, 4:15ish: It was partly sunny and warm when I pulled up behind Bart's after work. Dylan, his mother, Radio and a couple of other characters had their arms in a cast, or were beating their gums up on the sidewalk. The water was down a little more from yesterday, clear, with a very good current, and surface temp. about 46ºF.

We all fell into a pattern of casting practice until about 5:pm, when Dylan had a solid hookset. After a few minutes, a few runs, and a little bit of acrobatics, he had a decent buck in the net. The first shad that we know of being landed. A couple or three had been hooked and lost over the last few weeks, but Dylan snapped a picture for proof of the pudding in the pan. He posted it to American Shad on FB, winning 25 of Steve's Leaves for his trouble. Congrats, Dylan. Radio hooked into his first shad of the season, for 2 bucks in 5 minutes. And then it got quiet, again.

By 6:30, my stomach was complaining for our supper, and I headed out for home. It was a great day to be on the bank. With the warming temps this week, we're hoping the shad run and action picks up--at least, I am. Tight lines!

Terminal Tackle: 3/4 oz drail over a 3', 10# flouro leader, and hammered silver willow leaf in white, with red dots, aka "spotty".