Tony Buzolich
05-10-2007, 06:22 AM
Last night we hit the Feather again for stripers but instead found quite a few folks fishing shad. One boat which was anchored had three fellows in it with non-stop action the whole time we were there. This was right at Shanghai Bend. Other people were fishing them from the bank as well all using small jigs in either chartruese or white.
At our club meeting(E.C.Powell Fly Fishers) there were reports from members already taking shad at Hallwood but still very few. Most are piling up at Shanghai.
The water below the falls at Shanghai is deep and fast but can be fished with a light rod (6w.) using amnesia :x (yes, I hate the stuff too but it has its purpose) and a head of T-8 which should get it down. You might use T-14 or LC-13 with a heavier rod but that kind of take the sport out of it.
Almost all of the shad taken were small males (striper candy :P ) so this is just the start of the run.
We also saw thousands of salmon smolt scattering and flickering the surface everywhere. Birds were diving, herons and egrets were running the shore picking up dinner.
A few days ago F&G was also dumping smolt at Boyd's Pump, and with all of this food supply in the river it's no wonder the striper bite might be a little slow ,,,,, THey're FULL of smolt and shad. It could also be that the water is 69 degrees and a lot of them have already spawned.
There is always a resident population of stripers that don't leave after spawning just like on the American. These guys (gals) will feed at dark and all night long. It's about time to start throwing poppers under the moonlight.
If any of you are up Yuba City way, stop in at Johnson's and say Hi.
TONY
At our club meeting(E.C.Powell Fly Fishers) there were reports from members already taking shad at Hallwood but still very few. Most are piling up at Shanghai.
The water below the falls at Shanghai is deep and fast but can be fished with a light rod (6w.) using amnesia :x (yes, I hate the stuff too but it has its purpose) and a head of T-8 which should get it down. You might use T-14 or LC-13 with a heavier rod but that kind of take the sport out of it.
Almost all of the shad taken were small males (striper candy :P ) so this is just the start of the run.
We also saw thousands of salmon smolt scattering and flickering the surface everywhere. Birds were diving, herons and egrets were running the shore picking up dinner.
A few days ago F&G was also dumping smolt at Boyd's Pump, and with all of this food supply in the river it's no wonder the striper bite might be a little slow ,,,,, THey're FULL of smolt and shad. It could also be that the water is 69 degrees and a lot of them have already spawned.
There is always a resident population of stripers that don't leave after spawning just like on the American. These guys (gals) will feed at dark and all night long. It's about time to start throwing poppers under the moonlight.
If any of you are up Yuba City way, stop in at Johnson's and say Hi.
TONY