A Day in the Life

[Terry Thomas]

Here's a typical call that we get multiple times a day during shad season.
Kiene's Fly Shop
"Any shad in the river?"
Sure, they are spread all the way to the dam.
"Where should I go"
We've had good reports from Sailor Bar down to Rosmore.
"Do you have any of those Bloody Maria's (or Johnny Winter, T.T. Special, Blue Agave)?"
Sure, but you do realize that it's the line that is the most important part in shad fishing.
"Really?"
If you have a two hand rod in the 6 or 7 wt. with a Skagit line system, you can cover all of the river levels.
"I don't use two hand rods."
O.K. A single hand rod with a shooting head system has worked for over 40 years and it is still a good choice today.
"I really did good last year with a Teeny 350. Can't I just use that?"
Well, the river is running 1,890 cfs. You are going to get hung on the bottom.
"Well I read where Jeff C. and Bruce caught (fill in the number here) last night using T (whatever)."
Those guys were in a boat and that info doesn't really apply to how you are going to fish.
"What line should I buy?"
The Rio Versi System is a good choice to cover many river conditions.
"Wow, I don't have $150 to spend on a line."
You do realize that these lines are also good choices for steelhead season as well.
"Can't I just buy one line?"
You could buy a W.F. line and upline it by a couple of sizes, cut the front taper off and create a line like the Rio Outbound Short.
"I think I'm just going to use my Teeny 350 and see how it works!"
Man, you're killing me.

[Bryan Morgan]

I feel for ya.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Yes, last summer the river was really high like 10,000 cfs so people were fishing in different spots with faster sinking lines.

Now it is at a very nice low flow (2,000 cfs) so we all need shorter and/or slower sinking heads or tips.

Lots of choices......Poly/Versi leaders, sinktips or slower sinking heads will work but now a Teeny 350.


Get out there now in the evening because 2,000 cfs is really perfect for wading the river for Shad.


.

[Jasonh]

Great post Terry! After working in the shop and guiding for the last 5-6 years this is something we have to deal with on a daily basis during shad and steelhead season. Here's my 2 cents...


Terry is spot on that your line system and achieving the proper depth is way more important than the fly you are using. Shit, 10 years ago one of my best flies was a #12 prince nymph trailed behind a shad fly 3x the size of what guys are using now. Shad fishing is not that much different than swining flies for salmon or steelhead. Good casting, the right swing, and proper depth are WAY MORE IMPORTANT than the fly. Guys like Jeff C and Bruce catch more fish than most because they fish everyday, are EXCELLENT casters, and get the fly to the proper depth. Some days the shad are deep and some days they are not. That is why it is important to be a decent caster and have some different lines or sink tips to choose from based on conditions.

If money is an issue when it comes to buying lines than here is what I would recommend.

Single Handed lines: get a good running line such as Rio Slickshooter($10) and a couple of different shooting heads($40 ea) or a Rio Versitip line($150).

Spey: Skagit head or skagit intermediate head($50-55) and some tips such as T-8/11/14($15 or so ea.) in 7.5'-13' feet in length. T-11 would be the best all around for most spey and switch rods for shad.

Bottom line:
If you want to catch shad and catch a bunch of them like Jeff C and Bruce, put in the time, invest in a good line system to cover a variety of depths, and become a good caster. Being able to cover the water and probe various depths is key. Is it worth saving $25 to catch little to no fish, or spend the money on the proper lines/tips and get out there and slam 'em with the right setup?

[Jeff C.]

Excellent advice Terry and Jason! Getting to the right depth in the water colunm is the most important thing in fishing for shad. Here's a good example: Fishing with Bruce this past weekend, we abchored in one spot and Bruce was throwing a 15 ft. of T-14 while I was throwing 10 ft. of T-14. Bruce was getting 3 hookups to my 1. We went to another spot that was kind of deep so I put on 10 ft. of T-17. I started catching them while Bruce's 15 ft of T-14 was grabbing bottom.

The general rule is deep during the day and higher up in the water column when the sun goes down (but they can be anywhere in the water column at any time). I know some guys that will go out in the evening with two rods rigged up. One with a sinking line and another with an intermediate or floating line for the last 20 minutes of light. I'm lazy so most evenings I use only one tip that I can get down by proper casting and mending while the sun is out and still not hung up on the bottom when I fish shallower water after the sun goes down

Getting your fly to the right depth usually means you have to have multiple lines/tips. When I fish with with Bruce on his boat we each have 4 rods rigged ready to go!

[Jed Peters]

Damn, shoulda put on my 50/50 last night then!



In all seriousness, one can also vary depth swinging as well--speeding up the drift or slowing it down; twitching or otherwise?

[Bryan Morgan]

Bottom line, there are days when you can be way underneath them, but today ,I could clearly see the Shad chase te fly. Fly line and depth is more important than the fly. When it comes to Shad, let's be ohnest here!