All Shad nuts......

[lee s.]

Brad,
Check your pm.
.....lee s.

[lee s.]

Lee,

Sounds pretty much like "shad" fishing to me.

Being in the bucket is important with all fishing, knowing the River doesn't hurt either.

Carl Blackledge

Sorry Carl,
I just cannot agree that The Russian River shad fishing is shad fishing as normal. And it certainly is no longer a destination fishery unless your travel is not much longer than 30 minutes.
It greatly pisses me to recall days gone by of 50-100 fish days (and I know you well remember them too ) and realize what we have allowed Sonoma County Water Agency to do to our resource. They have grandly and quite successfully turned our steelhead, shad, and smallie fishery into a grand squawfish fishery.
Rant done, thanks.....
....lee s.

[Idadon]

What's the odds of getting one of you guys to post a picture of a stren/amnesia bug. I used to tie a fly using amnesia 30 years ago for Steelhead on the Gualala. It caught its fair share of shad on the American as well. Worked great in low clear water and sunny conditions. Just wondering if it's similar.

[lee s.]

Carl ties some good ones for the shops around here and is good at pics.
Mine are just the same old junkers we have tied since the stuff came out in the 60's.....I think. But they have worked from the Snake and Columbia rivers and all points we have done shad in between there and here locally.
.....lee s.

[Carl Blackledge]

Sorry Carl,
I just cannot agree that The Russian River shad fishing is shad fishing as normal. And it certainly is no longer a destination fishery unless your travel is not much longer than 30 minutes.
It greatly pisses me to recall days gone by of 50-100 fish days (and I know you well remember them too ) and realize what we have allowed Sonoma County Water Agency to do to our resource. They have grandly and quite successfully turned our steelhead, shad, and smallie fishery into a grand squawfish fishery.
Rant done, thanks.....
....lee s.

Lee,

I agree with every word you said. I think Bill said or claimed it was a destination fishery. I have said for years the Russian has turned into a "chit hole, However the "chit hole" does have Shad in it" and for me who live's maybe 40 minutes from it I still only fish it maybe a few times a year at best.

Lee I need 3 shots of Viagra before I can even think about fishing the Russian

Carl Blackledge

[Carl Blackledge]

What's the odds of getting one of you guys to post a picture of a stren/amnesia bug. I used to tie a fly using amnesia 30 years ago for Steelhead on the Gualala. It caught its fair share of shad on the American as well. Worked great in low clear water and sunny conditions. Just wondering if it's similar.

Idadon,

Here are a few pictures of the Strean and Amnesia fly, I have caught lots of King Salmon on the Green Amnesia fly, however I haven't ever caught a Steelhead on either one.

Carl

Strean fly on bottom and Amnesia on top...both killer flies on the Russian River

[Idadon]

Thanks Carl. About the only difference between yours and mine is mine were tied with bead-chain eyes. Thanks!!

[Baja Fly Fisher]

I use to use the orange bow string fly. The translucent bow string, not the solid material. I still have 5 spools wrapped in foil and it a dark air tight can.

[Carl Blackledge]

Idadon,

75% of all my shad flies were tied with bead chain eyes this year. Kiene's Shad flies were all bead heads.

Carl

[Andy Guibord]

Thanks for the report. I fished the American today with Jeff Ching and Earl Sloan. The river flowed at 12000 cfs. We hooked a bunch of shad while fishing out of the boat. We used very fast sinking sink tips around 24 to 26 feet long.