13.April: I finished my chores, and pulled in behind Bart's by 10:am. Only a couple of people were trying their luck. The river was WAY up from yesterday, by several feet, and rising. The water was turbid, not as much debris and flotsam as I expected, and the current was slower than anticipated, too. The river was so high, the water was 1/2 way up the boat ramp, there was a pool under the RR bridge where the water was backing up from the storm drains, and percolating through the sidewalk. We stood just to the river side of the guardrail, and cast from the top of the bank. People came in by ones and twos, joining us on the bank, or beating their gums on the sidewalk behind us. We weren't catching, but the chatter was good. And the weather was cooperating, being partly sunny, and only a little breezy to start.


About 10:45 my retrieve came to an abrupt halt. A couple of head shakes gave it away, and it was game on. After a brief skirmish, a middlin' buck was brought into the net, maybe 2 whole lbs. Shad! I am finally on the board. After a Kodak™ moment, I released him. A few of the other shadaholics hooked up throughout the day,mostly shad, but included a couple of schoolies. All were C&R, and a couple were lost at the bank. Things seem to be picking up. About 3:15, I had a solid hit, and it was reluctantly drawn closer to the bank. As soon as the water got skinny, we were off to the races. She put her head down and ran deep, then made some short, shallow runs, but never breached. I had to give her enough rope to proverbially hang herself, before I could get her to the net. A nice, early season roe, close to 3#. After a Kodak™ moment, she was released, too. By this time, the intermittent breeze, was freshening and getting colder.

All this time the river was rising, about an inch an hour. I almost got my feet wet getting into my Jeep at 4:pm, the pool had spread up Pleasant St, the water was lapping at the sidewalk at the low spot under the RR bridge, and had crept up to the top of the ramp. We were all surprised that the road wasn't blocked off with cones by this point. It was amusing watching people drive up to the edge of the pool, stop, and decide discretion was the better part of valor. Then turn around and drive back the way they came down. And then there was the entertainer: a kid on a dirt bike came down the street, stopped at the edge, and decided to send it. He made it about 1/2 way before the bike aspirated, and died. Yep, he got his feet wet, and had to do the walk of shame to get out of the puddle. He was able to eventually restart it, and with effort, he putted away. ROTFLMAO!

Terminal Tackle: I started with a 3/4 oz drail over a 3-12', 10# flouro leader, over a hammered silver leaf in pink with a black dot, and eventually lost it. With the rising water, 3/4 oz wasn't holding the bottom, so I switched to a 1 oz drail, over a 3-12' leader, and a hammered silver leaf in pale yellow leaf with blue and white stripes-I got the buck on it. When I lost that leaf, I finished with a hammered silver in blue with a red dot, which garnered the roe.

All in all, it was a great day to be out on the water! The consensus among the liars' club is the shad should start moving, and things will pick up next week. We'll see, but today was promising. Tight lines!