rswanson330
Member
Registered: 04/16/06
Posts: 409
Loc: Willington
I fished Barts this morning from about 6:00-7:30. One fellow joined me on the rocks around 6:30, And there was nobody else there. The other guy got two bumps early, then nothing. I may have had a bump... May have had a stick on the bottom. The river has really dropped, But the fish didn't care.
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1369
24.April: at the Wall a little after 4:30 pm, 6 or 7 shadaholics were tossing leaves. The water was down a few feet from Saturday, nice and clear for the first time, with a good current. A number of shad had been caught before I arrived, John who had been there most of the day had at least 5, Bill C who arrived a few minutes before me had already landed one. People arrived by ones and twos, and by the time I left at 7, there were over a dozen of us lining about half the Wall. At least a half dozen shad were caught, and most were released. Most of the shad were caught tight to the wall, and toward the middle section. I was fishing near the left corner, and got skunked tonight. The folx to my right had to be intercepting them before they made it to me. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it, LOL! No matter, the banter was good, and some nice shad were caught, bucks for the most part, but a couple of roes were C & R.
Terminal Tackle: a 1-1/2 oz drail, over a 4' leader, and a hammered silver leaf in yellow with a touch of blue/silver glitter, and black dots. After I lost that, I tied on a hammered silver leaf in pink with a white stripe and black dot.
cat_in_the_hat
Member
Registered: 04/16/04
Posts: 2214
Loc: Tolland CT
Windsor Shad Derby coming up Friday - Sunday May 3 to May 5, 2024. Pre-registration can be done at the Route 159 boat launch below the Dexter Coffin bridge once the Windsor Rod & Gun Club has its weigh-in shed set up. More details:
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1369
26.April: I stopped at the Wall after work, arriving about 4:45 pm. There were about 20 people spread out along the wall, most fishing for shad. A newbie hooked up on his first ever shad shortly after I got there. I grabbed my net, but before I could get it in position, the shad flipped away from the wall, and he gave it a hard tug. And it dropped the leaf, or more likely, he tore it out of it's mouth. Scuttlebutt was that a few shad were caught earlier in the day, but not much else was happening at that time.
The water was down another couple of feet, nice and clear, but there wasn't much current. By 6:pm the current was picking up, along with the wind, which was getting cold. By the time I left a little after 6:30, another 4 shad had been hooked, and most landed. I got bumped a couple of times, but nothing stuck to the leaf.
Terminal tackle: back and forth between 1 oz, and 1-1/2 oz drail over a 4' flouro 10# leader, and a hammered silver leaf in pink with a white stripe and black dot.
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1369
27.April: I had just about finished today's post, when *poof*. It was gone...
Reader's Digest condensed version: I was at the Wall from just before 11:am to 3:45 pm. Lot's of shadaholics lined the Wall. I saw a lot of shad caught, over 1 dozen throughout the day. All bucks I think, as I didn't hear anyone say they got a roe. Some of the bucks were good sized, long and thick. Of the 3 shad I got today, I thought 2 were roes, until we got them in a net.
I started with my "heavy" set up, a 1 piece 7' med action rod, mated to a Penn 4400SS, throwing a 1-1/2 oz drail over the usual terminal tackle. When the current slowed mid afternoon, I switched up to my U/L set up, a 1 piece 4'6" Ugly Stik, mated to a Shimano Sahara FJ 1000, also over the usual terminal tackle. Willow leaf colors today were all a base of hammered silver. Paint on the leaves varied: pink w/ white stripe and a black dot; white w/a few red dots; royal blue/chartreuse w/"eye"; and red/white w/black dot. I caught the 3 shad, one each, on the last 3 colors. Does color and pattern really matter? Enquiring minds want to know...
Tomorrow is another promising day. I will be out in the afternoon if things don't go awry, as they often have lately. I hope you can get out, too. And if we do, tight lines!
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1369
29.April: I got stuck at work, and didn't get down to the Wall until after 5:pm. Surprisingly, there were less than a half-dozen regulars plying the wall on the left side. There were a few people down on the right corner, but they looked like they were chunking for the most part. 411 from the regulars, including John who was out since 7:am was that things were dead at the moment, not unlike the current. He reported that he had caught 7 earlier throughout the day.
The water was clear, down almost another foot, and slack, barely moving. I threw the U/L with an ounce for weight, and had no trouble reaching and holding the bottom. Before 5:30 a shad was C & R, and by 5:45 another was netted. By then, the wind picked up, and the temp dropped almost 10º; it got chilly. A few more people had joined us along the Wall, but I still didn't count a dozen. And people started packing up around 6. I threw in the towel, too. No fish today.
Terminal Tackle: 1 oz drail over a 3-1/2', 10# flouro leader, and hammered silver willow leaf in red and white, with a black dot.
MikeV
Member
Registered: 07/07/03
Posts: 2379
Loc: Tolland
Paulie Walnuts (AKA Cat in the hat) and I hit the wall (Cromwell) Saturday (4/28) morning at first light till around 9:00. I caught 1 small buck. Other regulars (about 10 or so) showed up shortly after us. There were by my rough count about a dozen fish caught while we were there. A few were pretty good sized.
I tried my luck today Tuesday 4/30 from about 1-2PM. I caught 1. There were about a dozen caught by the 10 or so other fishermen during that time. Doing the math there were about the same number of fishermen catching about the same number of fish but in about 1/3 the time. It is getting better. One guy was on the South corner plugging for stripers. They showed him no love.
Tackle: 1 1/4 oz drail 3' 12# Fluoro leader with a willow leaf silver, or pink or silver/red dots
No Fish Today
Member
Registered: 09/04/03
Posts: 1369
I agree, Mike!
30.April: I was at the Wall a little after 4:30 pm today. It was a near ghost town, only 3 people fishing, and one left as I set up. Tales of shad caught earlier in the day, but recently, not so much. Of course it was near slack tide, and with the shad, its all about the current. I had that familiar bump on my first cast; the bump of alewives grabbing the weight, or leaf. They are starting to show up regularly. The first one stuck, and was promptly released. On my second cast, I had that bump, but it didn't stick. Just as well, the next hit was a shad. We didn't fight long before it threw the leaf near the Wall. It was deep enough that I never got a look at it, but it fought like a small buck. And that was it for me.
A couple or 3 more people showed up, but only the alewives were making their presence known. The breeze freshened out of the south, and it was getting cold, so I packed it in just before 6:30, leaving only 1 to continue fishing. I'll try it again tomorrow, hopefully the weather is milder, and more cooperative. Tight lines!
Terminal Tackle: 1 oz drail over a 3-1/2', 10# flouro leader, and hammered silver willow leaf in red and white, with a black dot.
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