1.May: It was nice to skate out of work a little early today. I was at the Wall a little after 4:15 pm, and there was a good crowd of regulars, who reported that things had slowed down with the tide/current. As usual, I used my U/L set up, and about 10 minutes into casting practice, I felt the familiar bump of an alewife, but it didn't stick. Which was good, because right after it dropped my rig, I had a tap, and tug. Tug became pull, and it ran off some drag, I turned its head, and it ran off a little more. We played cat and mouse for a few minutes, while it dove deep, and I tried to get it closer to the net. Eventually I won the tug of war, and a middling buck and I had our Kodak™ moment before he was released. Not 10 minutes later, I hooked up again, and this one had some back to it. It ran off down river, and the drag sang. I thought I might have snagged, or foul hooked it for the way it kept taking line. I'd gain a yard of line, only to lose 2 or 3, and it made about a half dozen of those runs before we got it close to the Wall. I had to let it tire itself before taking it near the net. I got another Kodak™ moment with a nice long, thick buck, and sent him back into the river.

After that, things were mostly quiet. A couple of more shad were hooked, and brought to the net, and a couple of others were lost, but the action was slow over the next 45 minutes or so. By 5:30, only a few alewives were cooperating, and I headed home for supper. It was a good day to be out, and the company was good.

I've got a few things that will keep me away from the river for the next couple or 3 days. Maybe Sunday I'll get a chance at it. 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.

Glad you got a pair of good ones. Sounds like you got this down to a science. Shad do fight above their weight class. The light gear/slow retrieve and the comradery of the regulars on the wall make shad fishing very easy on the body and very enjoyable. Factor in the nice runs these fish make and it can be addictive.

Considering all the things I "over do" that include but is not limited to eating, tennis, basketball, and striper fishing; shad fishing clearly does the least damage. I will hit the wall again soon.

MikeV