Thanks for the encouragement, MikeV. As a dedicated Shadaholic, the dearth of shad doesn't phase me (I'm not a quitter). I liken it to a DRL schedule of reinforcement. When the numbers of shad are low, and hookups far between, that one outlier that does hit becomes, (whether it's landed or lost is not mutually exclusive) my reinforcer. And I need that hit, LOL!

13.May: I arrived at the Wall about 10:am this morning, early for me, but reports consistently indicated the shad were around earlier in the day. I found a half dozen reprobates taking casting practice. No reports of shad, but plenty of alewives being caught. And in fact, several Bluebacks were caught in short order. For the day, I C&R at least a half dozen, and lost about as many. It seemed like they were grabbing the weight, giving it a few headshakes, and then gone. The river was way down, making long handled landing nets the order of the day to reach the water. Other than Alewives and Bluebacks, nothing was caught except the occasional snag, or a fellow shadaholic's line. Until about 11:30 am. A couple of shad were C&R on either side of me a few minutes apart. Just before noon I had a solid hit close to the Wall. It felt heavy, and stayed deep. When the water got skinny, and it almost bumped the Wall, it made a couple of short runs. As Dylan manned the net, he had just barely gotten under her, and the leaf came flying back at us. I thought she was gone, but Dylan has net skills, and saved it. Thanks, Dylan! She was long, fat, and full of eggs. I thought it was over 3#, and maybe closer to 3.5#. Dylan thought it was about 3.8#, the same size as one he weighed yesterday. About 12:30 pm I set the hook in another shad, but it was much smaller, a long, but skinny buck that might have weighed a little over 2#. Things slowed down after that, but by the time I left a little after 2:pm, 9 shad had been caught, and all but 2 bleeders were released.

Today was a good day. And tomorrow promises to be one, too. Happy Mothers' Day to all you mothers, and tight lines to everyone--especially if you're fishing the Holyoke Shad Derby! And if you are, good luck.

Terminal tackle: 1 oz drail over 3' 10# flouro. I got the roe on the Jamaican pattern, and the buck hit a willow in hot pink/yellow w/pink dot, all in hammered silver.