18.May--a late report: I was away for the weekend, and we had hardly any rain at the cottage in Litchfield. But, since I wasn't sure how much rain the river system picked up, I opted for Bart's rather than the Wall. The water was way down, clarity was fair, the current was decent, and the surface temp was about 64ºF. The first hints of cotton appeared on the water.

I parked near the RR bridge about 11:40 am, finding only 2 shadaholics working the bank. Trent was landing a decent buck, and added it to a twin on his stringer. This was a good sign. About an hour later I had a light tap-tap. When I set the hook, I thought I had snagged the bottom, nothing was moving. Until I gave it some slack to try to float the leaf or weight off the bottom. And then it ran deep, and downstream, doubling the rod, and taking a bit of drag. With the U/L I had trouble turning its head to the bank, and a waiting net. After a good 5 minutes or so, it finally tired, and slipped into the net. I didn't weigh or measure it, as I wanted to get it back into the water quickly. It was long, over 20", and weighed about 3#, one of the biggest shad I've caught this year. Lots of fun and fight on light tackle in skinny water!

An hour or so later, Trent caught and released another shad, almost as big and thick as mine. The action was slow, but worth the effort and waiting for the size of the few shad that hit. A few alewives, and white perch made an appearance, and entertained us between shad. I packed it in a bit after 2:pm.

Terminal Tackle: 1 oz drail over a 4', 10# flouro leader, and a hammered silver willow leaf in pink and white w/black dot.

Tight lines!