D'ya miss me? I'm still here, and worse still, I'm back in my little corner of the fishing world. Shad!
I've been out regularly down behind Bart's since mid-March, but we've only started hooking up within the last 2 weeks. This week, we are starting to see more than 1 a day, 'though they are still scattered. Fishing is better at the Wall since Saturday, than at Bart's, as the water there is too skinny, and lacks current.

20.April (4/20 stoners): I arrived at the wall about 11:am. Dylan, Miguel, Bill C., John, and a handful of other regulars were already plying the water. Scuttlebutt was 3-4 shad had been caught before I showed up. Bill managed to hook small buck as I started casting. A little while later, John landed another, and gave it to a woman who asked for it.

About 12:40 pm I had a solid hit close to the wall. It fought well in the current, but eventually came to the net. A small but feisty buck, my first of the year. After a Kodak™ moment, he went back in the drink. It turned out to be my One-a-Day vitamin shad. At 2:pm I headed home for Easter dinner with the family.

Another 3 or 4 shad had been caught by the time I left. With the nicer, warmer weather, the shad are beginning to move. Things should pick up over the coming week. It was nice to see some shad caught from shore this early in the season.

Tomorrow, I might slab by the Bissell in Wilson to see if anything is cooking. If so I give it a go. If not, I'll head down to the wall.

Tackle:
Rod: 7' one-piece Ugly Stik GX2, med-heavy action
Reel: Penn 4400SS spooled with 15# hi-viz yellow Power Pro.

Terminal tackle: 1-1/2 oz drail over a 4'+ flouro 10# leader, and hammered silver leaves in white with red St Andrew's cross, in green and yellow with an orange dot.

Tight lines!

I was wondering when they would show. Glad to hear you have connected. I will put my shad outfit in the car so I can partake when I'm by the river.
Keep at it. With today's temperature on the rise, the shad will be showing up in numbers soon . More important, the fish with stripes will be on their heals.

MikeV

22.April: Hey now, MikeV! Good call to keep the shad set-up handy in the car. They are showing up, and you're right, it's only going to get better with the mild temps.

cat_in_the_hat, good luck in your travels. Things are looking up all around.

I got out of work on time for a change, and arrived at Bissell about 4:20 pm. A small handful of regulars were taking casting practice as I set up. The water was clear, decent current, and only a little flotsam drifting by in the current. Surface temp was ~52º, maybe a hair more. The breeze was light, and out of the West, aiding and abetting casting distance.

Radio said they had good luck in the morning, he catching 3 or 4 himself. On my 3rd cast, I had a soft hit, and a couple of feeble head shakes. I figured a white or yellow perch, maybe a dinky bass. Until it put some back into it, and tugged hard. Fish on! It was far out, on the drop, and as the water got skinny it pulled out the stops, and ran off some line. I love the sound of the drag singing, and she made it sing a few times, 3 solid runs, and a couple of shorter ones as she tired. Radio netted her when I worked her in close enough. She was a nice fat roe, I'm guessing between 2.5#-3#. Radio is convinced she was over 3#. I'll never know, we didn't weigh her. She was slipped back into the drink after our Kodak™ moment.

About the time I landed and released the roe, a couple of other folx showed up with a kid, maybe 7 or 8 YO. One of the guys soon had a decent hookset that turned out to be a bronze-back. He let the kid reel it in for their own Kodak™ moment. The bass was only 8" or 9" long, but the kid's smile made it a lot bigger. And then it got quiet. About 6:15 pm another regular showed up, and hooked up a nice buck on his 3rd or 4th cast. About 6:30 pm I couldn't take the rumbly in my tumbly anymore, and headed home for supper.

The Surf-Nazis were not out in force today, only 2 showed up, and they had CT plates on their vehicles. They were considerate while launching, and motoring to and from the ramp. They played more than 1/2 way across the river. A tip of the CTF hat to them.

Much needed reel therapy this afternoon, with good company, and a couple of shad for good measure. I'll be back there again tomorrow after work.

Tackle:
Rod: one-piece Ugly Stik, 4'6" U/L Pro
Reel: Shimano Sahara FJ 1000, spooled with 15# Power Pro (Hi-Viz Yellow).

Terminal Tackle: 1/2 oz drail over a 4'+, 10# flouro leader, and a hammered silver willow leaf, in white with a red St. Andrew's cross.

Tight lines!

Glad to see you enjoying the weather and the shad fishing. A nice roe on the ultralight stick is addictive.
Keep them coming.

MikeV

Fishing is like the lottery. You got be in it to win it. The weather down here (Old Lyme) looks pretty good. Work commitments kept me off the water today. Glad you're trying latter.
Somebody has to catch all those shad.

MikeV

26.April: The Wall, Cromwell. I arrived about 12:30 pm in a light rain, and 10-12 people with their arms in a cast. The water was up a bit with a decent current, turbid but not opaque; not that you could see far into the river. Flotsam was few and far between. The rain persisted on and off through the afternoon. The breeze came up with the approaching cold front around 2:pm give or take.

There was ample evidence of shad caught today. The 411 was they were being caught fairly regularly. About a half hour into my casting practice, I had a hit close to the wall. It put it's head down, and tugged hard, and then it did it again. I turned it in to the wall, and it dug deep, stripping line as it ran out, more than I had taken in. When I gained line, it dug-in again, and ran off what I had gained, and it did this a few more times. It was net shy, and tried to run deep up, and down the river. When we finally got it to the net, it was a fat buck. He weighed in at 2.6#, and had fought well above his weight class. Other than a few weak hits, and bumps, he turned out to be my vitamin shad for the day.

By the time I left at 3:pm, several more people had joined the party. I wasn't really counting, but saw about a dozen shad landed, and a few more lost. At times there were doubles on, and I saw one triple. Today was the busiest I've seen on the river since last year. Life is good.

Tackle:
Rod: 7' one-piece Ugly Stik GX2, med-heavy action
Reel: Penn 4400SS spooled with 15# hi-viz yellow Power Pro.

Terminal tackle: 1-1/2 oz drail over a 4'+ flouro 10# leader, and hammered silver leaves in red/purple/black (Steve's Leaves), Bill's stop light pattern, and Bill's Jamaican pattern. Steve's leaf was the answer for me today.

I will be back down to the Wall tomorrow. We'll see how the coming cold front affects the run. Tight lines!

28.April: Bissell/E Barber St. I pulled into the park about 4:30 pm. The water was high, partway up the ramp, rising and muddy, but had a decent current.

One shadaholic, named Radio was taking casting practice. He hadn't had much luck, only one for the day, and he started in the morning. Two others were drowning worms looking for white perch, or anything for that matter. I made a few casts because I was there, expecting nothing. And I succeeded in getting nothing but grass, leaves, and snags. The bottom of the ramp ate 3 leaves, and I kept getting fouled with the worm soakers. Another regular showed up about 4:45, took one cast, got snagged and lost his willow. And he just left. By 5:pm, Radio and I had enough frustration, and headed to our respective homes.

If the water is still high and muddy tomorrow, I may fight the rush hour traffic to head down to Rocky Hill or Cromwell. There wasn't enough room for the 5 of us to make it worthwhile.

Rod: one-piece Ugly Stik, 4'6" U/L Pro
Reel: Shimano Sahara FJ 1000, spooled with 15# Power Pro (Hi-Viz Yellow).

Terminal Tackle: 1 oz drail over a 4'+, 10# flouro leader, and hammered silver willow leaves, Steve's Leaves in purple, pink, and black w/eye, and a Bill C. "stop light" pattern (white with the obligatory red/green dots).

No Fish Today. Maybe tomorrow. Tight lines!

MikeV, you're right. It's great catching shad after a long, damp, cold spring. I hope you get out soon, and you're welcome to join our chapter of Shadaholics. A merry band of misfits to be sure.

29.April: The Wall, Cromwell. I arrived at 4:30 pm after a surprisingly easy drive down to the Wall from Hartford. Apparently rush hour was cancelled today, traffic was relatively light and moving along. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The river was still rising, turbid, with lots of grass and sticks riding in the current, and choppy. And the wind was whipping up from Middletown to Hartford. There were only about a half dozen folx working the Wall, and the 411 wasn't encouraging. One reporter said he stopped at Rocky Hill, but it was just to windy to fish. John, who retired to take up shad fishing full time wasted 8 hours to catch nothing.

In the hour and a half I put up with the wind, only 2 shad were C&R. Middling bucks, maybe 2#. No Fish Today for me.

Tackle:
Rod: 7' one-piece Ugly Stik GX2, med-heavy action
Reel: Penn 4400SS spooled with 15# hi-viz yellow Power Pro.

Terminal tackle: 2 oz drail (I could hardly keep it on the bottom with 1.5 oz) over a 4'+ flouro 10# leader, and hammered silver leaves in Bill C's Jamaican pattern.

Tomorrow is another day. Tight lines!

1.May: late report. I got out of work too late to do more than drive by Bissell to see what was happening. Two guys soaking worms for white perch, or whatever else might bite, and Radio who was getting ready to pack it in. He reported that nothing was happening. The river was only down a little, dark and turbid, with not much current. And not enough bank was exposed to fish anywhere but on the ramp.

I took a few furtive casts, and all I got was ramp, weeds, more ramp, and one of the guys lines. Not. Worth. The. Effort. I headed home early.


2.May: The Wall. I arrived about 4:40 pm, and found the wall was lined wall to wall with shadaholics, and a couple of meat soakers for good measure. The shad were cooperating today. I caught a middling buck on my 2nd cast, and a couple, 3 or 4 casts later, I had another. And there was action on the Wall from the left corner down past the middle of the wall. I don't know how many shad were landed, or lost, but pretty much everyone hooked up at least once! An hour after I arrived, I landed a 3rd shad, also a middling buck. High tide was predicted for about 6:pm, and about that time the action had stopped for all but a few alewives. What a great day to be out.

Terminal tackle: 1.5 oz drail over a 4' flouro 10# leader, and a hammered silver leaf in Bill C's Candy Corn pattern.

Tomorrow is a work day with the Jeep club. Cleaning trails, maybe blazing a new one at a property we wheel. It's always nice to give a little back to a landowner who allows us access to their property. I'll be back on the Wall on Sunday. In the meantime, tight lines!

Great job. Your persistence pays. You are getting out in good and bad weather AND catching fish. The comradery you enjoy with the other shad fishermen is the icing on the cake. I will try to get out this week to try for anything when the weather permits.

Keep catching those shad.

MikeV

Report just heard at the South Hadley boat launch. HG&E just cancelled the first weekend of the 2025 Holyoke Shad Derby May 10 & 11 due to expected near catastrophic flooding from heavy rain Thursday night and Friday that will add to current very high water. There would be few places to fish and safety concerns for inexperienced anglers and children.

8.May: I skipped out of work early for an appointment, which allowed me to get to Bart's by 3:15 pm. Four regulars were set up, 3 casting. One expired shad lay at their feet, and Dylan was bringing in his 6th shad of the day, a big roe (he started at 1:30). The water was down about 2' from yesterday, clear, with a good stiff current. Cissy hooked up next, and landed a nice fat roe. I had a couple of soft hits, but they didn't stick for more than a few head shakes.

About 4:30 I had a solid hook set, that immediately put it's back into it. It hit far out, past mid-stream, and in the current it fought hard. When the water got skinny, it really dug in, and jumped clear of the water. When it saw the net, it really gave my drag a work out. It turned out to be a large, fat buck, not the roe we expected. 20 minutes later, and I was into another shad. Not as big as the first, but Dylan was on at the same time. It's been a long while since we saw a double at Bart's. Radio showed up about then, and Keegan. Radio hooked up, his first at Bart's this year (not his first shad, he has done well at Bissell, and the Wall.)

With the rumble of thunder in the distance, and darkening skies, we packed it in about 5:45. Dylan scored 10 landed for the day, and I counted about 10 shad landed by our crew during the time I was there. Most were large bucks, but a couple of roes were in the mix for good measure.

Tackle:
I tried, but the U/L didn't do it with the high, fast water at Bart's. That big buck would have really challenged me if it had hit the U/L set up. The big boy rig worked like a charm.
Rod: 7' one-piece Ugly Stik GX2, med-heavy action
Reel: Penn 4400SS spooled with 15# hi-viz yellow Power Pro.

Terminal tackle: 1.5 oz drail over a 4' flouro 10# leader, and a hammered silver leaf in Bill C's Jamaican pattern.
Dylan and Ernie found success with one of Dylan's creations with purple, and both threw 1 oz drails.

The forecast looks like tomorrow will be a washout. I'll see what Saturday, and Sunday bring. Tight lines!

11.May: Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

I pulled up behind Bart's at 11:am. There was a good crowd, almost a dozen shadaholics, working the bank upstream of the RR bridge, and Bill C was landing one as I set up. By all accounts, the shad were in today. The water was up, and backing up through the storm drain flooding the road under the RR bridge. The current was excellent, water clarity wasn't bad, the surface temp was about 59ºF, and there wasn't much debris in the river. The water was still rising even when I left after 3:pm. In sum, about perfect!

About 11:30 I had my first hook set. A decent buck, caught close to shore, he put up a decent fight. About 15 or 20 minutes later, I had a good hit way out past mid-stream. It fought well, and eventually we got a nice fat roe in the net. After a Kodak™ moment, she went back into the drink. And about 12:Noon, I got hit again, out past mid-stream, eventually landing another nice roe. We had our Kodak™ moment, and she went back into the river.

Terminal tackle: 1.5 oz drail over a 4'+ flouro 10# leader, and a hammered silver leaf in Bill C's candy corn pattern (#2 leaf), and Dylan's candy corn pattern (#3 leaf).

Tomorrow is supposed to be a lot like today in terms of weather, so I'll be back. Tight lines!

12.May: Pulled up behind Bart's about 4:45 pm. About a half dozen shadaholics were working the bank. And a couple of more arrived as I started casting practice. The river was down about 6" from yesterday, nice and clear, with a decent current. The water under the RR bridge on Pleasant St was down, even though the street was still blocked off. The reprobates loitering on the bank reported the shad were around, but not as active as yesterday.

I took casting practice until about 6:45, and only caught a few alewives. I only saw about a half dozen, or 7 shad caught by the other recidivists. A slow afternoon to be sure. At least the alewives kept most of us busy, and a few of them were surprisingly fat and long. Still, it was a really nice day to be out with the arm in a cast.

Terminal tackle: 1.5 oz drail over a 4'+ flouro 10# leader, and a hammered silver leaf in Dylan's candy corn pattern (#3 leaf), and Bill C's Jamaican pattern (#3 leaf).

Tight lines!

14.May: I got stuck at work until after 5:pm, arriving behind Bart's about 5:40. 9 Shadaholics were hardly working, catching alewives every few casts. A 10th was landing a small buck as I set up. The river was down another couple of feet, fair current, and nice and clear.

The 411 was that the shad were few and far between. However, the alewives were well represented. Other than a few alewives to keep the skunk off, I got nada--no fish today. By the time I left about 7:pm, I had only seen 4 shad played, and 3 landed.

I'm going out of town for the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, and Monday I'll try to hit the river again. Hopefully we don't get too much rain, and the Wall is accessible again. We'll see.

Tackle: one-piece Ugly Stik, 4'6" U/L Pro
Reel: Shimano Sahara FJ 1000, spooled with 15# Power Pro (Hi-Viz Yellow).

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

Tight lines!

That's a nice shad. Glad to see you still getting out and connecting.

MikeV