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!