Hey Now, it's time to restore order to my corner of the world, and convene this year's Shadaholic Shiit Show! To that end, I've been scouting a few of the old haunts.

FB, aka: Meta, told me that 4 years ago today, we were catching shad. However, the water has been too high, turbid, and cold. And those nice days we had recently, all fell during working hours. I stopped by Bart's today, and while it looked fish-able, it was too cold and breezy with the high water, and slack-luster current for my liking. So, no fish today, or yesterday, or last week.

OTOH, I did get to catch up with a few shadaholics up on the sidewalk. Bill C, and Dylan were flapping their gums, while one of the young neophytes was taking casting practice on the bank below. Radio joined us, shortly.

With the forecast for up to 3" of rain Saturday, it looks like it might be a little while before we get any shad. Hopefully little is the operative word, and it's about time to dust off the gear.

I'll use the same set ups as I've used the last 10, or 100 years or so. Except the Penn 4200ss has been moved on the roster from starter to reliever. The anti-reverse hasn't worked in years, and it just feels loose all over; it's good to have a back up. I was leaning toward a Pflueger President XT25, but apparently the latest model no longer has an anti-reverse switch--at least the one I saw at Cabela's didn't. Deal breaker. So, today I picked up a Shimano Sahara FJ 1000 as my starter, and spooled it with about 80 yards of 15# PowerPro. I hope the drag is as good as the old Penn's is...

It's going to be a good year. Tight lines!