Went fishing last night

[Coyote Jack]

I went fishing last night for something I have never fished for before. Shad is a tasty fish that is full of bones and they swim up the rivers in this neck of the woods every spring to spawn. They hang around for about 3 weeks and then they are gone. I have eaten them for years as they are fished commercially here by net, but I wanted to try catching them with a fly rod. I tied some fly's based on a pattern that a co-worker provided and off I went. I found them to be very particular on the fly they want. They would only go after one of the fly's I had and I lost it to a branch after catching one fish and having 3 more get off. Here is a pic of the one I caught. It is just about 21 inch's long and 5 inch's deep. I don't know the weight but I would guess about 3 lbs.

Jack

 

[ocdart]

Interesting that they're still feeding while heading upstream to spawn. I'd always been told that salmon (at least the ones here on the west coast) stop feeding once they start upstream.
Found the following on the web that appears to offer proof of this:
"Once the salmon go up small streams, they stop feeding. In a bigger river like the Nipigon River or the Niagara River, The salmon will still feed for the first few days in the river. 99% of salmon that are caught in a small stream are snagged. People fish like they are fishing for Rainbows and just wait for the hook and line to cross the salmon's mouth which again, gives the illusion that the salmon was caught legally. But not all salmon are snagged. Salmon have nothing on their minds beside spawning. At this time, they are very aggressive and territorial and will defend their spawning ground from Rainbow and Brown Trout which tent to follow salmon up stream to feed on their eggs. If you throw a Rapala or spinner that has Rainbow or Brown Trout colours, the salmon will hit the lure. They do not hit to feed, they hit to defend. Sometimes they will also hit loud colours such as bright red or bright yellow."

 

[Coyote Jack]

Shad are very much like salmon as far as their spawning activities. They do not feed once in the river system but will defend their territory. Apparently these fly's look like something that eat their eggs. They look like shrimp to me.

Jack

 

[plum crazy dart]

We have them around here also. They average about 5lbs and fight like all hell. We use darts (a little brightly colored cone shaped lead head with a little feather like tail over the hook) I was always under the impression they hit it out of anger, I know they are not feeding.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Crapamastic! I never knew they got that big. We use them for bait. They ain't but like 1" long. lol

 

[Coyote Jack]

This coming weekend is usually the best weekend for them here. At least that is what the experienced guy's tell me. I will be out early Sunday morning hopefully.

Jack