About a month out

[hammer4reel]

Will be time to start chasing some shad

[fab]

Hope to catch my first this season 

[TDietz]

2 hours ago, hammer4reel said:

Will be time to start chasing some shad

What setup are you using in that picture?

[hammer4reel]

1 hour ago, TDietz said:

What setup are you using in that picture?

7’6” ML Fenwick HMG with a Pflueger  3500 president XT .

6# or 8# Berkley X9 braid .

10# flouro leader so I can just hold fish by my leg to release instead of using a net 

[TDietz]

How long of a leader? Do you use an indicator? Just keep bouncing the dart on the bottom like you were nymphing a nymph for trout?

[hammer4reel]

13 minutes ago, TDietz said:

How long of a leader? Do you use an indicator? Just keep bouncing the dart on the bottom like you were nymphing a nymph for trout?

Leader about 30” .

leader and line tied to a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce trolling sinker  
let the dart or spoon sink close to the bottom . Slow retrieve back while it flows down current .

Sometimes you can just keep tapping the bottom like nymphing , but slow retrieve usually will draw more hits .

Edited February 18 by hammer4reel

[JHbowhunter]

37 minutes ago, TDietz said:

How long of a leader? Do you use an indicator? Just keep bouncing the dart on the bottom like you were nymphing a nymph for trout?

They generally swim 1-4’ off bottom depending on depth. You don’t want to be dragging bottom and losing rigs. Fish won’t see it if it’s below them. 

[jerseyducker]

Have not shad fished in ages but I am this year- tied me up  a pile of shad flys/5wgt 10 foot fly rod and just a general go to the Delaware- Have no specific place to go but I guess figuring out a place is half the fun/challenge. 10 pound leader I guess they aint leader shy 

[Buck154]

Yup won’t be long

[mike033089]

Any basic tips for using a basic 6-6, 7’ spinning rod?  What type of “dart”, what to look for water wise, etc. figure I should try it out since the worthington  boat ramp is 3 miles the way the crow flys out my front door.  I would be using waders or bank fishing.  

[hammer4reel]

22 hours ago, mike033089 said:

Any basic tips for using a basic 6-6, 7’ spinning rod?  What type of “dart”, what to look for water wise, etc. figure I should try it out since the worthington  boat ramp is 3 miles the way the crow flys out my front door.  I would be using waders or bank fishing.  

Pretty much will be wading to fish those stretches .

1/4 ounce inline weight 30” in front of a 1/32, 1/20, 1/16 dart will work there .

some guys just use a 1/4 ounce dart and reel faster .

IMO the smaller darts get hit more often .

you can tie braid right to one side of the inline .

leader to the other end .

shad can be caught in shallow water in the channels . And in holding pools .

depends where they want to be at a given time of day .

low light is usually better than bright sunlight .

 

hardest part is finding their travel line .

shad schools swim in a line one behind the other , not as a mass .

if your a foot or two beyond or in front of that line you won’t get hits .

find the line and hook up , continue to work that same line off the shoreline for more hook ups 

 

.

Edited February 25 by hammer4reel