It's about that time again. The main event(s) happen on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. While the Willamette pretty much requires a boat to have a hope of fly rod success, the Columbia does have a few spots that are friendly to the fly; especially near John Day Dam. But if you have a powered watercraft, there are a LOT of possibilities!
For those uninitiated: Shad are a reasonably sized, highly populated non-native fish that comes back up a few West Coast rivers each spring from the Pacific. They were transplanted here by bucket biologists from the East Coast along with striped bass. The main area they were introduced was the Sacramento River, but over the century or so since they were dumped in there, they have spread to just about every river that suits their conditions.
They will put a pretty good bend in a 6-7wt fly rod
They're stinky, slimy, and hard to get to pose for photos (RIP my chips)
It's not difficult to put up some big numbers, and if you have a plan for them, you can get a big haul to take home. Most common uses are crab bait and halibut bait. I can say from experience they actually taste really good, they're just extremely difficult to deal with. My favorite way to do it when I felt like putting in the effort was to do a light smoke on them then run them through the pressure canner. Makes for some REALLY good dips!
For those with an open mind: My absolute favorite part of making food out of shad is the roe. It's like a delicious fish meatball.
I know I'll convince exactly zero people with these photos, but will post anyways:
Shad roe skeins in a Chinese black pepper sauce
Sauteed with brown butter and capers:
Now on to technique:
It's all about getting to their level. The Willamette tends to have fish down deep, like 10-20' - in a few spots on the Columbia, including my favorite boat spot, you can get them in 5' deep water and swing your presentation about mid-water column. I run the fastest sinking line I can use without scraping bottom on the swing. I will cast out, dead drift until I'm at the dept I want, then do a slow retrieve as it swings all the way down. You can get a lot on the hangdown too!
For flies and "flies:" You'll have a hard time out-fishing a gold hook like a shad dart. Example:
Though you can absolutely get creative. I've definitely had great success in more turbid conditions throwing something with a bit more profile. If purity is your thing, some flashy hair or bucktail on there. If not, sliding on a rubber grub tail will do the same job. The size of the jigs that see the most success in the gear world are 1/32 - 1/16oz size. My flies are in that same size range. like less than an inch in size.
Ok, let's share your knowledge or ask questions. There's plenty of shad to go around. We can give up the goods to help make someone's day.
For those uninitiated: Shad are a reasonably sized, highly populated non-native fish that comes back up a few West Coast rivers each spring from the Pacific. They were transplanted here by bucket biologists from the East Coast along with striped bass. The main area they were introduced was the Sacramento River, but over the century or so since they were dumped in there, they have spread to just about every river that suits their conditions.
They will put a pretty good bend in a 6-7wt fly rod
They're stinky, slimy, and hard to get to pose for photos (RIP my chips)
It's not difficult to put up some big numbers, and if you have a plan for them, you can get a big haul to take home. Most common uses are crab bait and halibut bait. I can say from experience they actually taste really good, they're just extremely difficult to deal with. My favorite way to do it when I felt like putting in the effort was to do a light smoke on them then run them through the pressure canner. Makes for some REALLY good dips!
For those with an open mind: My absolute favorite part of making food out of shad is the roe. It's like a delicious fish meatball.
I know I'll convince exactly zero people with these photos, but will post anyways:
Shad roe skeins in a Chinese black pepper sauce
Sauteed with brown butter and capers:
Now on to technique:
It's all about getting to their level. The Willamette tends to have fish down deep, like 10-20' - in a few spots on the Columbia, including my favorite boat spot, you can get them in 5' deep water and swing your presentation about mid-water column. I run the fastest sinking line I can use without scraping bottom on the swing. I will cast out, dead drift until I'm at the dept I want, then do a slow retrieve as it swings all the way down. You can get a lot on the hangdown too!
For flies and "flies:" You'll have a hard time out-fishing a gold hook like a shad dart. Example:
Though you can absolutely get creative. I've definitely had great success in more turbid conditions throwing something with a bit more profile. If purity is your thing, some flashy hair or bucktail on there. If not, sliding on a rubber grub tail will do the same job. The size of the jigs that see the most success in the gear world are 1/32 - 1/16oz size. My flies are in that same size range. like less than an inch in size.
Ok, let's share your knowledge or ask questions. There's plenty of shad to go around. We can give up the goods to help make someone's day.
