Where do the shad run?

[YakCapn]

where are the hot spots for shad fishing? I go to Fletchers Cove on the Potomac and the shad fishing has been great, but I hear that shad fishing also is good on the Susquehanna River too. Shad are a lot of fun to catch on fly rods! I'm ready for the season to start soon, the Potomac water temp is nearing 50 so we're not too far away.

[Salty Dog]

Give Lapidum a try on the Susky.

[silasvirus82]

that sounds fun, what size/type of flies are you using?

[mike o]

The Susquehanna can be very good. I fished there last night and got nothing. The water is too cold. The run should start soon. Most people with fly rods wade in one of the creeks, Deer Creek or Octararo. As I am new to kayak fishing, I haven't tried fishing for them in a kayak but I think the current would often be too strong in the river to effectively fish for them that way.

[mike o]

My friend who fly fishes uses tiny little shad darts. I think they are either 1/32 or 1/64 ounce. I can't remember. Also some years the shad don't go up in the creeks and they stay in the river.

[HJS]

If you are fishing from the shoreline, Fletchers is more fly fishing friendly than the Susky, but not by much. At both locations lack of backcast room is the main issue. Hip boots or chesthighs are a must to flyfish both rivers. Although when wading both rivers you gotta be very careful, there is a fairly high risk factor with both. Crowds at both areas are also a major issue. If you are out in a boat/kayak then neither issue is a big problem. Unfortunately, the Susky is more dangerous to kayak than at Fletchers due to daily/hourly major changes in water level due to generation. At full generation the Susky flows very fast.

Probably the best area for shad on a fly rod on the Susky is in the area at the Lapidum boat ramp. Deer Creek, a trib to the Susky, also supports a good hickory shad fishery and its much more fly friendly. Boots are needed.

When the shad run is at peak, weekends at both rivers is a total zoo . I never fish shad on the weekend.

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Oh, I just noticed you live in Arlington. Geez, if I lived in Arlington I would never drive past Fletchers to shad fish the Susky. If only the drive to Fletchers was not such a traffic nightmare for a country boy.

[bignose]

I agree with Howard.
Why drive to the Susky when the Potomac is so close?
It's funny, when I started fishing at Fletcher's after years of fishing the Susky, the river flows the "wrong way". The Susky, when fishing from the Harford County side, flows from left to right. The Potomac at Fletcher's flows from right to left. Took some adjusting!
The Potomac in the Fletcher's Cove area is marginally more fly rod friendly. The area a bit below Fletcher's offers a little more room to wade out

Wading much above Fletcher's, where the big boulders begin, about 1/2 mile up, would be suicidal, unless you can find a long shallow ledge. For the most part the rocks end very suddenly and the drop off is very deep. Not to mention very strong churning current and water level changes due to tidal flow. I've walked out to fish from some rocks wearing hip waders only to find that after the tide comes in, the water has come up enough to ship water over the tops.

With the Susky, the trees overhang the river right up to the edge and like the Potomac, wading far enough out to have room for a backcast, isn't an option. So unless you are very adept at roll casting, possibly with a Spey rod, casting isn't a real good option unless you are in a craft.
The term "combat fishing" is applied to the Susky during the shad run, especially in the easier accessible areas, near the Dam, mouth of Deer Creek, etc. on the weekends. Expect to fish with several hundred of your new closest friends and that makes casting with a fly rod even more difficult, as the shoreline and proximity of others makes this dangerous to those around you. Maybe early on a weekday……….

Or you can wade in Deer Creek. Here there is room to cast parallel to the creek, and there are hickory shad there.
Any bright colored fly about 1-1 1/2" long, particularly with chartreuse or metallic gold coloring is effective.

[silasvirus82]

ugh, rubbing elbows with hundreds of fisherman while trying to fly cast sounds too much like work

[Severn Gary]

If you go the fly fishing route in Deer Creek, you should know that the fishing is generally only good in low light conditions--sunrise and sunset. Pretty hard to get anything at other times. This is not true for the Susky--fishing there is good all day, and generally follows the flow in the river--the more the better. In Deer Creek fly fisherman generally start grabbing spots around two hours before sunset, and then guard them ferociously!

[silasvirus82]

Is it worth it!?

[Salty Dog]

that why I don't fish the shad run anymore. If I can't float, I am not fishing. If you do try the Susky by yak make sure you check the dam spill gate hot line (877 457-2525) The river flow can make is down right nasty if spill gates are open.

[Snakehead Hunter]

Occoquan is good every year. I have most luck dam area.

[mike o]

It can be worth it. Hickory shad usually jump and fight as hard as any fish their size. I went home with a really sore shoulder from catching them last year.

[sparky1423]

A good rule of thumb for me is any generation flow rate above 34,000 cfs, I will not launch above Lapidum.

[HJS]

A good rule of thumb for me is any generation flow rate above 34,000 cfs, I will not launch above Lapidum.

I'd say that's about right. Full generation with all generators running full tilt, (but no water is going over the top of the dam) will register ~90,000 cfs.