First Shad in Occoquan - April 5, 2013

[J.A. Veil]

A sabiki rig with more than two hooks is illegal to use in Maryland waters.
Maryland restricts you to no more than two hooks (sets of hooks-lures with treble hooks are considered as set) per rod.
I recommend a double shad dart or dart and spoon rig.
I use a heavier dart on the dropper, usually an 1/8 oz dart on a 1 foot leader, and a lighter dart or small nungusser or tony spoon on the trailer, about 24" of leader. Most of the strikes will be on the trailer.
I tie these to a small ball bearing swivel that attaches to the main (braid) line.

Last year Bignose showed me how to rig up for shad when we fished at Fletchers together. He knows what he is talking about. I put the knowledge to good use this morning, catching 11 shad in 15 minutes on the lower Susquehanna using several rigs I modelled after the one he made for me last year.

[bignose]

11 in 15 minutes! Wow, you must have had a blast!

[HJS]

Friends went to Fletchers this weekend (rented their row boats) and had a great day....The shad are at Fletchers in force. Has anyone ever launched their kayak @ Fletchers? Do they allow access to the water @/near their dock or do you have to go a little upstream or downstream...I have only fished there once (last year) out of one of their boats...i had a great day, but would like to kayak it.

You can launch a cartop kayak/canoe at the far end of the lower parking lot for free. NO boat trailers allowed. The river is about 200 feet from where you park. Its an easy carry over level grass/dirt. A kayak cart would work great here.

[Financeguru]

Do you have to go through that low ceiling tunnel to get to the lower parking lot at Fletcher's? If so, wouldn't many car top kayaks not make the little clearance given in that tunnel area?

[Shady]

Do you have to go through that low ceiling tunnel to get to the lower parking lot at Fletcher's? If so, wouldn't many car top kayaks not make the little clearance given in that tunnel area?

cartop kayak should have no problem, SUV or trucktop kayak may have problem

[loupa5]

Hey John, can you post an image of that rig?