Shad on the Fly? Plus some other Shad Questions.

[DanMarino]

Do you guys ever catch shad on the fly in the spring? I've been to Deer Creek a few times with very hit or miss success there. Sometimes the place has plenty of shad. Other times there is nothing.

If you fly fish for shad, how successful are you?

I am hoping to catch some shad on my Tenkara rod this year. It may be a fantasy and I might only get one or two trips in.

Also, do you guys think shad will begin migrating back up the Patapsco River all the way up to Ellicott City ever again? I was wondering if the DNR plans to help make that happen, or if they think it will happen naturally since they took out that dam below old Ellicott City?

Lastly, does anyone know how far shad make it up the Patuxent mainstem, Middle Patuxent, or Little Patuxent?

Thanks for any discussion or information you guys could add.

Tom

[bignose]

Shad on the fly in Deer Creek is doable, but as you have observed, it is very hot and cold.

I have seen guys fishing for shad with the long stick of the main stem of the Susky and from the shore above Fletcher's on the Potomac as well.
It is hard to find an open area of shore that permits much back casting.

Also from a boat or Yak at Fletcher's. Rental rowboats......decent casting platforms.

I have also seen guys fishing from yaks near the Mill on the Susky about 1 mile below the Deer Creek confluence. I wouldn't think about trying to fish from a yak on the Susky above Deer Creek except in mid summer but I would check on the generating schedule.

Both the Susky and Potomac at Fletchers can have some strong currents, the river levels are critical..........some guys use a rock as an anchor, so when it gets hung up, and it will, it's not a major loss.

Below 5 feet at the "Little Falls" USGS gage is relatively safe at Fletcher's. They stop renting boats when it gets above 5 feet. In addition to regular river current, there is a strong tidal flow here.

On the Susky I look for under 16 feet at the dam on the USGS gage, any higher than that and you get pushed back into the shoreline trees. It will vary from 12 feet-and up, depending on runoff and power generation. Fishing as the water level is rising is very effective, but not when it is dropping, call the generation hotline for release times.

Tenkara on Deer Creek..........eh, maybe.

With the removal of Blode Dam in Ellicott City a couple of years ago, Stripers and Snakeheads have made their way up to Daniels Dam, I've seen both caught there.
The DNR, at considerable expense, put in a fish ladder at Daniels Dam, but shad don't do fish ladders, so it is possible that some shad can get up to the base of Daniels Dam.

There is a small Shad run on the Patapsco.
I've seen them around the "Swinging Bridge" area of the Park when Trout fishing several years ago, before Blode Dam was removed.
Nothing to write home about.
The DNR tried to put some shad in the Patapsco below Ellicott City many years ago, but all I saw as a result were some dead shad.

There is a Shad run on the Patuxent in the Bowie area.
I think that there is a dam further up that would prevent migration any further, although it didn't seem to stop the snakeheads, as they have been caught up in Savage behind the Savage Mill.

[Mark]

The DNR tried to put some shad in the Patapsco below Ellicott City many years ago, but all I saw as a result were some dead shad.

Excellent info Stu.

The DNR has spent considerable effort trying to reintroduce shad into the Patapsco. One of their employees gave a presentation on that matter a few years back to the Free State Fly Fishers (FSFF).

In the summer of 2021, I was carp fishing in the Patapsco near the Southwest Area Park boatramp.

I saw DNR officials in the water with seine nets. I was also leaving when they came back to the ramp in their boat. I recognized the person who had made the shad presentation to the FSFF so I reintroduced myself and asked some questions. The DNR rep said they were looking for baby shad and they were quite pleased with their catches of them. It was clear that the shad were reproducing in the Patapsco. I saw some that they had netted and were taking back to their offices for more study.

Thr DNR link that follows fully explains their efforts. Clearly the DNR believes the Patapsco is a viable waterway for shad because they released nearly one million more of them there in 2022 after 8 years of allowing them to reestablish themsleves.

https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/p...ries/shad.aspx

Also, for anyone interested in learning more about shad and where they migrate, (including sites here in Maryland), their ecology, their importance in the history of the U.S. and how to catch them, I recommend this book:

The Founding Fish byJohn McPhee -- https://us.macmillan.com/books/97803...hefoundingfish

Finally -- Tom -- Given that shad are ocean going fish and extremely strong swimmers, I think they will challenge you with tenkara tackle. McPhee describes in his book the long fights with shad that folks encounter using conventional tackle and flyrods. Good drag systems are important. I think you may get broken off frequently on a tenakara rod. But give it a try and tell us how you do.

[dsaavedra]

I don't fly fish, but am hoping to do some shad fishing this year (never caught one before). Thanks for the awesome info in this thread, guys

[Mark]

I don't fly fish ...

I can help you fix that!

[J.A. Veil]

Tom - I sent a private message to you.

[DanMarino]

Thanks for the great info Mark and Stu. Since I live in Howard County, my dream would be to go tenkara shad fishing within Howard County. I was kinda hoping they would make it up the Patapsco to Daniels Dam, or make it up the Patuxent to the falls at Savage Mill, or get stuck at the dam for Rocky Gorge.

Stu, I think it is amazing that people have caught stripers and snake heads in the pool below Daniels dam. Really amazing. The last time I went there I vowed never to return. It was so crowded with people all over the place, it was nearly impossible to park. Not a fun experience.

I've fished for shad on the Potomac near Chain Bridge several seasons with spinning gear. Like Daniels, the last time I went to the Chain Bridge area I vowed never to return. It was really sad to see all the garbage left behind by people fishing, camping, building fires, etc. People were trying to snag shad and snakeheads with giant treble hooks. Not a fun place.

I do remember there being a shad run on Mattawoman Creek. I had launched way up the creek at that bridge and I think one April or early May, some people were catching shad after shad right under the bridge.

As far as Tenkara goes, some Tenkara rods are dainty, and other Tenkara rods are stout. Mine is someplace in the middle. I've pretty much given up using my 5 Weight conventional Fly rod and just grab the Tenkara rod. Honestly I've never caught anything giant on the Tenkara rod. Maybe a 14 inch largemouth is the biggest fish I've had on it. Last year I did hook into the largest smallmouth bass I've ever hooked into on the fly rod. The smallie jumped a few times and broke my hook. The rod was handling him fine, but it probably would have stayed on if I had a conventional fly rod with a reel and drag.

I've matured in my fishing. For years, I just wanted to catch fish. I didn't care the species or the size. I just wanted to catch anything and avoid getting skunked. Then I moved into the world of wanting to catch bigger fish, especially largemouth bass. Then I discovered smallmouth bass and the Upper Potomac River. The combination of that river and the awesome smallmouth bass species has permanently changed me. Smallmouth bass are my favorite fish to catch. I don't care the size, I love catching any of them. Now I'm all about catching fish using the Tenkara rod. I want to keep it simple and use minimal flies. I don't have the same amount of free time that I used to have, so my trips now are shorter and close to home. The Tenkara rod isn't perfect, but I like the challenge of it. Where can I fish within 20 minutes of my home? Where can I use the Tenkara rod? What fish are in that pond or in this stream/river? And the ultimate challenge, can I catch smallmouth bass on the Tenkara rod. So the fun is now, let me use this fairy wand Tenkara rod and let me use these small flies, and let's see what I can catch....plus, lets see what I can catch in places that nobody else bothers to fish.

Anyways, thanks for reading my rambling thoughts.

[Mark]

Tom,

The Ptap south of Daniels is quite pretty and easily wadable. Here are some photos:

IMG_5366.jpg


IMG_5375.jpg

I've never seen it crowded. That's a friend of mine in the water.

We catch tiny smallmouth bass there and lots of redbreast sunnies like this:

IMG_5373.jpg

Occasionally, we encounter a holdover stocked trout.

I've never caught a snakehead or shad there, but I suppose they could pass through that water.

I was using a 4 wt. that day. It was last June. I also visited it in September and aside from the fallen leaves on the water, it fished about the same.

Your Tenkara would do well there.

Mark

[bignose]

IMG_1209.jpg

Mark, I was unaware of the DNR's attempts to reestablish a shad fishery on the Patapsco. Thanks for the new information.

Another good reference for Shad is C. Boyd Pfeiffer's Shad Fishing. It's a bit dated (1975) but gets pretty specific about locations and tackle selection.

The Patapsco below Daniel's Dam is a pretty good stream smallmouth fishery for fly fishing. I have hiked or fished just about the entire river from Daniels Dam down thru Ellicott City, and below there, to Belle Grove ponds, down to the Harbor.

There is also a real nice section below Marriottsville Rd. (above the Daniels area) down to the confluence of the North Branch (Liberty Reservoir), very rocky and not very heavily fished. When there is water flowing out of Liberty, a long hike up the North Branch takes you to the base of Liberty Dam, and there are some huge smallies in the pool below the dam.

I can vouch for both Snakeheads and Stripers being caught from the base of Daniels Dam, I posted a picture of a snakehead caught there a couple of years ago.
A local angler, who posts on YouTube as 1rod1reelfishing has a video of him catching two large snakeheads under a bridge on the Patapsco. (Frankenfish invade my local creek).

Tom I agree with you about Smallmouth Bass, my "favorite fish". I used to fish the Upper Potomac above Taylor's Landing and Brunswick several time a year, both with the fly rod and conventional spinning tackle.

Fly fisherman go thru 3 stages:
1. Catch the most fish
2. Catch the biggest fish
3. Catch the most difficult fish (I once spent nearly an hour trying to catch one very large rainbow trout from a tiny pocket on Morgan Run 25 years ago with a size 16 dry fly. It rose half a dozen times before I hooked it.).

[DanMarino]

Thanks Mark and Stu. Fishing the Patapsco is in my regular rotation, I just avoid Daniels Dam now. haha. I find the Patapsco to have better habitat than the Main stem Patuxent, Middle Patuxent, and Little Patuxent. There just seems to be more fish and bugs in the Patapsco than the Patuxents where I go.

[Mark]

Stu,

I agree with your 3 stages of a fly angler.

I would add a 4th category.

For me now, it is: 4. Catch easily accessible fish.

My kayak has helped me to do that locally. I no longer have the stamina to wade from sunup to sundown in the upper Potomac casting poppers and streamers for smallmouth. Also, rocky trout areas with deep gorges like Morgan Run are hard for me to negotiate even for short sessions. I prefer relatively flat terrain and shoreline wading sites now.

In my kayak, I drift along comfortably seated and hook the same species of tidal and freshwater fish most commonly discussed here. I don't catch the quantities that trollers do. But I don't care. How I catch fish is more important to me now than how many I catch. Yet, I do catch plenty of perch and schoolie stripers plus picks in cold weather (except for this year), and occasionally channel cats. In freshwater, I believe I do as well in my kayak with size and quantity and species on the fly as most anglers.

Also, I add guided trips to category 4. Whether on foot, a drift boat, or a motorzied craft, it's good to have an expereinced angler take me to where the fish are, both to show me the easiest way on foot or to pilot the craft I am fishing in. It's wonderful to go along for a ride and to cast my flies where a guide points. I don't have to worry about fighting the wind, anchoring, or climbing and descending steep grades to find fish. Easy access to fish. That's what I want now. I figure I've earned it.

[bignose]

Stu,

I agree with your 3 stages of a fly angler.

I would add a 4th category.

For me now, it is: 4. Catch easily accessible fish.

You are so right!