Every year when the cherry blossums begin to bloom, I am reminded of the shad fishing we used to have  growing up near  the Potomac River in southern Maryland. Shad fishing has deep roots in history and tradition. In addition to the Native  American Indians, colonial settlers flocked to the river banks in search of this fascinating fish.  That same time has come here in eastern PA and the shad are here. For Trenton to Easton  there are reports of the tarpon's little cousin, the famed American Shad. Second only to bluefish in shallow water, very few fish fight as hard (pound for pound). 

Anchoring the yaks up on a seam next to a channel was the ticket today. Thanks to the down imaging fish finder we were using, we were able to locate the staged schools. Flutter spoons tied in as a teaser above a deep diving crankbait provided the best presentation. Although flyfishing is a fun way to catch these guys, the spinning rod was the only way it was going to happen today. The fish were stacked up in 12-15 feet of water just waiting for sundown to make the next move.

A few bucks and a hen made it to net. All released unharmed. Growing up in southern Maryland, it was a tradition to take few home and smoke them. But not today.  The returns of fish are nowhere near where they were 20 years ago.

Now that the shad are here, guess what is right behind them???
Tha

The recent warm temps had us itching to get over to the river to see if any schoolie stripers wanted to play. It was also a good oppurtunity to try out Dead Drift's Switch Rod and Ross's new offering... the F1.  It was time to give the local trout a break as well. This was  a recon and gear testing mission.  Of course, a few  hook ups today would've be an added bonus!  We only had a few hours and with no boats, wading  was the only viable option.

The river has changed and our first and second options were unaccessible. The backside of the islands we wanted to wade normally were just 6" of riffles but we were surprised to see 6-8' channels ripping through instead. It was off to option #3 - an easily wadeable  area with the outflow of a cold native trout stream dumping into the river.
Only a few fish to show today. No pics today. 2 small schoolies and a walleye were landed. They fell for a 2/0 black clouser tied with a hint of copper.

Now onto the gear review:
A lot of people can build a good rod. The key is to find just the right blank and the right components for the job.
The rod: 11'1" 8wt Switch blank, REC Recoil snake and stripper guides/tip, REC nickel silver anodized uplocking reel seat with Cocobolo insert. The rod is designed to throw a traditional 8wt line unlike most 2 handed rods.
The reel:
Ross F1 #4 -The reel is amazing. Kudos to the 3M team. After the Canyon, we didn't think there could be a better reel. Nice design, sealed drag, and a reel foot that machined as part of the reel - not just screwed on.

We found an 8wt Sci Angler Quad tip still sitting in the box. Spooled it up and the rod casted very well either with one or two hands.

Kudos to Dead Drift!!!