I usually go up near the dam for the roes in February & March but I got a buddy from Florida coming up January 14 & 15 wanting to go.
Y’all think we would have any luck that early?
14’ Carolina Skiff
19’ Sea Pro
Usually catch mostly small Bucks and very few Roes that early.
Between you and me…they’re already here and being caught…and not just small bucks…high percentage of roes…too bad the weather is going to be so bad on Saturday. Water temps have never dropped below 50 F yet.
In my experience you normally don’t catch as many roes early but the ones you do catch on the larger side.
fish sleep repeat
Talked to two guys this morning at Wilson’s Landing. They fished Tailrace this morning for Shad with no luck, and were going to try them at Wilson’s too.
wont hurt to try and at least have fun.
Lot’s of good advise on here. I told him to wait until it got right. I don’t want to send him home empty handed.
14’ Carolina Skiff
19’ Sea Pro
Went out to the Tailrace yesterday (1/18), and fished mid morning until dark. It was slow. Literally cast all day, saw 5-6 other boats, a few did bring up a shad or two, but none close enough to judge size. The water was stagnant, they didn’t turn on the dam at all…until about 45 minutes from dark. Just as the sun was falling behind the trees, we decided to call it and drift the shoreline, casting like you would for bass or redfish. Something hit my jig so hard, it felt like a small striper. Nope, it was a large female shad. The next one did a tarpon maneuver and spit the hook next to the boat. In the end, I was able to bring in two large females and one small male for the day. They’re there, but it seems the water needs to be moving, and the bite is slow. Can’t wait for the run to start.
Is it the water temperature that triggers them to move up? A range when they hit the best? I’m new to these guys, I fished them last year with pretty good luck, but it was blind and experimenting.
The best fishing is around the full moons in Feb/Mar/Apr.
The best time for Roe Shad usually begins right around Valentine’s Day, watch for dogwoods to bloom.
Blackwaterkatz
I tried this last year 1 time with no luck. Saw others catching. What is the best type of rig to use? Thanks for the help.
quote:
Originally posted by Cutiger73I tried this last year 1 time with no luck. Saw others catching. What is the best type of rig to use? Thanks for the help.
I use 8# test mostly. Single 1/8 oz or 1/4 oz jig head depending on how fast the water is flowing. I also use a 14# test leader ( 18" long ) between jig and main line, it helps prevent the lighter main line from being cut off by the scale ridge on the belly of the Shad. Used to use two hook rigs, but have better luck with one jig and I don’t have to deal with any tangled up rigs. Chartreuse/metal flake 2" Curly tail grub.
Thanks for that. Also what depth do you normally fish?
i usually anchor by the shore and cast slightly upstream and towards the middle of the channel. shut the reel and reel VERY slowly (only keeping a tight line) and allow the rig to drift sideways. you usually get hit the last 1/3 of the drift or so.
if in the middle, shad will hit a sabiki rig straight below you just as well as the herring, but if you want shad more than herring use one with much bigger hooks.
just a quick mention that I caught a few shad at Wilson’s landing last week but have gone three days in a row for a couple hours and not one. Yesterday I was the only one there, no other people, no boats, and no fish but it sure was a pretty afternoon.
I’ve been following this thread, as I’m interested in catching some shad this year. Been working on some jigs for it. These are all 1/8 oz. I guess based on the posts here, I need to make some 1/4 oz too.
Probably won’t need 1/4 oz Darts. The 1/8 oz get down deep enough. I use 1/4 oz jig heads sometimes because the 2" curly tail grub rides to high in swift current with lighter jig heads.
Nice Darts too…
Thank you for the compliment! 
So, you’re saying the plastic is the issue. I sometimes used heavier darts than 1/8 oz in MD, if I was fishing in the Susquehanna, which at times had a strong current when they released a lot of water from Conowingo Dam. Otherwise, 1/8 or lighter was plenty of weight.
We caught Shad sometimes in the tidal rivers too, usually when fishing for Perch or Crappies with curl tail grubs, and rarely used jigs heavier than 1/16 oz. Those waters were shallow, no deeper than 5 ft. in most places and didn’t have much current.
Yeah, the tail can create enough drag ( in swift current )to keep a 1/16 oz jig head from getting down deep enough. That’s probably why people use two jigs that size, trying to go deeper. One 1/8 oz jig works best most of the time for me…but sometimes have to go to the 1/4 oz.
Thanks for the clarification. I still may go ahead & make a few 1/4 oz anyway. Can’t hurt!