[TomnNC]

While I do not fly fish extensively, I do have a decent 5 weight and love fishing with it.
I have recently enjoyed catching tons of shad during this seasons run. I thought it would be awesome to catch some on a fly rod. I tried the trout magnet lure and after a lot of effort, only had a few bites and no hookups.
Any suggestions on what I might try for shad? I've had great success on a spinning rod with small spoons and grubs on jig heads. Of course, I am jigging those to get the bite.

Thanks, Tom

 

[CBower]

We've caught some Hickory on the fly rod this year in the Roanoke. We were fishing with 7 and 8 weight rods with sinking line. The flies are white, green or pink small minnow patterns (small clouser), and it is a double fly (kind of like the double curly tail grub). Still, we've been catching much better with the light spinnng gear versus the fly rod. If you are feeling the "ticks", you should be catching a few. Also, try setting the hook with a strip set (rod tip pointing at the flies) versus a rod set.

 

[TomnNC]

Great advice! Thank you. I picked some of the new zman micro lures. I think they'll be perfect.
On the down side, broke my fly rod Sat when I tripped on it in the boat. Major Bummer.

 

[CBower]

That is a bummer about your fly rod. I also picked up some of the new zman micro lures... hoping they'll be good for sunnies.

 

[TomnNC]

Thanks CB. Fortunately, I was able to repair it. Hate to admit it but this is the second time I've broke it and patched it back together.
I don't fly fish often, but man it's really fun, particularly for fresh water. I have a Cabela’s RLS 5 weight. Catch lots of crappie, bass, and sun fish. The Hick Shad are so awesome on light tackle, I really want to catch some on the fly. I think the new zman micro might be just the trick.

 

[Sam in GA]

Try a small Clouser, white and whatever you have(chartreuse). There are shad flys; not much different than a dart.
Streamers will work but you may need to add weight to get them down in the water(assuming you are using a floating line). Any bright color will do. Pink is good. The little shad spoons can be fished on the flyrod. Wish I was there.

 

[TomnNC]

Thank you Sam. Would love to go this weekend but it's going to be too cold, not for me but the fish. They don't seem to like the cold temps.

 

[bmac]

Shad are a blast on a fly rod but you have to get your fly down to where they are holding. So either a sinking or sink tip line or some split shot on your leader will help. Weighted flies like the Clouser Minnow will do the trick with a floating line too if you cast upstream and mend your line a few times to allow the fly to sink. These are some of the flies I use for shad. Some days they seem to dial in on a particular color. I've found that chartreuse and pink are pretty reliable bets. Good luck.

 

[CBower]

Shad are a blast on a fly rod but you have to get your fly down to where they are holding. So either a sinking or sink tip line or some split shot on your leader will help. Weighted flies like the Clouser Minnow will do the trick with a floating line too if you cast upstream and mend your line a few times to allow the fly to sink. These are some of the flies I use for shad. Some days they seem to dial in on a particular color. I've found that chartreuse and pink are pretty reliable bets. Good luck.

Those are sweet looking shad flies! Bet that pink bead head with the chartreuse curly tail catches them, but is it a pain to cast?

 

[shadfreak]

We get a good American Shad run in the Connecticut River in Massachusetts where I live. these are some of the flies that I use there. I'm sure they would work for Hickory. I only get Hickorys as a bycatch in the surf casting to Striper

 

[bmac]

CBower: I normally fish a 6 wt with a sink tip for shad. Those curly tail flies cast alright with that setup. My leaders are typically 3 feet of hard mono with a tippet ring and a 1 foot of 10# - 6# fluorocarbon tippet. Those heavier flies turn over reasonably well. That said, most casts are short to moderate distances.