American River Shad

Wednesday, June 2^nd

Ron English
(530) 677-7169

American Shad have returned to the American River. An introduced species to California, they provide the fly fisher an opportunity to chase a hard fighting fish. Males generally range from 1 to 2 pounds with females topping the scales at 4 pounds.

Shad have a tendency to hit a fly hard. Many times, there is no questioning if you got a hit.  Also, 30-fish days are not unheard of and if a person puts in the time, this will happen.

Ron will be at Sailor Bar in the parking lot with the bathrooms next to the boat ramp.  We will be meeting at 5 pm on Wednesday, June 2nd.

Standard equipment is a 9 foot, 6 or 7 weight rod with a sinking tip. A 5 or 8 weight will work. Shad flies are simple and many of the local fly shops have flies.

You do not need to be a good caster as the fish will be swimming within feet of you. The key is to get the fly down to [in front of] the fish.

If you have any questions, please contact Ron.

Webmaster notes:

I have fished this area the last few days with some luck. I have been using a Teeny 200 on a fast 9 foot 6 weight rod.  The color of fly that most have been using is pink.