Thursday, 26 April 2012

{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Long shanks for short striking shad


On Wednesday, April 25, 2012 8:31:12 PM UTC-4, Miles wrote:
I took The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald (my canoe) to Fletcher's this afternoon to see if I could find some shad. Wasn't hard - there were plenty. The water temperature drop has slowed them down a bit maybe, but they are still hitting. I got about a dozen, lost half as many.

This outing gave me a chance to try some flies I tied. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that one way to catch short-striking fish is to tie flies on a long-shank hook with short-shank proportions. I didn't invent this idea, but I can't remember where I saw it. Anyway, I tied some white marabou darts with pearl chenille and hot pink floss over dumbell eyes. I tied the marabou tail on about half-way down a #6 3x streamer hook, so that the tips of the marabou were just beyond the bend of the hook. Instead of being behind the bend, the tail ends right at the bend.

I fished this fly for a while, and caught several hickories. When things slowed down, I switched to a white and chartreuse Clouser approximately the same size. I could feel the fish hitting the fly, but my hookup rate was a lot lower. I switched back to the short-tied darts, and started connecting with more fish. It was a pretty clear difference -- more hookups, more solid hookups, and more fish to the boat. I plan to tie a few more in chartreuse, and maybe red and yellow.

I can include a picture if anyone needs it. I can also show you what it is at the next Beer Tie.

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