Blackwater Virgil

Fisherboy, I'm out of the hospital now and back home recuperating, so I've got the time now to try and give you some info on how to catch shad with or without a boat. My season's shot now, but maybe I can at least help you catch some? The first thing you have to know about shad are that they're "anadramous." That's just a 50 cent word meaning they are born in fresh water rivers, migrate to the ocean where they live out most of their lives, and then, when the urge to spawn hits them, they return to the fresh water rivers. Some say they come back to the very same rivers that gave birth to them, and that they can tell by "smell." I'm not sure of all that, but they surely do come up the rivers in early spring on their final run to spawn, after which they die. There's something gallant, in my mind at least, about their spawning runs ending up in thier deaths. They give it all to keep the species alive. Not unlike what Christ did for us. Anyway, it's easy for me to imagine their constant state of swinging emotions along their way. They tend to like currrents, it seems, and often will follow the deep side of any channels you can find. Here is where they can often be tempted to hit a bait. The outsides of bends in the river usually wash out deeper than the insides of the curves, so that's often where you'll find them. Like most things having to do with shad, however, this isn't always true. If you don't get bit on one side of the river, try the other. That's how we learn, ya' know? Experience is always the best teacher, and sometimes this means you HAVE to try something that, at the moment anyway, seems counterintuitive. Certain spots seem to do very well year after year, and I think these are often just upstream from areas where they congregate. They will, sometimes during their journey, seem to "school up" in what is often large holes that may not be much deeper than the surrounding areas, but being large holes, they simply ALLOW them the room to school up, and it seems they like to do this occasionally on their migration runs upriver. When they're just aggregating like this, they don't seem to hit baits very well, other than maybe to occasionally bump them with their noses or tails, and that's no way to catch one. However, when you find one of these places, there'll often be a point a bit upstream, like maybe 50-100 yds. up from the congregating hole, where they'll resume their upstream search, and this is when they seem to begin to resume "feeding" on our baits. The Ogeechee is a pretty hazardous place to try to wade, and I'd be very leery of it unless I could find a good place to do it, and I'm not that familiar with your section of it so can't offer any suggestions. I will say this, however: DO be VERY respectful of its currents. This time of year, they're usually at or near the top of their power, and you CAN, I guarantee you, get swept downstream and under some of the brush. If that happens, it's very unlikely that you'll ever get another breath of air. It's how many die in the Ogeechee - getting swept up under the overhanging brush that lines its banks. If you can find a spot that's not much over knee deep, with a deeper channel that offers room for your back casts, this is the ONLY places I'd try it. Respect the river. Those wno don't sometimes don't live to get old! On the other hand, if you can find an old canoe, or maybe even a kayak that you can swing into play, you'll have all you really need to catch plenty of shad. Just take what you know and apply it. Don't be afraid to retie to a different spot on a limb. Sometimes one foot makes all the difference in whether you get bit or not, and the only way to really find the best tie up spot is to try a number of them and see what happens. Shad fishing is an adventure, NOT a destination, and it'll progress from wherever you start and continue for the rest of your life. Towards the end of it, you'll probably realize that you don't really know much more than you did at first, but you'll have a lot more experience to draw on from which to make your best guesses as to what you need to do on any given day. And it's THEN that you'll finally realize that if you COULD figure them out better, they wouldn't be nearly as attractive to you as they are already. It's funny how that works, but it's true. I think a lot of fishing is like that, though, if we can just be honest about it. Fish just don't have big brains with which to make their decisions. It's always much simpler and more elemental for them than we often tend to think. The less we anthromorphize them, and try to make them into calculating quarry, the less we understand them, and often, the less we catch of them. Just keep it simple and elemental, and you'll get your share, and maybe then some. Sure hope you get to have one bend your rod this year, but even if not this year, maybe next. Shad fishing is like that for a lot of us sometimes. My season was jinxed this year by the surgery, etc., but I'll be back, Good Lord willing, and THEN I will REALLY appreciate the experience. If it's the same for you, I certainly won't be crying for you. I'll be glad you're getting into it, and overcoming challenges along the way. Everything we want in life is a challenge. I wanted to get rid of the debilitating back pain, and have to pay the price for that, and take the risks involved. It'll be the same for you every step along the way of your life, so just get in there and start thinking, planning and looking for opportunities, chiefly some sort of boat you can paddle at first. That current makes paddling a jon boat a real challenge and it ain't fun, so I'd look for a canoe or kayak. MUCH more efficient paddle boats, but as always, they have their dangers, and RESPECT that river or it CAN get you, permanently! It's learning how to handle its dangers and twists that it throws at you that makes a real river rat, and that ain't no small thing. You seem to be coming along very well. You have the desire and curiosity and inclination. All you need now is opportunity and a little equipment, and some foreknowledge about the dangers involved, and how to handle them, and especially how to avoid them. I think you're gonna' do very well, given only a little time. I wish you all good luck.

Well, the density of CC foam CAN be an asset when a little "heavier" by making a more distinct "splat" when it hits the water. I've noted fish reacting to that sound either favorably or unfavorably, depending on the circumstance and day. Most of the fishing I do locally indicates that "splat" sound is a distinct advantage, though floating higher can also be an asset in other situations. Very interesting suggestions here. I just KNEW there'd be some insight into this here. Thanks to all for your input. I'm back home from the hospital and everything went very well, so I should be able to check with Don at Color Technologies and get some input from him, too. Will report back on what he gives me.

Well, I had an entry here and it disappeared into the ether! Once more: Thanks for all the suggestions. I too have found the splotchiness I get with a colored marker to be off-putting. Like Capt. Lemay, I'm not sure it's actually needed as much as it's in my head that it matters. I think we all like to use colors we like, and have faith in and have done well for us before. Mostly, I like to use colors that I know the fish see regularly and are appropriate the the quarry involved. For insect type of stuff, that's chart., cream, tan, lt and med. olive, and sometimes brown (often dark) or black. Yellow has been a good producer, too, though there aren't any really bright yellow bugs here I can think of, and certainly none that are common, so it's sure that something more than color is at work. The only bright yellow living creature I can think of here is a tiny little finch type bird, smaller than the regular Yellow House Finch, that loves the willows that line my beloved little Ogeechee River. I've fantasized that maybe one falls into the water now and again, and bass take it, but that doesn't seem likely since they're rather cagey and skittish birds and VERY observant. That probably never or very rarely happens, so just why bright yellows work is beyond my understanding, but of course it does. Still, I have more faith and confidence in "natural" colors, even though the fish here are nowhere near as picky about such things as trout seem to be, at least at times. If y'all can figure all this out, you can probably figure out all the great mysteries of life. I can't, so I just plod along with my own likes and prejudices, whether they're right or not. I suspect we're all a lot like that to one degree or another. The ideas of mustard and beets had never occurred to me. THANKS! Great suggestions, guys! Will try them ASAP. Go to back surgery Mon. to get a disc fused. The trim job didn't work, so .... I'm back for more. So there'll be a slight delay in getting to some of these matters, but I'll get my round tuit at the earliest time possible. No need for well wishing. You guys are all fishermen, so I know you're good guys. Just wanted you not to think I took the suggestions and never checked back. A buddy called while keying this in, and came up with yet another suggestion - Easter egg dye! Why didn't I think of that? If it'll dye non-porous egg shells, it looks likely it'll do closed cell foam. I also have an in to Don Rawlings of Color Technologies in my nearby old hometown of Brooklet, GA, and he's THE man most commercial bait manufacturers go to for colors, pigments and dyes to make the amazing rainbow of colors on our hard and soft baits for fishermen. A buddy is a very good friend of his and does some work for him. Don is a really great guy, and I've had a good many opportunities to sit and talk with him. Can't believe I didn't think of that to start with, too! When I can get to ask him for advice on this, I'll report back. Not sure when I'll be able to resume my tying and playing around otherwise, but I'll get to it, I promise. I know just enough about paints and pigments as they're produced today to know I know darned little, and it always pays to talk with a pro BEFORE acting when buying paints. If you'll have some patience with me, I'll report back. Meanwhile, thanks a bunch for the advice. I DO appreciate it, and look forward to the mustard and beets experiments. Wonder what they'll look like mixed???

Yep. Points well taken, and indeed, I DO have plenty of foam sheets from Walmart. Just wanted to know if I was missing an easy way to color the white pre-shaped bodies I have. With all the knowledge here, I figured maybe someone would know a way to get a nice, even and bright color like I'm wanting, but I can always revert to the sheets and cut my own. Thanks anyway.

I've tried a number of ways to dye white foam "bug" and "spider" bodies, but nothing gives me quite the colors and effect I want. I'm especially interested in getting them a bright chartreuse or lime. I learned long ago that the fish locally don't hesitate to take the green and chartreuse grasshoppers, but DO with the tan and gray ones, and rarely show any interest in the black ones, at least in my locale. Don't know if the black ones taste bad, or what, but I've observed it time and again for many years now. The tan & yellow ones seem to be 2nd in preference to the chart./lime colored ones. I've tried brown Rit clothing dye, and can get a decent, servicable tan with it, but the chartreuse eludes me completely. Have tried the Magic Markers, but they turn yellow quickly, and that's not what I'm after. Can anyone educate me on how to get a good chartreuse and/or lime with them? Thanks in advance for any info on this.

I hanen't really gotten into the salt yet, but plan to soon, and I really like the way the hook rides point up. I'll likely be fishing some "snaggy" places, and that could be a significant plus. I think I'll try to tie up some similar ones. Thanks for the idea.

Oh! Almost forgot! I've been trying to learn to post pics. Have the camera charging and will post a few pics ASAP. They're not nearly as nicely tied as many I see here, but they've worked in spite of that. I've resisted learning how to do this long enough, so .... give me a day or two and I'll try to get them here.

Oh! l

Sandflyx, that was a good article, and pretty much mirrors my own experience, except that I prefer to use larger hooks than most I read about. Maybe that's due to the difference in the rivers we take them from? Here, you HAVE to keep them under more control than would be necessary in a wider, more open river setting. It sure gets exciting, though, as a result. You never know if you're going to get one to the boat or not. In my experience, many we release don't seem to live long, so we keep them and eat them and the roe. One of the more exciting experiences is when, in ou rlittle river that's often if not typically less than 50 ft. wide, a big striper chases a shad to the surface and hits it with a big splash and crash. VERY moving! Never got a striper to bite after eating a shad, though, but you know we have to try, when we can. Tidewaterfly, those recipes sound GOOOOODDDD!!! I may have to try one. Shad have a rather strong taste compared to our common fare in this area, unless you go to the salt, and most folks are happy with one or two "messes" a year, but surely love those annual feasts. TAHNKS! I've occasionally wondered about just such combinations, but have never gotten my round tuit to try them. Your temptation makes it more likely. Fisherboy, I've never fished for them from shore, but I don't see any reason they wouldn't hit from there. If limited to that, I think I'd most likely try an area, if you can find one (and it's probable you can) where you have a relatively shallow spot for wading, with a channel of somewhat deeper water to cast to. The wading would give you a backcast - not much room on the 'Geech' for that, with its banks lined with all manner of brush and stuff. From what I've seen and have guessed, the majority of shad will tend to follow the deeper channels, even if it's only one foot deeper than the rest. They can show up anywhere, though, and from what I've seen, they're one of the most unpredictable fish I've ever dealt with. That frustration just focuses me on them more, though. They're certainly a challenge for anybody and everybody I've ever met, and most folks locally just tend to wait them out. Sooner or later, they usually start biting, and whatever the signal for that is, I've never discovered it. When they start, it's always a surprise, and a very welcome one too. I guess that's why they call it "fishing" instead of "catching?" ;^) Oh, and BTW, if you ever happen to get a chance to go to the Lock and Dam up below Augusta, give it a try. The shad stack up like chord wood below it, and many people love to fish there. I've only been once. Too much in love with the Ogeechee, I guess? Anyway, that turned out to be the very WORST shad fishing experience of my life. Took a buddy from Ohio and one from Brunswick, and on that particular day, they just absolutely and consistently refused to even think about hitting anything. We didn't even get a bump. Now my buddies are soured on shad fishing, and I can't ge them back for a 2nd try. Truly, Mr. Murphy's Law applies to shad fishing, and I suspect particularly so. They're a very moody and unpredictable quarry. I guess that's part of the attraction, though, not unlike our attraction to women? (my apologies in advance again to any women here) The only thing I can tell you for sure, is that if you don't give it a try, that's the only way to guarantee you won't catch any. I've seen them caught by all manner of methods, and the rule of thumb for us all, and particularly the young among us who we too used to be like, and labor against the odds with what we have to work with, is just to go try it. Send me your snail mail address and I'll send you some of my flies, just to be sure you're using something that's known to get them now and again. This little tidbit of advice is a lot like the old question, "When's the best time to go fishing?" The answer of course, is "Whenever you get the chance to go!" Mr. Murphy's Law, being what it is, means that if you wait until you hear they're biting, you'll likely hear "You should have been here yesterday!" NOT something that's pleasurable to hear. So just go when you can and do what I used to do, and just experiment, observe the results, and modify your techniques accordingly. Much about catching fish is just about merely really WANTING to catch them. Given time, observation and evaluation, it's just human to find a way to succeed, no matter what the conditions, lackings or problems involved. Simple desire overcomes just about anything in my experience. If I could, I'd come up and try to show you around, or at least what I know, but the surgery is limiting me in all sorts of ways. Hopefully, Monday I'll do well, and recuperate ASAP. I'm sure as heck tired of not being able to get "out there!" So, compared to me right now, you're lucky! Never forget that. I suspect we're going to have to get together at some point this summer, and compare notes and give those fish a try. I surely hope so. Anybody who can figure these fish out could also probably understand women (apologies to any who read this), and for me at lest, this ain't likely! But, that's part, at least of what keeps it intriguing. I've always been a sucker for a good mystery. One other thing, here in my area, "shad season" usually runs from the last wk. of Jan. to the end of March, so it's basically a month long season. Around April Fool's Day, we start seeing the dead and dying carcasses floating down river after the spawn. In most of the other stories I read about shad, or what there is of them in the magazines, most rivers run later than that, but we're down in deep southern Ga., and that seems logical due to the temp differences as one goes north. They're an amazing and sometimes frustrating fish, and a worthy quarry for any fisherman. I love 'em.

Who here fishes for these? They're the big (roes 4.5-6 lb. & bucks 2-3 lb. typically) ones that run up our southeastern seaboard rivers in early spring. Some say they're "gamy" tasting and oily, but they're darn good, and the roe is a real Southern delicacy when scrambled up with some regular chicken eggs. Some like them just fried like the fish. A fish fry here in the Southland is a sacrament, and if you've never been to one, you've missed a real pleasure. Anyway, I've fished for them for over 50 years now, and for many years, the chief producer was a bait called the "Cripple Shrimp (CS)." It was made by a disabled vet, and was all he had to supplement his pension with, IIRC (or so the story went), and it was just a #1 salt water tinned type like the Mustad 3407. On this he threaded a bead head of close to 1/4" or so, and a small and proportional bullet shaped oval inline spinner body as a thorax. The tail was yellow hair. Before that, the Barracuda spoon was the order of the day, but it wiggled so much they'd often get the hook in the outer parts of their very soft mouths, and it was near impossible to get them to the boat, what with their strength and all, if you "horsed" them any at all, and sometimes, even if you didn't. The CS tended to hook them much better, and the hook rode point up, and got them deeper, in the harder roof of their mouths. This helped a great deal in keeping them pinned to your line and even let you "horse" them at least a little ... at least sometimes. Then that old disabled vet alegedly died, and there were no more CS to buy. People went back to the Barracuda spoon, and tried all manner of colorful little jigs, mostly crappie types. They caught fish, but that larger wire hook of the old CS held them MUCH better than the little Aberdeens of the little crappie type jigs, and shad darts. Nobody was quite satisfied, and some just quit fishing for them. That's when I read an article in F&S by Larry Green, a west coast angler who loved to fish for steelhead. Among the flies he used for them was the Comet pattern. A simple deal with bead chain eyes, floss or tinsel body, and a tail and hackle collar. It dawned on me that if I tied one without the collar of hackle, it just MIGHT look at least a little like that old CS bait. Dad was an old Marine, and liked to do things "by the book" in the prescribed manner, but his lack of encouragement didn't deter me. I got some of Mom's red sewing thread, found some mylar piping in the 5 & dime, and some sort of yellow feathers. Found some largish bead chain, and found some hooks of about size 1, IIRC, they were O'Shaunessy's??? Anyway, I put my first one together and tried it the first chance I got. I had several tied up, using only my hands back then because I didn't even have a vise, or much of anything else to work with. Only had those few flies, and I tied one on. Dad wasn't complimentary and asked why I didn't use the then prescribed bait. I told him I just wanted to try something different, since I hadn't heard of anyone quite raving over the little jigs' effectiveness. He let me, and BANG! Not long afterward, I got a hit - a big roe. Got that one in and BANG! Got another not long after. Dad hadn't had a nibble, and was starting to pay attention. It took a while for the 3rd one to hit,but it did, and when I got that one to the boat, Dad said, "Gimme one'a them dang flies, boy! I'm tired of not gettin' bit!" Now THAT was about as close to great praise as Dad ever got, so I was truly satisfied and proud, and he told lots of folks about that day and how I'd "beaten" him with "some danged little feathery fly that he tied up himself." That kinda' talk is good for a young man's ego, folks! And I've been tying that fly, and variations on it for nearly 50 years now, maybe slightly more. It's about as simple as a pattern can be, but from the experience I've had, it does seem to call for some specific requirements for best results. My experience indicated that they'll hit a nickel or gold hook significantly better than a bronze one. Why? Heck if I know! If I could figure that out, I'd be able to figure women out, and that just ain't in the cards either! Anyway, I've come to use the Eagle Claw 455, a cheap (always good) spinnerbait hook in sizes 1, 2 and 4. Have some 6's, but have never gone down that small. The deeper gap of the bigger sizes penetrates deeper and helps keep them pinned to your line MUCH better. No joke. The 455's heavier wire also helps keep it from pulling out or through, and everything you can get on your side when trying to keep shad on your line is a big plus. If the bead chain eyes are big enough, or if you have a bent down eye hook, the bait will ride point up, and being light, it'll be sucked further back into their mouths when they hit, and that will help hook them in the tougher cartilege of their mouths, and with the bigger hook there, you're very likely to get them to the boat. I've found that bead chain eyes of 3/16" dia. will make even the #1 hooks turn over and ride point up, but sometimes, I had to turn the eyes down to get them to do so reliably and consistently, and they're not very good hookers if they don't. The tail was almost always yellow. Marabou, feather fibers or hair didn't seem to matter much, though I always liked the wiggliness of the marabout best, when I could get it. Silver mylar tubing and red thread to tie off the front and rear of the fly, and some of Mom's clear fingernail polish to finish it, and I was loaded for bear .... errr ... for shad at least. Since those great old days, I've varied the body and tail materials and colors, mostly white, yellow, chart. or fl. yellow, often with pearl if I could get it. Tried tying in a "collar" of chenile or other stuff behind the bc eyes. Tried it with the original Comet collar of hackle of various colors, and with Krystal Flash "legs" or wings (they're legs when the fly turns over in the water to ride point up) and almost every variation caught fish, at least of the ones I got tot try. Gave many to friends, and they still come to me when they run out and I give them more. I have no earthly idea if it's the "best" shad fly out there, but if it isn't, I haven't found its equal yet .... though I keep looking. My most recent variation is using opalescent tubing for the body and some krystal flash for tail and legs. They look really good, but I'm not sure I'll get to try them this season. I'll be giving some to friends and relatives to try out, though. Frankly, I don't expect much difference in the fish's reactions, based on all the stuff I've tried in the past, but they sure do "purdy" as Justin Wilson used to say. If you try the shad, you may want to tie some up and give them a try. I know there's probably something better out there somewhere. I just wish I could find it. FWIW?

This question is a lot like the one that used to be asked in the barber shop many years ago when I was younger. There it was "what species of fish tastes best on your plate?" That usually got a good conversation/arguement/debate going, and that tradition seems to be still going strong here. I love my bass fishing, especially with deerhair or soft foam "bugs" on top. Love crappie, bream and anything else you can name. Never been bored afloat for anything. However, if I HAD to pick, I'd have to say the redbreast sunfish in my beloved little Ogeechee river here in SE GA. My direct family lineage hasn't drifted as much as 20 mi. from its banks since 1763, and when that black mud, and the intrigue of the swamps gets THAT deep into the blood, it keeps pulling you back like I was attached to it by a big rubber band. They are very aggressive, but the big ones can be very cagy and spooky, and as hard to catch as any gamefish anywhere. They have somewhat larger mouths than bluegills, and the most beautiful markings on their bodies of any perch species. Bright red-orange breasts in breeding season (they call them "roosters" but they're females, of course), and they have a temperament like an edgy prizefighter - very pugnacious and aggressive. They'll eat almost anything that swims and they can get in their mouths, and will hit on top or below. They just seem to like to EAT, which I guess is just a typically Southern trait? They pull hard and fight fast in the usually swift current, and are as exciting as anything you can fish for. The river is full of willows and all manner of snags and logs and flora, and you often have to coax them out of these .... IF you can. A day afield for these scrappy and obliging little (up to 1.5 lbs.) fish is a very good and pleasurable day indeed. And in the pan, they fry up VERY well, to boot, which gives me a reward at the end that I can always appreciate. If it gets any better than that, I don't think I could stand it. Started fishing for them when my son was small, but big enough to go to the river (and its dangers), and before long, got to loving fishing for them even more than the bass I'd always preferred to pursue. Still love my bass fishing, and try to do as much as I can. Love the jackfish (pickerel) too, as well as all the other species here, but those redbreast are really something special. That's my take on it, anyway. There are no wrong answers here, and it's good we have many species to please many different fishermen. It's just mine ..... at least for today. If I get a 10 pound bass on one of my deerhair bugs, that's always subject to change .... for the moment anyway.

This isn't exactly a swim bait for a fly rod, but I've used foam bodied slider type "poppers" and fished them rather briskly on top, and they've produced well. Little bass love them. It seems they just like chasing stuff around in spring? Any streamer can be fished rather briskly as well. A good producer for me on the bigger bass is the old "beer belly" streamer that I first saw back years ago in a Field & Stream magazine when Tap Taply and other old timers wrote for them. I believe it was in "Tap's Tips?" All it is is a rectangular piece of aluminum can from a coke or beer, cut to shank length for the hook you're using, bent over in half and cut to a minnow belly's shape. Then smooth the edges so your thread won't get cut, wrap it with thread after putting a good glue between the two halves, and cover with mylar tubing. Tie off the ends and add wings in the color of your choice. I used mostly white, often with a thin black topping. Often used a red tail just for "luck," too. Caught a 2.5 lb. jackfish (pickerel) in a little creek when my son was small, and wanted to see what the fish were like in that little water. He was impressed by that one! Around here, a 2.5 lb. jack is a BIG one. IMO, anything that is worked briskly and underwater, or maybe even on top, is a fly rod equivalent of a crankbait. Not exactly, but reasonably close, and working a streamer or other fly fast lets you cover more water, which is a big asset for crankbaits, etc. Good luck.

Wow! Sure hope your Dad finds the right doc and gets better. Lots of folks have lingering problems after back surgery. Mine back in July went as good as it could have been expected to, but the disc just wouldn't hold up. Not the Doc's fault. He trimmed it up and alleviated the pain for a while, but the disc just can't hold up, so he's got to go in again and fuse it. Usin Dr. Wirth in Savannah at Neurological Institute o of Savannah I believe it's called. Dr. Baker there fused a disc in my neck 15 yr. ago and it's been absolutely trouble free since. They're neurosurgeons, not orthopoedists, and from listening to folks with similar problems for 33 years, I've found that the neurosurgeons give more satisfactory results more of the time. They sure do a booming business at NIS! If your Dad hasn't tried them, he might want to check into them and maybe give them a try. No surgeon can guarantee results, of course, but these guys are as good as it gets, and I have friends who've also used them, and their results have been very positive. Email me your address at blk wtr ga at yahoo dot com (just take out the spaces) and I'll send you some of those shad flies so you might be able to catch a few if you get the chance to go. Will be in contact.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Have tried jig hooks, and the shad don't take them as well. I like the idea of heating the eye before bending, Grandpa. A buddy suggested that to me today. Thought about using my soldering gun and touching it to the eye/shank junction, but it sure is a lot of trouble I'd like to avoid if I can. I've got some nickeled lead dumbell eyes coming, and they'll turn the fly hook up, I know, but the lighter fly with the bead chain eyes seems to be sucked deeper into the mouth when they hit, and thus, is really better if I want to get them to the boat. Added weight isn't the answer I want, but I may well wind up settling for it, I guess. Thanks for all suggestions. I didn't really expect to find just the right hook, when Mustad and Eagle Claw couldn't help, but thought someone here might possibly know of such a hook from one of the smaller makers. Will likely try the solder gun on the EC #455's. It's worked so well for so long, until I got into the new and improved ones that are stronger, but break when I try to turn the eyes down, I hate to switch unless I really have to. Those 3/16" bc eyes CAN turn a #1 455 over, but I have to build up the head more than I like to in order to give it the leverage to do so. Life's never quite easy, is it? And maybe for us fly tiers especially.

Fisherboy! Glad to hear you're nearby. I've long wanted to know someone nearby who likes to tie flies. I'm just outside Statesboro, a few miles south. Would love to get together with you some time and compare notes. I'm presently waiting on back surgery Monday week, but have tied up some shad flies I've been using for about 50 years now. They take shad as good or better than anything I've ever used ... so far, at least. Mostly just marking time until the surgery so I can sit up at the vise and do all sorts of other stuff. I'll look forward to meeting you some time. I go up your way to see a gunsmith buddy of mine on occasion. If you know Joe Collier, builder of super duper rifles, just south of Millen, then we may be able to arrange a meeting some time. Not many tiers in this neighborhood, and it's always good to swap ideas, compare notes and flies, etc. Glad you responded and let me know. Only fly tiers I know around here are some of the guys at Bass Pro in Savannah. I'm hoping to get into salt water fly fishing this summer. I don't (yet?) see why it shouldnt' be as easy and challenging as the stuff I've always done, and I do love any sort of adventure or new challenge. My direct family lineage settled on the Ogeechee back in 1763, and my lineage hasn't strayed as much as 20 miles for the past 250+ years. That black mud gets into your veins and it just keeps snapping you back like a rubber band. Son just bought a place, on it too, so the grandboys are gonna' be regular Huck Finns before many moons pass. It's a wondrous place, full of all manner of life and mystery and challenges. Good things for a growing boy to face and learn to handle. Do you shad fish? If so, I can send you some of my flies. I've been giving them to friends for many years, and most don't use anything else, especially the better fishermen among them. It's ironically one of the first flies I ever tied. Didn't even have a vise back then, and just got tinsel tubing, from a dress shop, used Mom's thread, and picked up feathers wherever and whenever I could. The first ones I tied did really well, despite my less than spectacular talents at the time. I still can't claim a lot of skill, but my bugs catch fish pretty darn well. Most of the species aren't often very picky, but sometimes they can be. Even bluegills can get picky, particularly in summer. Glad to see another mudder around here.

I have a buddy who lives literally on the banks of the Chattahoochee River not far from Helen, and I want to tie him some flies for trout, rock bass, striper and white bass, and whatever else he has there. I have the striper/whites part covered, but I live down in SE Ga., so I have no real knowledge of the stuff trout feed on in that particular area. Can anyone here advise me on what I need to tie up for him to catch some fish there. His stretch of the river is very swift and usually shallow, though it's a lot higher than usual right now with all the rains we've had. He knows about the helgramites, and has seen them put to good use, but I don't know a good pattern to look up to make some imitations, so a recommendation there would be appreciated. The ephemera there are a mystery to me, and any suggestions there would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. We're both retired now, so tying flies keeps us out'a trouble, and out'a jail. Mostly.

Thanks, guys. I've already tried some cad/tin plates salt water jig hooks, but their shanks are too long and they don't bite the cad/tin plated ones as well, and the difference is significant. As anyone who's tied for a while knows, the hook is the canvas on which we "paint" our "masterpieces," and the dimensions of the shad fly hook seem to be rather critical from what the fish are "telling" me. It really needs to be nickel and std to 1X short shank, and Aberdeen types are out because they just don't hold well in their soft mouths, or they'll sometimes bend, depending on how they're hooked. The Eagle Claw 455's work well, and they're made of softer (cheaper) steel and/or not heat treated, so they'll bend more easily if you get hung up, but are still strong enough to hold a big 5-6 lb. fish pretty darn well. It's a balancing act, of sorts, and the 455 EC hook is the best I've found so far. If they just made it with a turned down eye, it'd be nearly perfect, but I can't hold my breath until they make such a run of hooks, and can't afford to have such a run made. It's really frustrating to have "solved" a fishing problem, and then not be able to find the right hook. I've been using this little fly for about 50 years now, and the shad are in the river right now, so I'm rather antsy about finding the right hook. The best alternative I've found is the Mustad 3366G, gold plated sproat hook, but the biggest they make is a #4. and that's a bit smaller than I'd really like. If it's not available, then of course, it's just not available, but you WOULD tend to think that SOMEBODY out there makes something usable here. I just can't find one, and thought maybe some of you guys who keep up with this sort of stuff more avidly than I do might possibly know of such a hook. Thanks for the effort.

This is my first post here. I've been tying flies since I was about 12 or 13 and used a catfish hook, some of Mom's red sewing thread, a pipecleaner and some redish hair I stole from my red setter's tail to make a streamer. Covered the head with some of Mom's clear fingernail polish. Thus began my humble "career" in tying up things to catch fish with. About 50 years ago now, I used to love to fish for American Shad in my beloved Ogeechee River here in SE Ga. By far the best bait for them at the time was a little jig called the "Crippled Shrimp." It beat the old Barracuda shad spoon pretty handily, though both did catch fish. It also held them on the hook better because the jig rode hook up, and the only place in a shad's soft mouth that will hold a hook to any degree at all is in the roof of their mouths. Thus, an up-riding hook is essential if you want to actually get them to the boat, and even then it can be "iffy" if you try to horse them in. When the crippled shrimp became unavailable due to the death of the disabled vet who made them, most folks went back to the old Barracuda spoon for them, but I'd read some articles in Field & Stream and/or Outdoor Life by an old writer named Larry Green who loved to fish for steelhead, and who published articles on flies for them. They're anadromous, like shad, and I figure they probably feed on similar prey in the open ocean when asea. One of the flies he liked and used to good effect was the old "Comet" pattern, with bead chain eyes. I thought this might look at least somewhat like the old crippled shrimp jig, with its bead head and oblong nickeled spinner body, if I used the bead chain for the head and mylar tubing for the body. A little yellow hair, feather fibers or marabou completed it, with the use of red thread to tie off the rear of the mylar, making a red tag, and the head. Danged if it didn't work, and work as well, if not possibly better, than the old crippled shrimp! Dad was dubious about using things that weren't "proven." He was an old 3-war Marine and liked to do things, "by the book," but after I whooped him pretty soundly one day, he finally said, "Gimme one'a them flies, boy; I want to catch some fish, too!" When a kid can please and impress a Dad like mine, that's a pretty humblingly proud day! Shad are a picky and very moody fish. They'll bite most anything that's shiny - silver seems to usually beat gold, but you never really know what they're going to want. I've experimented with various colors and sizes, and used a variety of hooks, and not much seems to make a whole lot of difference, usually. They'll hit that old Comet pattern without the hackle at the neck as good as I've ever seen them hit anything. A number of friends have taken to it as well, and I keep them and anyone who wants them in good stock. All this leads to my singluar problem with it: I can't find the right hook to tie them on now. I've heretofore been using primarily the Eagle Claw #455 spinnerbait hook, but in doing so, I have always had to bend the hook eye down in order for the weight of the large (3/16" dia.) bead chain eyes to turn it upside down so it rides hook up, so as to hook them in the tougher roof of their mouths as outlined above. The problem with this is that the latest batches of #455's I've gotten have left the eyes rather brittle, and more than half break when I try to bend them. They're pretty cheap hooks, but more than double in price with the breakage factor, and that has my lips kind'a pooched out, not to mention my concern about the weakened hook eye (due to the bending) possibly breaking off and losing some fine eating fish and roe. So .... I'm looking for a nickel finished standard or 1X short hook with a turned down eye and standard to 2x stout wire in sizes 4, 2 and 1. If they're biting, size doesn't seem to matter and the #1's have heavier wire and wider gap, so they penetrate deeper and provide more resistance to pulling out than smaller, narrower gapped and thinner wire hooks. When they're biting only occasionally, I'll go down to the #2's, or even to a #4, but that is about as small as I really want to use because of the pullout factor of their soft mouths. Better to leave them alone than to harelip them. I've called Mustad and Eagle Claw, and neither has been able to put me onto a suitable hook. Does anyone here possibly know of a hook such as I describe? #1, 2 & 4, nickelel, std to 2XH wire, straight point (NOT beak style that tends to slide off and not hook them as deeply and securely), and std. to 1X short shank, with a turned down eye. If you can put me onto some, I'd be eternally grateful, and so would many of my friends. Thanks in advance for any advice or leads.