Pre-work Shad outting @ Fletcher's

[old Yeller]

With the Potomac back down to near normal levels and the sunrise corresponding with low tide, my neighbor & I decided to hit the banks near Fletcher's on the way to work.

Had 2 hours of more or less steady action from 6:00-8:00. All fish caught were hickories ranging from 13"-20" (1#-4#). I started out with the dart/spoon combo and found the spoon to be more productive so then I switched over to the silver "Rolex" flies. These worked well until I lost the only 2 I had due to rocks & one big shad that broke off right at the bank -I'm not sure if it was an American or not. Anyways, a few pics:

Lots and I mean lots of cormorants- the most I've ever seen around Fletcher's



My buddy Art with a nice hickory:



Me with another typical hickory...



taken on a dart imitation fly:



All in all, a fine way to begin a work day. [grin]

PS: There were a number of rental boats on the river, so Fletcher's looks to be up and running no problem.

[AlexT]

I got in a little over an hour this morning starting at 8:00 am above Chain Bridge. Nada. Saw a guy spinning below me pick up one fish, but that was it. Gotta get in the groove of arriving earlier...

[Salmo trutta]

That is some insane bird activity. I think I'm going to bring the ten wt next time, which might be tonight.

Are all those birds on the water and flying cormorants? They almost look like crows or ducks but hopefully I'm wrong.

[old Yeller]

[Q]Salmo trutta originally wrote:

Are all those birds on the water and flying cormorants? They almost look like crows or ducks but hopefully I'm wrong.
[/Q]

About 90% of them were cormorants. We saw a number of blue herons & ospreys as well. Everything was just gorging themselves on the herring.

[Brandon]

Great report, thanks! Going to see what I can find this evening down there [smile]

Brandon

[Tissy Furnes]

Nice pics and report.

Got out for an hour at lunch at Fletchers and rented a boat. Decent catching (8 fish) in 45 mintutes on the water. I think the heart of the run is a few days a way. The weekend should be tops. I make that judgment on the basis that you really had to hit the sweet spot in the seam to get them. When they are at Fletchers en mass, you can find them all over the place, though in some places (the seam) more than others.

[Salmo trutta]

Are you sure they were gorging themselves on herring and not hickory shad or white Perch. Everything I saw caught by the cormorrants last weekend were shad and perch. Very few herring in my opinion but maybe I wasn't looking in the right places.

I'm heading there shortly.

[Brandon]

Maybe see some of you guys there, I am leaving the office in a sec to see what I can find.

Brandon

[fish4evr]

Was up there yesterday as well, fished until about 6 PM. Put down the 7 wt since casting from shore was a chore. Wore out my arm catching nice shad on a spinning rod. All this low-light talk is curious since in my two outings this week I seem to do extremely well from noon-6. I caught a couple of strange fish out there, looked them up and from what I can tell they're "high-fin carpsuckers", dark grey look like carp about 15" long but first few spines on the dorsal are about 5 inches long. Anyone seeing those out there?

[HJS]

Fish4evr - I've snagged several quillbacks just above Chain Bridge on the Potomac and also just below Conowingo Dam on the Susky. But generally I don't encounter them until a little later in the spring, like May & June. Except for their very high first ray on their dorsal fin, they look pretty much like an extra fat carp.
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Quillback Carpiodes cyprinus
Species overview: One of the quillback’s common names is “quillback carpsucker.� “Quillback� refers to the lengthy first dorsal rays and several following rays that form a long projection at the leading edge of the back fin, which might remind some of a quill pen or feather quill. “Carpsucker� is also appropriate because this sucker does look much like a carp. Its genus name “Carpiodes� means “carplike,� and its species name “cyprinus� is the generic name of the carp. Quillbacks are uncommon even though they range from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River south along the Atlantic Coast to Virginia. They are present in the Mississippi River watershed, and in Gulf Coast watersheds. They are in all of Pennsylvania’s major watersheds. Quillbacks are the only carpsuckers now living in the state’s waters.