Richmond Shad are running up the James!

[SimonSays]

Those were only maybe 2lbs? schoolie stripers, but I've heard of much bigger.  Some friends of mine are in the masters/phD program in Fishery management/biology, they've caught huge striper coming up the james in gill nets.  So large ones are out there!

[Aluma-Bass]

For large boats the closest launch is at Anncarrow's Landing, bass boats and V-hulls etc launch here. At the peak of shad season parking here is horrible.

Googlemaps link to anncarrow's

If you're on a kayak or canoe you can launch from the 14th street bridge area, designed for kayakers/canoeist to launch.

Googlemaps link to 14th street bridge launch

thanks again i dont fish lower james much but been wanting to go, the map helped!

[SimonSays]

I tried going yesterday afternoon...ancarrows was insanely packed... =(

[hokiefisherman93]

any signs on how much longer this shad run is going to last? aint going to be able to get out this week sadly   but if its going on this time next week count me in  

[SimonSays]

Yea, they'll still be there in a month, I think during April is when it's really hot though so you might be getting the end of it, should still be fun though.

[hokiefisherman93]

was able to get out today and within twenty minutes caught a nice shad but no other shad following that.  however my old man and myself hooked up with about a dozen catfish by the 95 bridge.  not too bad for our two hours of fishing

[SimonSays]

Nice! I was out on Ancarrows between classes, it was pretty slow for me, 6 in the morning and another 6 later in the afternoon.  The weather is messing with us!

[hokiefisherman93]

the wind as unreal yesterday evening and although we were shorebound it was still messing with us pretty good.  is being out in the main river channel better fishing than that from shore?

[SimonSays]

I suppose it depends on how you look at it. If you're on the bank there's usually about 290348209384 people on the bank too...here's a peak of ancarrows on a weekday afternoon...

There are probably other places to fish along the James but the river narrows around this area which concentrates the fish. Many times people on the bank can catch just as many as people on the boat, it's just a hassle dealing with people and tangling lines and such.

As for being on a boat...boaters suffer the same problem, there are a TON of boats out on the weekend and a decent amount on the weekdays I've noticed, parking is horrible. Some of the boaters can be pretty reckless also. Possibly if you're in another large bass boat or V-hull it's a minor annoyance when you're hit by the wake of a passing boat, but us guys on the kayaks and canoes can get rocked around pretty hard. But atleast you'll be able to cast pretty freely without the worrying that the guy next to you only has a 1/4oz weight and when he casts the current will sweep his "bottom rig" down and snag about 6 other lines including yours

[hokiefisherman93]

ha well i must have lucked out being up higher than the public boat landing there off 95.  we were one of maybe 6people shorebound but there were ridiculous amounts of kayaks mostly with a few jon boats.  anyone hit the river this weekend?

[SimonSays]

I'll be there sun afternoon! Look for a red hobie kayak with the idiot flailing the fly rod around.  Come by and say hi =D

[hokiefisherman93]

ha not able to make it down sadly but best of luck to you and i hope the wind dies down so you can throw your fly rod ha

[Chimborazo]

I went today for about an hour or so.  Didn't hook up with any, and only saw two people catch one.  The wind was annoying.  I'll probably try for a bit tomorrow afternoon.

[Link]

I plan on heading out tomorrow (even with rain)  Any suggestions on where to fish from the shore that won't be too crowded and with parking?  I've never done the whole shad thing but want to give it a go.

[Chimborazo]

I went out today for two hours and didn't get squat.  The water was very murky, moving fast, and there was a LOT of debris in the water.  If you go south on 14th St. and cross the Mayo bridge (both spans), you can park on the right.  Walk back toward the river, go down the path, and find yourself a spot.  You'll probably see people down there.  Good luck, and let us know how you do.

[Micro]

Walker's Dam (Chick River) on the river side was bank to bank boats.   You could see herring coming up through the fish ladder and occassionally over the spillage on the dam itself.

I fished the lake today.  I caught two Hickory Shad on small crankbaits.   Jumping little bastids.

[SimonSays]

oy, I went out on the yak today...horrible, the current was insanely fast, hit nada, couldn't get my fly line down fast enough before it would swing straight out.

[Link]

Will the rain today throw things off?  I'm on Spring Break, and my buddy is off on Mondays and we were hoping to fish from shore from 11-3 today...Besides getting soaked, is this a bad idea?

[Chimborazo]

You can try, but like I said, yesterday the water quality was awful, the current was fast, and there was a ton of debris.  Worth a try if you have nothing else to do, but watch out for lightning.  Severe thunderstorms and high winds are predicted for today.  Might be okay by the time you get there though.  Just watch Doppler carefully for the next hour or two and watch the air pressure.

[SimonSays]

Go for it! try a 1oz sinker or 3/4 to get it down faster and hopefully you won't get swept down river too fast.

[Chimborazo]

Go for it! try a 1oz sinker or 3/4 to get it down faster and hopefully you won't get swept down river too fast.

How far up from the dart (assuming that's what you're using)?

[SimonSays]

I normally use spoons with a 2-3ft leader.  I rarely use darts unless I see people catching them with a particular color, I don't like the way the main weight + the dart weight feels when I cast it =/ I've hooked myself so many times in the @ss with that set up  ;D

I need to learn to cast  

[Link]

Got out there for a little bit, it was raining a bit throughout and then it cleared up. Only got about 2 hours in, but had fun. Started at the old docks, and then moved up to 14th street near the Canal wall. Got a catfish (little under 4lbs and 20in) on a shad dart.

[SimonSays]

Nice catch Link!

Ended up going also, current was pretty swift.  from 4-6 only caught 2, the fast current made the fight even more fun =D

[Dan:]

I wish I could get to the tidal rivers to go for some shad. I saw guys pulling them out of the Rapp a couple years ago. Some of them were pretty darn big too. I saw a heron grab one that was probably the length of my forearm and gulp it down.

For those of you that are getting in on the shad action: post some pics! I'd love to see some of your catches.