6/3 - Bass and Shad at Westport, Ct

[Tuna]

Went to visit my brother Jim on Saturday. We got guided by Jeff Northrup on a very windy and only sometimes sunny morning.

Because of the conditions, we didn't see much flats action.

However, at the start of the trip we fished Old Mill Beach (very close to Jim's house - hint, hint, Jim, go wade this place before work).

There were large pods of small sand eels and shad and small striped bass working them.

Neither Jim nor I had ever caught a shad before. They are really fun. They are like snapper sized tarpon imitators. Hook one and the air, looking remarkably like small tarpon.

For over an hour, Jim and I hooked up quite frequently ("what, no hookup for more than 2 minutes?"), alternating between airing shad and 20 inch bass underneath them (plus one, ugh, prize for Jim, a sea robin).

Jeff let us borrow his 1 weight, as we were a little over equiped for the situation. It was a lot of fun airing those shad on the 1 weight.

Jim later picked up a blue for a true local grand slam.

Got all fish on small clousers, some on dark ones, some chartreuse.

A lot of beautiful water up there, although it looks like less areas with crystal clear water due to outflow from rivers and estuaries.

It was fun fishing with Jeff - he didn't remember it, but we are pretty sure he guided us there with our pop almost 15 years ago (that trip was too cold, with a few small bass taken near the power plant - our first on a fly). I've seen him on OLN a lot reccently, and in addition to knowing the waters and being fun to fish with, it was interesting to listen to his perspective on the development of salt water fly fishing in the NorthEast.

[avandaalen]

Very interesting post. I'm particularly impressed by the 1-weight: can you describe how it was rigged? I've been catching quite a few shad lately too, and the lightest rod I use for saltwater, a 7-weight, is definitely overkill for these small but feisty fish.

[Tuna]

I wasn't paying real close attention (I woke up at 4 am that morning to get to my brother's house in time), but I think Jeff had a sinking head attached to the end of a teeny line (maybe the base line was a floater). I'm not sure, but I think it (the head) was as much to help casting the dang thing as to sink the front. He had maybe a 7 foot leader on it.

It was a little hard to judge the casting, as the winds were already up and I have grown used to over weighting my lines and the fish were always an incompetent cast away.

But overall, it seemed OK to cast this way.

About a year ago I gave away my only 4 weight to a buddy that needed to fish his way out of some rough times. I got the feeling that anything from a 1 to a 4 weight would have turned these air flight specialists into even more exciting fish.

I think I'll probably pick up another 4 weight sometime next winter, as I expect to visit my brother this time of year for as long as he will put up with me, and once he has a boat he won't anti up for a guide often (even as good as one as Jeff, whose last name I misspelled above - I think its Northtrop). I also figure, on REAL light wind days, I may be able to use a 4 weight on the flats for bass.

The 1 weight would have been enough for the 20 inch bass - it would have been a stretch for anything much bigger.

I've become a shad fan from the experience and may even talk my friend with my old 4 weight to go to the Delaware River for them with me.

Where else do these fish show?