Shad Season Recap, Striper Season, CICADAS
We are entering the final days of our Spring Shad season as our focus shifts to our next migratory species, the Striped Bass.
We had another wonderful season of Shad fishing on our coastal rivers this year. As always it was an absolute pleasure to show so many folks from all over the country this unique migration. I have said it for years but I always feel the need to reiterate it- our Hickory & American Shad fishery in eastern North Carolina is one of the most underrated fly & light tackle fisheries on the planet. This season we hosted anglers from 5 years old to 95 years old, we had lifetime North Carolina residents and folks visiting from as far away as California. Both Capt. Caleb and I are grateful for the opportunity to show so many people this spectacular migration and expose folks to the beautiful, and productive coastal rivers that we call home. We had a rollercoaster of a season when it came to our water and weather conditions this season. Our water levels were constantly fluctuating and air temperatures were all over the place. Despite these challenging conditions, we were able to stay on a great bite all season long. We saw both trophy sized American Shad landed on the fly rod, and huge numbers days while targeting Hickory Shad. While it is always bittersweet to watch this season come to a close, I am excited for what we have to come through the rest of the spring season.
With the Shad fishing begging to slow down we have been spending our free time scouting our rivers for Striped Bass. This migration is just beginning and we have been finding fish throughout the river systems as the biomass makes its way to the spawning grounds. We will once again be returning to Weldon, NC for the peak migration on the Roanoke River system. From April 15th through May 15th there is no better place to target Striped Bass with fly or light tackle. During this season we will also be offering some ‘off the grid’ float trips that will focus on targeting both Striped Bass and trophy sized Largemouth. These are great trips for folks that are looking for a more indepth, technical fish experience on water that is seldom fished. Both Capt. Caleb and I have availability for this coming Striper season- check out the link below for more booking information!
We also have a very exciting event happening later this Spring that fly anglers will not want to miss. The Brood XIX Cicada emergence happens only once every 13 years, and a few of our local waters will see these bugs. Anyone that has experienced these types of cicada hatches can tell you how special the fishing is. Largemouth, Carp, Stripers- pretty much every species in the river keys in on these bugs, if you know where to be and when to be there. After substantial research and planning I have put together an extremely limited number of trips to target fish during this emergence. If you want to experience this incredibly rare emergence please contact me to get on the books- it is not something you want to miss!
I am finishing up my last few shad trips this week and then will be heading down to Florida for a little Tarpon r&r before we ramp up our Striper season. I want to thank everyone for their support during our spring Shad run. It was another great season and I am already looking forward to next year!