1st shad yesterday! Hamilton. Scotland Neck, too.

hawkman

Eight Pointer
Was near Murfreesboro yesterday afternoon, so afterward I was going to drive to Weldon to try my hand at shad fishing. However, it was late enough and in the opposite direction as home. I ended up trying the 258 bridge north of Scotland Neck. There is not much room at the boat ramp for fishing! There were five of us there. The "experienced" guys were catching a decent number of them, but not with too much regularity. The, a dad and two boys came, walked across the bridge and fished the north side. I'm telling no lie: I don't think the dad or older boy, but the little kid? A 6-7 yr old maybe, seemed to catch one every other cast. It was crazy. No wonder the dad didn't catch any! He was too busy unhooking his son's catch.

Note: I did not catch one at Scotland Neck. The others were mostly fishing with larger spoons than I was. I was using the standard "dart+spoon" combo.

I stopped at Hamilton boat ramp where two guys were trying with no luck. The boat ramp there is in a big eddy and it was hard to reach the current/edge. So, I walked upstream a little bit where I could see the eddy form and got one there. I had to get home, but happy I got my first shad.

Reaching for my phone, I dropped the shad, which flopped down the bank into the water! ha ha. It was hard to lip him, not a thick lip to hold and I was holding more on the side. Oh well. Beautiful fish. I think it was a hickory shad. Maybe 16" long.

The guys at Scotland Neck were talking about the cold water resutling from recent rains and water released from the dam. A lot of trash had been floating by.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
If you get back up to Weldon let me know if you catch any, I havent been this year.
 

woodmoose

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If you get back up to Weldon let me know if you catch any, I havent been this year.

I went by there this afternoon - fished for a half hour or so and seen ZERO fish caught,,,,,,,,,,,,gonna run by there Wed on my way home to see if I can catch something,,,,,,,,,
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
I went by there this afternoon - fished for a half hour or so and seen ZERO fish caught,,,,,,,,,,,,gonna run by there Wed on my way home to see if I can catch something,,,,,,,,,

crap!...I had planned to go to Weldon tomorrow. Now I am debating.
 

woodmoose

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I'm not sure what the issue is,,,,maybe wrong time of day,,,,,,(it was 3:30 when I started),,,,,,,,,,,I'll hit it again Wednesday around 10 to 12 (depending on when I get out of here),,,,,,,,,lots of boat traffic though for a while,,,,put ins and take outs,,,,,,then that slacked off as well,,,,almost like the shift change happened at 3:30-4PM,,,,,,,,
 

woodmoose

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it's low,,,,like the dock is basically sitting on the bottom low,,,,,water only hits the last 5 feet of the dock,,,,,,

but water was clear, not muddy at all,,,,,,,
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
The WRC says they have been low flows through the dam, thus the water will be low. I suspect this cooler snap has probably slowed things. Probably toward the end of the week if sunshine prevails the bite may be better. Low as the lake is I wouldn't bet on any real change on flow through the dam though.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Just looked it up. the low flow isnt going to stop the shad. The cold nights maybe.

USGS says flow is 2840 https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nc/nwis/uv/?site_no=02080500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060

Dominion power has only scheduled flow releases the next 2 days for 2250 https://www.dom.com/community/lakes-and-recreation/roanoke-rapids-projected-flow-releases

Flow is 2840 and they are releasing 2250. difference is probably the 2 eel ladders that keep a contant flow.

anyway I am most likely going . It is deeper on the other side so I am just going to take one of my canoes and paddle over there. if not bites within 2 hrs I am going south to the Tar.
 
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Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Woodmoose, if you see a big Square stern canoe with a Good looking guy and the worlds best squirrel dog shout at me as I will have an open seat. ok at least I got the big square stern right but hollar at me and I will have an open seat in the front. I probably will not venture too far from the ramp as I probably am taking my 55 lb thrust electric motor instead of my gas motor.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Woodmoose, if you see a big Square stern canoe with a Good looking guy and the worlds best squirrel dog shout at me as I will have an open seat. ok at least I got the big square stern right but hollar at me and I will have an open seat in the front. I probably will not venture too far from the ramp as I probably am taking my 55 lb thrust electric motor instead of my gas motor.
You better have a yacht for his big butt! :p
 

woodmoose

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Woodmoose, if you see a big Square stern canoe with a Good looking guy and the worlds best squirrel dog shout at me as I will have an open seat. ok at least I got the big square stern right but hollar at me and I will have an open seat in the front. I probably will not venture too far from the ramp as I probably am taking my 55 lb thrust electric motor instead of my gas motor.

You better have a yacht for his big butt! :p



truth,,,,,,,,,,,,though my old canoe handles me fine!
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Got 25~ today. slow. Took me 5 hrs to get that amount. But a fun day. Biggest 1 went 3lbs. most 1lb to 1 1/2. Pete had a great time.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'll holler when I get it done,,,,need to make some time in between work and goofing off!
Do that, I caught my first flathead of the year yesterday. It was about as sluggish as a sunken tire but it was a flattie. About as early as I have caught one in deep water but that means there are more hungry so I am going to continue to pester them.
 

23mako

Ten Pointer
Got 25~ today. slow. Took me 5 hrs to get that amount. But a fun day. Biggest 1 went 3lbs. most 1lb to 1 1/2. Pete had a great time.

Mack do you tie up to a jam or throw out an anchor to hold bottom in Weldon? Thinking of going up there early early Sunday and taking my kayak.
 

woodmoose

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Stopped on my way back from NOVA - caught 15 in 45 minutes

Wish I could have stayed longer
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Mack do you tie up to a jam or throw out an anchor to hold bottom in Weldon? Thinking of going up there early early Sunday and taking my kayak.

I do both but most of the time I use a Blakemore Brushgripper to grab an overhangng limb if one is available. That way you dont have to worry about an anchor line making you lose a big fish(especially with cats or stripers) and the brushgripper doesnt disturb the fish.

BUT, yesterday i had to anchor everywhere as all limbs to tie onto were waaaaaaaaay above the water as the water is soooooooo low.

Mack
 
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