5wt or 8wt for Shad?

[Ryan D]

I'd like to buy a spare spool for either my 5wt or 8wt reels and string it with sinking line for the Shad run.  I've never fished for shad before and I was wondering which rod (and subsequent reel) yall think would be better.

[John Bilotta]

8 weight.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 15, 2015, at 6:25 AM, Ryan D <ryan.d...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'd like to buy a spare spool for either my 5wt or 8wt reels and string it with sinking line for the Shad run.  I've never fished for shad before and I was wondering which rod (and subsequent reel) yall think would be better.

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/233735f6-c1c8-48c1-972a-d9b476b072e2%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Ryan DiAndrea]

Awesome. Thanks John

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/24CBAE7A-C5F9-4519-A47F-D547C6B7A4CC%40obassociates.net.

[Lane Thurgood]

Totally agree with John.  You will find others that use a 5-weight, but I use my 8-weight 90 percent of the time and a 7-weight the rest.  A few reasons--1) the Potomac is big water, 2) it is fast water, 3) often accompanied by big winds, 4) an American or bigger striper is always a possibility, AND 5) you may enjoy fishing two flies and land several doubles a year.

 

On Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 9:32:27 AM UTC-4, John wrote:

8 weight.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 15, 2015, at 6:25 AM, Ryan D <ryan.d...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'd like to buy a spare spool for either my 5wt or 8wt reels and string it with sinking line for the Shad run.  I've never fished for shad before and I was wondering which rod (and subsequent reel) yall think would be better.

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

[Bob Smith]

8wgt. You will be able to handle a wider variety of weighted lines, handle the wind better and fight the big hickories and whites the Potoac is known for. If you're lucky enough to hook up with a large striper the fight won't murder your arm and wrists.

[Danny Barrett]

8wt.

Thanks,

Dan Barrett

dannyt...@gmail.com

(540)-222-8064

On Sun, Mar 15, 2015 at 9:25 AM, Ryan D <ryan.d...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'd like to buy a spare spool for either my 5wt or 8wt reels and string it with sinking line for the Shad run.  I've never fished for shad before and I was wondering which rod (and subsequent reel) yall think would be better.

--

http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.

[Ryan DiAndrea]

Thanks Guys. Much appreciated. I went ahead bought an extra spool for my 8wt.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/CAG1ZA-uq4Q%2B8wfOv9UShuO2Rw-ZBPi0X4VVEx8fM3Vkg0vyyUQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Yambag Nelson]

I will disagree. When I started fishing for shad I started with the 8 because that's what people sad to use for the various reasons listed here. I honestly think it is overkill. Maybe not for the casting but for fighting the fish. Your odds if hooking a big striper are extremely slim so you are preparing for a situation that is very unlikely to occur. I do think a 5 is on the light side, but a quality 6 is perfect if you ask me. Given your choice I would go five unless you are really interested in stripers.

[Bob Smith]

He asked which of the two rods he currently owns would be the best choice. From a versatility standpoint his 8 is the best choice for covering the widest range of water depths and line grain weights.

My "one" rod choice for years was and is a 7wgt. Now I use 6, 7 and 8 depending on water and weather conditions.

And as far as stripers, the odds of hooking a good one when just targeting shad are slim but he now has the ability to deliberately target stripers.

[TurbineBlade]

What Bob said ^^.  

[Yambag Nelson]

He didn't mention anything about stripers though so any versatality the rod adds with regard to stripers didn't factor into my recommendation..  Maybe he will be happy with the 8.  Or maybe he will be like myself and invest in an 8 weight line only to have it go unused after the first couple times out because he got sick of cranking in the 14-17 inch shad that constitute the vast majority of what you catch. 

On Monday, March 16, 2015 at 8:55:15 AM UTC-4, Bob Smith wrote:

[Mark Binsted]

The only disagreement here is coming from someone that only targets hickory shad up to 17 inches.  Many fly anglers follow that path and have a great time, but take Bob's advice--he knows how to find American shad later in the run.  These fish are over 20 inches, pull much harder, hit deep and stay deep in strong current, and refuse to give up at the boat.  I put all roe American shad on the spool and like having a good drag.  The 8 wt will allow you to use the most aggressive sinking lines when needed for Americans, but 7wt is also fine and a good all-round choice.

[McFly]

I use a 5wt and that's fine as long as everything goes perfect, if it's windy, the water is fast or larger fish biting you may have problems