Next Casting Church - Shad fishing theme

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Regan Burmeister

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Mar 20, 2019, 6:57:59 PM3/20/19
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Next Casting Church, Sun 31 March, at Fletcher's.  8am in the lower parking lot. Park where you can, we will meet at one of the picnic tables near the boat shop.

 

Setting a theme for this church meeting, fly casting/fishing for shad on the Potomac from Fletcher's. We will first meet to talk about tackle set up, both single hand and double hand: rods, lines, tips, leaders, flies. We will discuss casting techniques, and we discuss how to fish for shad. Casting a heavy sink tip or full sinking line requires some changes in technique and tempo. We will then walk upstream. The goal here is to show off the river-left bank and how you would solve casting problems from various locations.

 

This is NOT a guided trip. The goal here is to get educated on the river and solve casting problems for fishing for shad from the bank. This will involve a fair bit of walking, added up throughout the morning, and some of the walking will be on rocks with angled surfaces. Some of the fishing locations involve standing on angled rock surfaces. Tripping and falling are a concern. A wading staff helps for balance. Please plan accordingly.

 

Waders and boots are strongly recommended, though not required. This is NOT full wade fishing (that is illegal), but we do get wet walking thru shallow water to get to locations. It is perfectly possible to successfully fish for shad from the bank and not need waders at all.

 

Bring your gear, and we will help you rig up.  You will need some kind of sink tip (10ft or so) or a full sinking line, fast sink is better.


See you there,

Regan

Richard Farino

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Mar 20, 2019, 9:21:58 PM3/20/19
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Regan,

 

I like the planning of the casting lessons.  Let me know if there’s a way we can help out.

 

How did it go last Sunday?  I’m supposed to be in Austin but I’m home wrapped in a blanket thanks to an inconsiderate customer who came in sick.

 

R

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Daniel Lazenby

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Mar 21, 2019, 11:15:59 AM3/21/19
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Regan, 

Thank you for doing this. I know this will really help me with this years shad fishing. 

Daniel 

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Mike Bray

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Mar 22, 2019, 12:05:29 PM3/22/19
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Regan, 
Thanks so much for doing this. 

I have a double-handed rod which I've been wanting to use for shad but wasn't sure where to start. I bought the rod in Ireland while fishing for salmon but haven't gotten much use out of it since. I'm all set with a sinking line but don't have any flies. Can I buy those at fletcher's the morning of?

See you next Sunday. 

Best,
Mike

Regan Burmeister

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Mar 23, 2019, 9:16:17 PM3/23/19
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Mike,
The Boathouse may have some standard shad darts, but I am not sure. I have never checked.  I usually just get my shad darts at the local fly fishing shops: District Angling, Orvis (Arlington, Tysons).

Regan
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Owen Williams

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Mar 24, 2019, 8:42:17 AM3/24/19
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Many thanks, Regan. I'm really looking forward to it. 

I'm assuming a DC license is required? 

Best, 
Owen Williams

On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 6:57:59 PM UTC-4, Regan Burmeister wrote:

Regan Burmeister

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Mar 24, 2019, 4:06:01 PM3/24/19
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A DC fishing license is required.  Here is where you get them,  https://doee.dc.gov/service/get-fishing-license

Regan


On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 6:57:59 PM UTC-4, Regan Burmeister wrote:

Owen Williams

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Mar 25, 2019, 6:32:33 AM3/25/19
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Thanks!

jabusadc

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Mar 28, 2019, 7:04:22 AM3/28/19
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Regan, thanks for doing this, I am looking forward to it. See you there.

Regan Burmeister

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Mar 29, 2019, 7:46:52 PM3/29/19
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So it is looking good for Sunday. The water is starting to have that nice green color.

Plan on lots of mud to walk/hike thru.

Plan on rain for the morning, at least according to the forecast.

See you all Sunday at 8am

Regan

On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 6:57:59 PM UTC-4, Regan Burmeister wrote:

Owen Williams

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Mar 31, 2019, 12:59:16 PM3/31/19
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Many thanks to Regan for taking us out today! 

I landed my first shad and even hooked another on a spey rod before losing him. It was a little too windy to do much learning with the two-handed after that, but it certainly seems a great way to get to them in the mid-river seams. 

Thanks again!

Best, 
Owen



On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 6:57:59 PM UTC-4, Regan Burmeister wrote:

JAB

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Mar 31, 2019, 1:29:58 PM3/31/19
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X2 Many thanks to Regan. In addition to tday's mission which, in part, was to show us some of the challenges of fly fishing as long the banks of the river, he also gave me a very interesting casting technique for dealing with the 15-20 mph winds. Time very well spent.

Sincerely,
John Beasley
Warrenton, VA

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Edward Chu

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Mar 31, 2019, 2:03:06 PM3/31/19
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Thanks Regan for hosting the Casting Church today! We had a great time!

Daniel Lazenby

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Mar 31, 2019, 2:24:12 PM3/31/19
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Might as well make that X3 for today's casting church. 

I was given some pointers and got in some casting practice before the wind kicked up. This outing included a lot of practice applying techniques to get unsnagged. While I didn't get much fishing in I did get one firm strike while stripping. Wasn't expecting it and missed setting the hook. (So for me it was a good day.)  The Cormorants and Osprey were having a field day fishing.

Orientation to the DC riverside terrain was excellent. (Being part Mountain Goat wouldn't hurt transiting parts of this river.) An added bonus for me was the opportunity to get a clear view of the river terrain on the Virginia side.

All in all it was a great experience. 
Thank you for your time.

Daniel


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