Fly lines for shad

[Angus Siemens]

Just curious as to what kind of fly line is best for shad? Any particular preference between sink tip or full sink in fishing situations like rock hopping around fletchers cove?

[Doug Graebner]

I'd go for sink tip if you're rockhopping, full sink has a nasty tendency to get tangled on the bottom a LOT. 

[James McCeney]

If you're on foot, odds are you won't have a lot of space to backcast at that part of the river, but it's basically rock by rock.  If that's the case, you'll need to roll cast, and roll casting full sink line is...well, I'm not a very good caster, so I can't do it, but I'm sure some of the more talented folks here can make it work.  At least with sink tip you might be able to get some of your line floating on the water to get enough surface tension for a decent D-loop.  It's hard because you need to cast far enough to get somewhat into the channel, but deep enough to get down to the fish.

I think class II or III is generally the accepted sinking rate for shad, either for full sink or sink tip.

If you've got a 2-hander, a lot of guys swear by spey rods for on-foot shad to better control the line without a backcast.

Good luck and have fun!

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[Tom Steeley]

Agree with Doug, at least on the DC/MD side.  Have not fished from the VA side so it may be different. 

From a boat full sink no question.  But, from the rocks I've found it difficult to find a spot where a full sink does not drape over the rocks before the deeper channel.

I keep a full sink with me, but rarely use it.

Best success and least frustration has been with either a floating line with an 8-15 foot sink tip or an intermediate with a sink 3 tip.  Slower sink especially in very slow current gives you time to work the fly.

I find alot of this, frankly, is dictated by when you fish and how many people are there.

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[Mark Binsted]

For boat fishing you will need a sinking portion from 24 to 30 ft. long. I call this a shooting head even if it comes integrated into the line. My line is not integrated so I can handle different river depths, conditions and locations. My running line is an intermediate sink version so you could say the assembled line is "full sink". I get down very deep to American shad, often missing the hickories altogether. Integrated lines are available with either floating or intermediate running sections. A 250g fast sinking head would work well in most situations. Many people have taken to calling shooting heads sink tips, but I understand that terminology refers to shorter add-ons to floating lines, 15' or less, as in trout fishing. They often work fine for hickory shad, especially later in the run.

[Jamie Gold]

Mark and Others:

Thanks for the reply.  For the first time this year I'm using a two-handed fly rod to fish for them from shore.  I have to admit that by doing some spey/roll casting (although I'm not very good at it), its nice not having to worry about my backcast.  However, I don't think my sink tip was heavy enough.  I went Thursday after work and while the spin guys around me caught fish but I got skunked.  I think my fly wasn't getting deep enought, so I'm going to try some heavier sink tips to try to get the fly down deeper in the water column.  Of course, I'm also curious to see how many more flies I lost by getting snagged.  LOL

Thanks,

Jamie Gold