Shad patterns

[tippet7]

With Phil getting everyone excited about the lake turning over, anyone have a good shad pattern to share?

Thanks

[Wayne SW/MO]

Phil sells some dandys, or they at least appear to be. Maybe he'll share the pattern of the one by the cash register?

[Jeremy Hunt]

Hey Tippet

Patterns.. um..... I can think of two that I use all the time during the shad kills on our river systems. I think that it doesn't really matter so much on the patterns as long as there white and you understand how to fish them. There is two ways that the trout will take shad, on top or just drifting along with any of the water columns in the current. You will do really good on shad patterns that have alot of marabou or artic fox for the main material. This allows the fly to have a ungulating, breathing effect that will trigger some nice strikes. Whatever you do, try not to tie these flies with the harder materials. Think soft when you tie shad patterns. Most things are soft to a fishes mouth. I don't have a pick to show you but I can kind of tell you how to tie the patterns.

If you want the fly to sink. Depending on the current and speed, will defiantly be the key on how the fly should look in the water. A indicator works real well to also control the depth you want to be fishing. One thing you don't want is the fly to have so much weight that when it sinks, it sinks slow and not like a rocket. To much weight will change the way the fly looks like in the water.You want it to have a dying effect to the fly.

So tie in marabou or artic fox at the bend of the hook. After you tie in the tail, tie in some foam. I don't know if you have any foam handy but if you don't most of your local shops can order you some. Wapsi carries this new foam in all kinds of colors.I like to use white, gray, and black. The size of the foam I like to use is 2mm. Cut a long square piece depending on how long the shank is and tie it in at the bend of the hook to. You will have a lip hanging out on both ends of the fly. This fly resembles the" Gertside Gurgler." The body is some flashy chenille that again Wapsi just came out with last year called "HOLOGRAPHIC CHENILLE". It comes in two colors gold, and silver. I only use the silver. It's in two sizes so you can tie big ones and small ones. Tie in the chenille and wind it foward allthe way up to the eye and then fold the foam over and tie that at the eye. Tie the fly off and cut your foam off a to create a lip and your ready. It's just like a wooly bugger but you have some foam on the top. The fly is easy to tie but very effective on high water. There is a newer hook that I found to have a good hook set in high water and it has a hook point that is like the 2499 sp hook. It's called a Tiemco 777sp which stands for super piont. You will love this hook. It's a bigger gap which you need in high water. you will rarely ever lose a fish on this hook.

Now the other one is just as easy but I have found this fly to work better in slower running water. Also on sunny day's. I think the key to this fly is the "UV" that we mix in the dubbing we use for the body. The fly cosist of two materials. Dubing and marabou. Let me tell you a story about why I came up with mixing "UV"

in dubbing's for my flies. About four years ago when eveyone were fishing normal sud and sowbug patterns with nothing but dubbing. We started throwing the flashabou dubbing in "UV" ultra violet in a blender with

some sow scud dubbing.Not alot just enough to give it that attractor look to the fish.On sunny day's we were catcing more than we did on the regular paterns that we fished.It was something new and new to the fish too. One thing to keep in mind about the "UV' is it doesn't work well without sunlight. So about three years ago I was fishing below Bull Shoal's dam and I was fishing with Gabe Cross in his boat. Well the first day I tied up this fly I was using white without any flash in the pattern. I did ok but something told me to go home and tie these up with some flash in the dubbing like I did with the scud patterns. I was using the slf standard dubbing in white for the body and marabou for the wing and tail. The only thing I did different is put that "UV" in the slf dubbing.And that seem to be the key to catching more fish. Especially on sunnier day's.I use this fly every year and it is one of my best producer for catching fish on the shad kill when we do have them. Not to say that you can use this pattern all yearr to catch trout on. The only thing you would do different to tie this fly is you stack the marabou on top of the hook shank like you would tying in a wing right behing the eye of the hook . So if you pictured the fly, the wing would go past the whole shank of the fly but tied in right behing the eye at the front of the fly. You will do this several times up the fly. Fisrt thing, get a normal streamer hook down eye. I like to tie these in 6, or 8. Start with tying in marabou or artic fox tail. Then once you do that get a little bit of dubbing and build a little body in front of the tail. What your trying to do is hide your wraps you did when you tied in your first tail. Now repeat that same process all the way up the fly to you get to the eye and tie it off. I hope this will give you some ideas on how to tie and fish them.I One thing you should notice about both the flies is that they are simple to tie and farely easy to tie. The only thing that will hurt your chances at catching bigger fish is being ina boat. You do have a advantage of catching more fish.

Also Davy Wotton came out with a real fancy shad pattern. As a tyer it will challenge you a little bit on the vise, but it is a great looking pattern. I don't do so well with it for trout. I do for bass, white bass, and some hybrids in lakes. I have also caught snook and tarpon on it. Let me go find a link and I will put it on here for you.

http://www.davywotton.com/davy-wotton-shad.htm

[tippet7]

Thanks Jeremy! Appreciate the info

I will give those a shot.

[Leonard]

Tippet...

when the shad kill happens... I like to use a white jig (1/64 or 1/120)... they cast alright on a fly rod... and I think lilley still has some in the shop.

Tippet...

when the shad kill happens... I like to use a white jig (1/64 or 1/120)... they cast alright on a fly rod... and I think lilley still has some in the shop.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Good to see you Leonard - hope to see you on the river again soon my friend...

Brrr... its been cold in this thread for a long time...

[snagged in outlet 3]

On 1/23/2022 at 9:55 AM, Brian Shaffer said:

Good to see you Leonard - hope to see you on the river again soon my friend...

Brrr... its been cold in this thread for a long time...

I haven't seen Leonard on the river in years.  Is he still around?

[Flysmallie]

25 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I haven't seen Leonard on the river in years.  Is he still around?

He's still out there. Not sure why he left here but he posts fish on FB.