# perch and shad



## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

Warm weather is upon us for the next 10 days. I'm wondering when white perch and the first shad typically show up in Richmond


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## das5moto (Oct 11, 2005)

April 1 seems to be a good start to steady fish.

Not sure what the snow or quick warm up might do?

I do know that the Herons showed up really early this year, so the fish can not be far behind.


I will be checking out the action or lack of action later this week.


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

any minute...






wait....







wait for it.....







here they come....




Oh dear, water got to cold again........


I reckon when all this snow water goes away, they'll be here


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

Mid-March, if you can handle the blustery conditions and water conditions (mud and high water) cooperate. That's when you get the bigger female white perch filled with roe. After that its an onslaught of the smaller males.


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## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

Scouted out a hole for shad fishing today. Saw an Osprey. That is a good sign.


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## mitchmtm1 (Aug 11, 2003)

In the Rapp, I will always catch my first shad within 2 days of March 20th. Yellows are here now, but never in big numbers. Whites will be here very soon.



Mitch


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## virginia boy 1 (May 8, 2003)

mitchmtm1 said:


> In the Rapp, I will always catch my first shad within 2 days of March 20th. Yellows are here now, but never in big numbers. Whites will be here very soon.
> 
> 
> 
> Mitch


wassup mitch? long time no see.

it's almost that time again. lemme know when we should make tha trip up there.

tory


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## Out Sick (May 27, 2006)

I always look for the dogwoods to bloom. When they bloom, the bite should be on. I think they've seen a few in the nets as somebody else said earlier, here but not in big numbers yet.


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## virginia boy 1 (May 8, 2003)

Out Sick said:


> I always look for the dogwoods to bloom.


that's mostly because you're gay and like pretty flowers....not because of the fishing.


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## virginia boy 1 (May 8, 2003)

cwood, the best thing to do is just to go by the usual haunts and see what's happening. lots of fish have been a little "off" this year.


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## Ed K (Mar 1, 2007)

das5moto said:


> April 1 seems to be a good start to steady fish.
> 
> Not sure what the snow or quick warm up might do?
> 
> ...


Hell I saw Herons all winter long while goose and duck hunting I wouldn't count on that.


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## Out Sick (May 27, 2006)

Ed K said:


> Hell I saw Herons all winter long while goose and duck hunting I wouldn't count on that.


Saw a pretty big beehive this afternoon 3000 yrds SE of the S island bay side on the HRBT today. Looked like Pearl Harbor out there.


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## das5moto (Oct 11, 2005)

ED k-- Lots of Herons come to an Island on the James around 12th st downtown to nest, make bird love, hang, fish, smoke cigs, etc.

Usually around 1st week in March. 

They showed up about 2 weeks ago.

Last year the fishing and the Heron PArty seemed to be happening at the same time.

Speaking of Herons...I saw one eating in a storm retention pond by Circuit City at Va.Center today stopped to see what he was having and saw that there are carp in the retention pond the size of a Yugo.


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## DavB (Apr 15, 2000)

*The carp...*

Ha ha ha... that reminds me of the first time I saw those guys and ugly koi (same thing) there a few years ago. It was the smaller pond next to the PetsMart there. My kid daughter and I were walking past and I stopped to look for minnows in the shallows. 

My daughter started telling me how dumb I was, there were no fish there...

And about two seconds later, this HUGE white koi surfaces!!!


Ha ha ha, to YOU kid!

(Psst Darren... use this story on her this spring...)


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Will do.
Spoke to Charlotte, she's all about a M v F contest. Come on fisheys.


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## Out Sick (May 27, 2006)

Had a buddy out in a river thats right be the state line thats a good spot day before yesterday and didn't get the first shad or perch. Got the skunk. He's supposed to go out tomarrow again. Will report back if I hear anything.


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## bottomrig (Sep 29, 2005)

*Shad*

The Dogwood bloom has already been mentioned. That old tale is fairly close. I give it it a few days depending on how warm it has been.

I also watch for St. Patty's Day. March 17th and calendar spring at March 20th. In Richmond I will seea few shad around these times. Give another week and the bite is steady..

Bottomrig


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## virginia boy 1 (May 8, 2003)

out sick said:


> had a buddy out in a river thats right be the state line thats a good spot day before yesterday and didn't get the first shad or perch. Got the skunk. He's supposed to go out tomarrow again. Will report back if i hear anything.


call me ben!!! Obx 2moro!!! Scrallups!!!


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## malcdncva (Oct 29, 2003)

I'll help end some of the suspense at least for Saturday, March 7, 2009. The only thing I accomplished at Ancarrow's Landing/Slave Trail was getting a history lesson on 'Nam from an old Marine and washin' the offseason dust off of my jigs in some pretty cold water. At least my rods and reels work alright.


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## fishin fool (Jan 29, 2007)

On advice from neihbor I went to a pier in Poquoson. Didn't catch a thing. I think he is smokin crack. Got a start on my suntan!


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## malcdncva (Oct 29, 2003)

Sorry about the skunk in Poquoson. I honestly think that, as much as I want it to be differently, the waters are still too cold. I took a look at a web site for surface water temperatures http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/sat_data/?nothumbs=0&product=sst&region=chess and there was a lot of 40 to 45 degree blue coloring on the maps in the regional waters. There is supposedly a good chance of some rain associated with the warmer weather over the next couple of days, and my guess is that the warmer weather rain runoff (humm say that 4 times real fast) will help raise the water temperatures a little bit and get the fisheys thinking about making more little fisheys. Until then, we might want to refer to "fishing" as "water splashin' " or "sun tanning" or "history class".


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## malcdncva (Oct 29, 2003)

double post


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## bbcroaker (Jan 6, 2005)

Out Sick said:


> I always look for the dogwoods to bloom. When they bloom, the bite should be on. I think they've seen a few in the nets as somebody else said earlier, here but not in big numbers yet.


Heard that all my life and all my life I been wondering how the fish know when the dogwoods bloom


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## Out Sick (May 27, 2006)

bbcroaker said:


> Heard that all my life and all my life I been wondering how the fish know when the dogwoods bloom


Well duh BB! You know how smart those fish are. They always seem to know when your going fishing. LoL! Did you ever make it out to Crane? 

Ben


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## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

This site has the ral time water temp. for the Pamunkey River


http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?01673000


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## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

Walked down to the river above the fall line and saw great blue herons standing in the water waiting for a meal. Something is moving upstream if these birds are there.


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## bottomrig (Sep 29, 2005)

*shad*

If you haven't noticed.

Yesterday the dogwoods around Richmond were green with buds.

Today they are turning white.

The wait is getting short....


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## obxsharker2 (Aug 2, 2007)

*there here!!!*

me an a few of my buddies went to the city dock in fredricksburg to toy around with the sabiki rigs an we alll together caught 9 herrin(alwives). they should be here thick this weekend if the water warms a little. 

Dalton


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## mitchmtm1 (Aug 11, 2003)

Yep alewives are there. They were all over the sand flats at the upstream end of the docks yesterday. Yellows are here too, but so far they are hanging out in the deep water at and below little falls launch.


Mitch


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## striperswiper (Nov 30, 2004)

isnt there a camera under water some where. i know someone usually post it this time of year. i think its in a dam or something. its cool when you sea the lampreys swining past, i think thats what their called.


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

bottomrig said:


> If you haven't noticed.
> 
> Yesterday the dogwoods around Richmond were green with buds.
> 
> ...


They aren't dogwoods, they are called "pear" trees,. They are called pear trees because of the shape.


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## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

striperswiper said:


> isnt there a camera under water some where. i know someone usually post it this time of year. i think its in a dam or something. its cool when you sea the lampreys swining past, i think thats what their called.


http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/shadcam/

It's not up yet, but should be soon.


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## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

*They're here!!!*

Ok.....casted a few shad baits out this afternoon and wam! On the other end an American shad. That was the only fish caught though. It has to be more there.


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Nicely. We are going down this morning...


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## Zigh (May 2, 2002)

*please post*

Hey there guys.... If anyone who manages to go check it out could post a report, it would be most gratefully appreciated... Tried yesterday on the Mattaponi with no takers.... Saw one fish jump:fishing:

Zigh
><((((*>


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## virginia boy 1 (May 8, 2003)

caught 1 very small hickory in my castnet at rt5 bridge yesterday.


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## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

The fish are here but not thick yet. caught 2 hickories and 1 American shad yesterday along with 5 herring. Hopefully this cold rain and weekend won't mess it up too bad.


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## mitchmtm1 (Aug 11, 2003)

cwood5cz said:


> The fish are here but not thick yet. caught 2 hickories and 1 American shad yesterday along with 5 herring. Hopefully this cold rain and weekend won't mess it up too bad.



Wow that's more hickory's than the VDGIF survey/shocker boat caught yesterday and by far the earliest I have ever heard of an american shad in the river.

Won't be long now.

Mitch


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## there_in_there (Apr 1, 2008)

WELL GENTS THE DOG WOODS ARE A BLOOMIN AND WITHIN TIME THE REEL SHOULD BE A ZOOMIN' !!! Caught 1 on thurs down south no oter takers . They are here jsut not thick yet.


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## bottomrig (Sep 29, 2005)

I will give it a try tomorrow at Ancarrows in the late afternoon.

Will send a report ;ater

Bottomrig


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Water's full of carp, I mean c..p right now. No nibbles for us last night. Apparently there were some earlier in the day.


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## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

yeah...lots of algae that the higher water brought in...hard to keep of the bait. Nice to see higher water, it should bring in boat loads of fish


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

water level at downtown has gone up 2.5 feet in 3 days. its gonna be poor fishing till we hit peak. good side being this is what we need every year to bring the fish back up. should be on next week.


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Yeap. I'm thinking Tues. will have to be a river day. Start real early, come home rest, than back at it.

BTW Neil. GET BACK TO SCHOOL! 
Chris, stop wasting tax payers money looking at fishing sites when you 'sposed to be working!


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## kingsurf (Feb 23, 2009)

we went out in the rapp tho weeks ago and cleaned up on the yellows. the spawn is deff over. were going out saterday to target whites and shad on the james for catfishbait.


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## bottomrig (Sep 29, 2005)

i saw no shad today. there was talk of a few coming in last 2 days.. only thing today was a flathead cat from 15-20lbs that this guy snagged

more later this week
bottom


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## obxsharker2 (Aug 2, 2007)

*rappahannock/city dock*

We caught 3 5 gallon bucket fulls of hickory shad yesterday an i also caught a 37 1/2 pound blue catfish along with the smaller pan size me an my cousins caught. I have pictures an will post them as soon as i learn how to.


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## cwood5cz (Dec 12, 2006)

Got the skunk on yesterday. The river is muddy. Heard of 2 caught, don't know if they got snagged or what.


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

obxsharker2 said:


> We caught 3 5 gallon bucket fulls of hickory shad yesterday an i also caught a 37 1/2 pound blue catfish along with the smaller pan size me an my cousins caught. I have pictures an will post them as soon as i learn how to.


Being a bit greedy with those hickories aren't ya?  Yeah, I know, its 'legal' in VA so you're not breaking the law.

Here is a direct quote from the Virginia DGIF: Because stocks are depressed, harvest is illegal above the tidal river fall lines and DGIF encourages catch and release fishing below fall lines.


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## lowpine (May 28, 2002)

Went down to the river yesterday in Richmond and got into some shad action. I hooked one on the first cast, but it broke off.... ended up with about 3-4, plus one white perch with a nasty scale infection of some sort.

Lots of folks out there catching, but it was pretty slow. The water was high and turbid.

I was about to leave reciting infamous 'if I catch one on this last cast, I'll stay for a while longer' ... bam, he was a jumper too! 









later,
steve


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## peterkin (Sep 16, 2002)

Fished the boat launch downtown Fredericksburg on the Rappahannok river and caught two. I caught 1 herring, and 1...I think it was an American Shad. The shad broke off right at my feet on 4lb test, and I hated to see the fella swim away with that lure stuck in his mouth. The shad was pretty good size, maybe 2 lbs. I'll step up to 6 lb test so it won't happen again. Either way, this was during lunch today so they are there even if it is cold as hel1 out there today. I can't wait until it's in full swing. Oh, I was using a big red/white dart in tandem with a chartreuse/orange and they tagged the red/white every time. Tight lines!


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## mitchmtm1 (Aug 11, 2003)

peterkin, I was the other fisherman that was there. I caught a couple after you left, but the water is still a bit cold for the big run yet.


Mitch


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## hookinfinger (Feb 7, 2000)

Here is report from another site.



"Went down to Ancarrow landing in Richmond after work yesterday. The padking lot was full so after I squeexed my way into the lot and made my way to the rall, I was surprised to find my favorite spot open. I caught many really nice sized hickory shad and 4 white shad in the time I was there. I filled a fellow fisherman's bucket with the hickories and released the white shad and took six more fat roe shad home. Loes of fun on uktra light!"


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## peterkin (Sep 16, 2002)

mitch, 

i enjoy the shad run every year, but this year is special. my friends 11 year old son is OFFICIALLY hooked on fishing. i want him to experience the fight of a good size shad. i think i'll bring him back out this weekend sometime. sorry if i was a little stand-off'ish out there, as i've had some pretty negative experiences with local shore anglers in the past so i tend to keep my distance unless approached. plus, i didn't want to bother you. i'll be sure to say more than hi next time, as i'm sure we'll run into one another again. i did have a question though. i'll shoot you a PM.

-peterkin


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## lowpine (May 28, 2002)

I meant to have this in my previous post, the american shad caught on sunday.... 

I ended up talking to this older marine veteran on the way out. Anyone that frequents the landing probably has seen the guy, he was a trip. Anyway, he asked me 'do you know the difference between a herring and a shad?' before I could answer, 'about $250. HARHARHARHAR'. I hope I'm kickin it like that when I'm old.....

later
steve


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## mitchmtm1 (Aug 11, 2003)

lowpine said:


> I meant to have this in my previous post, the american shad caught on sunday....
> 
> I ended up talking to this older marine veteran on the way out. Anyone that frequents the landing probably has seen the guy, he was a trip. Anyway, he asked me 'do you know the difference between a herring and a shad?' before I could answer, 'about $250. HARHARHARHAR'. I hope I'm kickin it like that when I'm old.....
> 
> ...


That's at hickory....nice fish though.


Mitch


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## lowpine (May 28, 2002)

mitchmtm1 said:


> That's at hickory....nice fish though.
> Mitch


I'm no expert, but I think it's an american. Here's the dgif id pictures:
american shad:









hickory shad:









It looks more like the american to me. Look at the body shape, coloring, the spots, the bottom jaw.

Veteran shad huters, what's the concensus?

later,
steve


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## Openboat (Oct 19, 2007)

*American*










American
The American is a much bigger fish. 

Thanks for the reports!


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

Mitch, that's a hickory shad. Look at the lower jaw, it protrudes farther out. On an American White the jaws line up evenly.


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

its definately a hickory. the american shad are also called "whites" they are usually much bigger and the only REAL way to tell is to look at the jaw. when you close the mouth, the hickories bottom jaw sticks out. If its got an underbite, its bait, if its normal, throw it back


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## ThisFish (Apr 24, 2005)

Another good way to tell apart is the shoulder spot. The american shad has a dark (earmark) like a bluegill.a Hickory shad has a complete round shoulder spot.ie the first dot forms a circle behind the gill plate and doesnt touch the gill plate.


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## DavB (Apr 15, 2000)

Ha ha, the old guy sounds like Cliff. "Its a Girl..."


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## lowpine (May 28, 2002)

DavB said:


> Ha ha, the old guy sounds like Cliff. "Its a Girl..."


yeah, that was Cliff (he gave me his card). The way he talked, it sounded like he spends alot of time down there, when he's not getting a neighborhood militia together .


btw, I went down there tonight for about an hour, got the skunk. I had read on another forum that the shad get real active a night..... hmmmmpph. Anyone have any luck a night with shad?

steve


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## mitchmtm1 (Aug 11, 2003)

Evening (last hour before dark) is usually pretty good. As far as after dark...I think shad are sight feeders and won't bite after dark.


Mitch


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

shad and herring aren't feeding. its reactionary strikes right now.


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## dangsy (Jan 7, 2008)

I was upriver near the 95 bridge, hit 2 schoolie striper with my fly rod, and a bunch of hickory with an american tossed in, definitely around the area.


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## lowpine (May 28, 2002)

Thanks fellas on the clarification on the shad....

I took my daughter (5yr old) over to arcarrow's on Sunday, we weren't there that long maybe 1.5 hours total. Started out throwing a shad spoon, no luck. The guy next to me started picking up shad on a sabaki. I switched over and started pulling them in, 3 ~hickory~ shad in the next 20 min. I missed 2 bigger ones, straightened the hooks. dang. 

I was hoping my daughter would have some luck with the white perch, but they were'nt hitting. On my last hook-up I handed/held the rod for her while she reeled it in. It was pretty funny, after I pulled the shad up to get out the hook, she wanted to keep some scales that fell off. hehe, awsome. 

The action started to died off and we left. There were a lot of people down there, not quite shoulder to shoulder, but a lot. 

btw, whenever I'm down there, I carry a small black shoulder tackle bag and have a white Florida Sportsmans hat on. If you see me, mention P&S.

later, steve


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