# Shad in the Occoquan - They arrived



## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

I took off early and went to Occoquan Regional Park for shad fishing. It was my shad fishing. There was no sign of fish on the surface. Though, I found the shad. I caught 14 shad for 3 hours of fishing. The shad liked a small golden casting spoon (1/12 oz Kastmaster, 1 ¼” long). Other bigger golden spoon did not work at all. I caught only one on a shad dart.

Shad were at 14-17”. One was almost 18” long. The majority of them were 16-17”.
I shouldn’t keep 7 of them because I found that shad is not a good eating. The roe was good though.

Shad was indeed “Poor Man’s Tarpon”. Perhaps “Poor Man’s Ladyfish” is more appropriate description for shad.






Joe


----------



## yakattacker (Mar 19, 2011)

Great video again Joe! Glad you were able to run into the shad you were looking for! Occoquan seems to be a good launch point, I went out there the other weekend just to wet a line from shore. Did you head upstream from the launch this trip or downstream?



ComeOnFish said:


> I took off early and went to Occoquan Regional Park for shad fishing. It was my shad fishing. There was no sign of fish on the surface. Though, I found the shad. I caught 14 shad for 3 hours of fishing. The shad liked a small golden casting spoon (1/12 oz Kastmaster, 1 ¼” long). Other bigger golden spoon did not work at all. I caught only one on a shad dart.
> 
> Shad were at 14-17”. One was almost 18” long. The majority of them were 16-17”.
> I shouldn’t keep 7 of them because I found that shad is not a good eating. The roe was good though.
> ...


----------



## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

yakattacker,

Make sure you fish above the 95 Bridge toward the dam fi you want to keep them. The Occoquan fall line is 95 Bridge. I carry both fresh water (above 95 bridge) and saltwater (below 95 bridge) licenses. You can not keep shad below the 95 bridge.

I caught shad between Rt.123 bridge and a narrow bridge on the north before the dam. But this place is not accessible for the shore fishermen.

joe


----------



## chest2head&glassy (Jul 2, 2002)

Thanks for sharing. That was practically my backyard when I was a kid from the yellow perch run in March, Shad run in April to the catfishing all summer long. Great memories. Back in the day, we could walk up past the town towards the 1st dam and fish the rocks/rapids. Stripers would come and feed just below the rocks.


----------



## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

Chest2head&glassy,

I fished Occoquan first time this year. I caught two YP and several big crappie. The place is very nice. I loved the scenery, and the most of all, I liked the anglers and visitors at the park. They were courteous and enjoy fishing or scenery. I didn't see any uptight people or hear foul language. Have you caught crappie in Fountainhead Regional Park? I am planning to fish Fountainhead Regional Park a couple times for crappie in April. I will be trolling a 1/16oz jig head with a tube over grass beds (no live minnow). Are there grass beds in the park? This will be my first visit to the park.

Thanks,
Joe


----------



## chest2head&glassy (Jul 2, 2002)

Granted this was 30 years ago but I would fish the PWC side of the reservoir (Lake Ridge) and catch crappie, bluegill and small LMB from the banks. I also rented boats from Fountainhead but without electronics, it was hard to find bottom structure and would just fish a point or a creek mouth.
Hopefully someone on here has more recent experience on that water.


----------



## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

Chest2head&glassy,

Well, I guess I troll along the shoreline after work for a few hours. Hopefully I find the crappie spot.
Thanks,
Joe


----------



## Mobcrack (Jan 15, 2010)

COF, I love your vids, they are excellent. I only have one suggestion, please edit them with some music, or no sound at all. For some reason, the sounds - shuffling, knocking, rattling, etc make me want to go postal.


----------



## roverich (Mar 31, 2010)

ComeOnFish said:


> Chest2head&glassy,
> 
> You might find this link useful ..http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=97&section=fishing I fished the resevoir years ago and we used to tear them up ...There is a couple of stump fields about halfway to the dam from the fountainhead boat launch area ..Try there ... The dam is deep ..If you want the big cats , that is where you want to be ..Oh yea, where hoos run dumps out is also a good area ..
> 
> ...


See above


----------



## yakattacker (Mar 19, 2011)

*Channel Cats*

Joe,
If you're looking for good eats, channel cats are great. We generally catch them in the Potomac over by River Bend Park, but it sounds like the Occoquan has a good population since its been stocked for so long. We always use chicken livers, but last year we were on a mission to find something that stayed on our hooks longer.. Our solution = cut up hot dogs to a good size to fit a wide gap hook (circles work nice) and soak it in the chicken liver juices... You may want to buy a container of chicken liver, take some out and transfer it to another container and put the cut hot dogs in each container. Leave it in the fridge for a few days and you're set. I'm not sure when the Channel Cats are active in the reservoir, but they are much more active when the water gets warmer in the Potomac. They may be feeding now deeper in the reservoir...


----------



## Moo_juu (Apr 4, 2011)

ComeOnFish said:


> Chest2head&glassy,
> 
> I will be trolling a 1/16oz jig head with a tube over grass beds (no live minnow). Are there grass beds in the park? This will be my first visit to the park.
> 
> ...


Joe, what exactly is a "tube"? I get the 1/16 oz jig head but not sure what you mean regarding the tube over grass beds. Thanks for your patience. I would love to catch some crappie and never have.
Jon


----------

