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First Shad on a Single Hand Rod of the Season

This is a video of me catching my first shad on a single hand rod of the 2015/ 2016 season. This rod is a small Eagle Claw Featherlight 7ft 5 weight fiberglass fly rod that I got for Christmas. It is an inexpensive fiberglass fly rod for small stream use that I plan to use while fishing from the kayak on rivers like the Econ and Wekiva for panfish and bass. Paired with a Wulff Ambush 5weight shooting line, this is a great little combo for single hand Spey casting in tight quarters. I only need about half of the head out to load the rod enough for decent overhead casting as well.

I was itching to try the new fiberglass fly rod on shad so I left my 9ft Scott A3 5wt at home. I should have checked the weather again before I left, as high winds early in the day made it difficult to use this combo and I spent most of the day using the 6wt switch rod… which doesn’t necessarily hurt my feelings. I had pretty much given up on catching shad and was targeting panfish and bass when I hooked up with my first shad of the season on the two handed rod. Once I got a shad on the two hander, I of course wanted one on the new fiberglass rod and since the wind did finally die down later in the day, I decided to give it a go and quickly hooked up with a nice hickory shad. The fight was fantastic on the little 7 foot buggy whip, but I must say, I probably will not leave home again without the Scott. The extra two feet of rod is of some benefit when trying to clear brush behind you when false casting. The extra reach also helps in mending. That doesn’t necessarily mean I will leave the Featherlight at home though, as the fight of the hickory reminded me more of landing a fish with a 3wt than a 5wt… good fun!

This shad was caught on a #6 pink over white Kip Tailed Clouser.

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