We heard a report of shad being caught this week in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and had to go investigate this early bite. We headed out of Verona which is at the mouth of the Sacramento and Feather River. Our morning started with a shallow troll for stripers which ended with no luck, as the bite has been tough in this stretch of river. We then motored back up above the Marina to setup anchor for shad. Watch out for the sandbars at the mouth of the Feather, the water is low.
Very quickly we hooked into our first fish of the day followed by a steady consistent bite. We ended up landing 14 fish, breaking off 1 and loosing a few. We had so many hits that it was difficult to keep track which provided lots of action to keep you on your toes.
We used dropper rigs with 1.5″ grubs and 4-6lb test Spiderwire Ultracast Ultimate Monofilament line and light and ultra light spinning rods. The best color was chartreuse followed up by champagne or pink. These fish average 1.5-2.5lbs and can grow up to 4lbs which provide an excellent fight on the light gear, not to mention you have the river current to fight against as well.
We had a couple doubles.
Landing two in the net at once provides its own challenge.
We were off the water by 12:15 to get on to weekend Easter Festivities with the family.
I am told that these fish smoked are excellent table fare. I have yet to confirm that the amount of work to prepare them is worth the effort but we will see as I am promised some of the final product.
This is a fun trip and I will be offering half day trips a very discounted rate to get kids in on this exciting action. Please contact me to set up your day on the water. This fun wont last long… http://www.xtreme-angling.com