Shad - St. Mullins - Tips?

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#1 Post by **2Poc** » Wed May 17, 2006 8:55 am

Thinking of heading down to St. Mullins in Carlow to try for some Shad
(just for the experience of catching a new species.)

I notice that most of them are caught on tasmanian devils each year so I'll bring my light spinning gear. Might also bring the 7wt fly rod too just in case.

Does anybody else fish for Shad?
Any tips/advice?
Any idea re: whether a permit is required to fish this area of the Barrow?
Planning on heading down early next month - will they still be around then?

Thanks in advance,
Patrick.

#2 Post by **Seaniebo** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:48 am

Hows it going Patrick. I go down after them every year. You dont need a licence to fish for the shad, only if your going after salmon/sea trout. A blue and silver tasmanian devil is the best lure although on any given day other colours will work better, just find blue and silver most consistent myself. It might be a bit late next month, was down a couple of weeks ago and they were already around. Had 2 specimens. HTH

Liamo · #3 Post by **Liamo** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:02 am

Hi 2Poc,

Apparently from what I was told last year it's the first set of springs in May that contains the main run of fish.

Last year all they were taking when I went down were blue & silver taz's. Incredible, I fished right next to guys all day long with every other colour imaginable and never got so much as a nibble. The only colour I didn't have - blue and silver..... or maybe I'm just a crap angler and don't want to admit it!

They're generally right along the opposite bank of the river and a good cast is required to reach the fish. It's tidal and the guys last year seemed to think the flood was the best

Liam

#4 Post by **Cooke** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:30 am

I've been down a couple of times over the last week. The blue and silver is working but not all the time. The fishing is dictated by the amount of rainwater entering the river as St Mullins floods and colours quickly and the theory is that the fine gill rakers on the shad are irritated by the sediment in the water. We caught mostly small male fish though we had big fish throw the hook as shad are wont to do. Make sure you change the trebles that come supplied on the Tasmanian Devils as they are not up to the job. I use Owner Stingers and also like to fish the lure off the mount sliding freely on the line to a small swivel about ten inches up. Use 6lb line and a good cast to reach the deeper pools of the far bank. Retrieve slowly and the fish will follow the lure across the river. The big tides are early and late this year so fish might be in the river up to the end of the month but the rain will effect sport. Shad are great and often spectacular fighters and you can expect to loose a fair proportion of those hooked. Also, don't fish here if you have a fear of crowds!

#5 Post by **2Poc** » Wed May 17, 2006 11:11 am

Cheers for the advise guys.

Not a fan of crowds but would hope that you wouldnt have the same class
of gobshite you tend to get during Mackeral season so won't let it put me
off too much.

Might try & head down on Sunday - is it a long trek from Dublin?
Would I avoid the worst of the crowds if I headed down at dawn?

Cooke - Do you mean you just pass the line through the body of the lure
then tie a treble on the end?
I have a light berkley ssg 8' spinning rod that I use for trout on the
tolka or I have a 9' wychwood that would be suitable for salmon/pike spinning.
Which would be more suitable?

Sorry for all the questions & thanks again for your input.
-Patrick.

#6 Post by **darryl** » Wed May 17, 2006 11:22 am

I WROTE AN ARTICLE FOR IRSH ANGLER ON THE SHAD IN THE BARROW IF YOU CAN GET A BACK ISSUE IT TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LITTLE BUGGERS THEY CAN BE A REAL CHALLANGE TO KEEP ON THE HOOK. BEST FISHED ON BIG SPRINGS NEXT WEEK WOULD BE BETTER AND THE TAS IS YOUR BEST BET ON LURES AND WHEN YOU HOOK ONE DONT MESS ABOUT GET IT IN QUICK OR THEY SHAKE THE HOOK....BEST OF LUCK.

#7 Post by **corbyeire** » Wed May 17, 2006 11:34 am

a mate was down that way and caught 5 yesterday 8 pound line on the devils - dont know what type though

will find out

#8 Post by **corbyeire** » Wed May 17, 2006 12:33 pm

yea it was blue and silver tas

last night they got a trout tiddler and again this moring a blank - too much water in the river, flooding a bit

#9 Post by **2Poc** » Wed May 17, 2006 12:39 pm

Cheers guys.
Think I have all of the back issues of Irish Angler, will do a bit of digging tonight to see if I can find that one.

-Patrick.

#10 Post by **Cooke** » Wed May 17, 2006 12:41 pm

Use a small bead either side of the lure and connect the treble either via a split link or tied direct. You may want to experiment to see which works best for you in cutting down fish losses. It is advisable to get down early and it is about a two hour drive from Dublin. Remember the river is tidal - as a very rough quide, for low water in St Mullins add 2 hours to the high water in Dublin and vice versa. If you are spinning slowly at low water you can loose lures as some of the pegs have snags close to both banks.

#11 Post by **corbyeire** » Wed May 17, 2006 1:21 pm

thats what the lads were doing - tying the trebel direct

#12 Post by **blaker** » Fri May 19, 2006 8:55 am

I've fished st mullins many times for shad and will do so again next week. I don't think however that a species such as this should be treated as it is by the Specimen Committee. For a number of reasons;
1: Its very much under pressure
2; Skill levels required to catch one are not necessarilly as high as, say, a specimen bass (to an extent(!) its fish in a barrell time.

Just my two cents. Seems to me that any fish caught in St Mullins at this time of year, that looks like a thwaite shad is, most probably, a thwaite shad which surely removes the need to kill and post the fish to Dublin?

#13 Post by **Seaniebo** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:58 am

Fully agree blaker.

#14 Post by **blaker** » Fri May 19, 2006 12:10 pm

I'm not for one second saying we should stop fishing for them or even that they should be removed from the specimen list necessarilly.

The shad is unique in that its only caught in the month of may and basically only in 100 yards of water. There is a "community" where some anglers almost pitch tent for the month. Surely it would make sense to give one of these guys a certified scales on a voluntary basis and remove the need to kill what is a very rare fish.

I know theres pitfalls to the above but surely its basically workable?

#15 Post by **corbyeire** » Fri May 19, 2006 12:19 pm

i totally agree blaker - what is the point in it all really if its so rare relatively

#16 Post by **Cooke** » Fri May 19, 2006 12:41 pm

I have had this conversation with the ISFC on numerous occassions. The scientific view is that at least one of the shad present in the river (not necessarily rod caught) over the years was an Allis Shad and not a Twaite. Therefore, they need the body to be certain from a scientific viewpoint. The vital difference is in the gill-rakers and apparently it is easy to distinguish if you know what you are looking for. I asked the scientists if an appropriate macro photograph would be suitable and the answer was uncommittal. If I get a specimen, I intend to photo the fish and rakers and submit a claim. I suggest other anglers do the same if they intend to submit a claim. The ISFC outlook does seem to be changing in response to the input of anglers and certainly they have stated that photographical evidence will be accepted if it is deemed conclusive.

#17 Post by **blaker** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:27 pm

Good to hear about the above moves towards photographic ID. Makes buckets of sense. A little perturbed to hear that a single rogue allis is the reason behind the current policy though!
I fully understand why the ISFC have the current policy and I feel they do stirling work. If they are now also making moves to address the odd anomalous rule then all the better.