Shad - St Mullins 24/04/12

People: Myself, Rob & Gav

Duration:about 3 hours

Tide: low up

Weather: Calm before the storm

Bait: Tasmanian Devils

Rigs: Spinning

Results: A few fish, Hopefully 2 specimens and 2 PB's

Report
With some heavy weather looming over the country and a serious case of Dry line, myself and the lads were looking for some fishing... Any fishing! Just a few hours out to shake the dry line was all that was needed. After a quick chat we decided that we would head to St Mullins after work and try for some Shad. It was a little early, but there had been some bid tides in the days previous so there was hope that maybe some of the Shad had started to run the river.

I managed to get to the river about 15 minutes before the lads, so I got the waders on and had a cast. The first cast in St Mullins is always something special. The anticipation in the air, will the fish be there?, will there be nothing?. It all runs through the mind before you start the wind of the reel. Luckily for me I experienced that hit from the "Baby Tarpon" on the first wind... I could feel the silly smile on my own face as I returned the shad to the water. First one since last year.

The lads arrived a few minutes later and I let them know that there was at least one fish out there. We fished on for a few hours with the usual criac, banter and plenty of slagging. Time flies when your having this much fun and even though it was a very short trip we all caught a few fish. Myself and Rob managed a PB each so we were chuffed to bits as well. Rob's fish weighed in at 1.22kg and mine was 1.26kg. It felt like we had only just started but the light was fading and it was time to hit the road home...

St Mullins is such a beautiful place to visit. In the words of Arnie, "I'll be back"

We were very lucky. The rest of the week brought wind and rain and very difficult fishing conditions. I'm glad I got the dry line sorted for a few days anyway

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Shad are such beautiful fish, they fight hard and if your lucky they'll put on an aerobatic display on the way in as well. They must be the best fun on light tackle that there is in Ireland. They are also endangered and there are very few rivers left in Europe that they run to spawn. They are on the last leg of the journey, similar to Salmon. Please give them a chance. They are not a hardy fish, so unhook them as best as you can and try to keep them in the water for a period before you weight & release them. I have often found that if you release them lightly they can sulk on the bottom and sometimes go belly up. I have found that a GENTLE throw, head first back into the river will kick them back into action. Just a foot or two over the water and a little lob, normally does the trick.

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Great stuff I keep telling myself I must get a run down that way and try my luck...

lovely fish there mac. well done man

Well done boys!! Great read and lovely pictures.

What great fish, you lucky buggers to have them in your area. I'm off tomorrow to cath some doggies, I bet you are as jelous as hell!!

Nice one Mac now i really cant wait to get down again..
Fingers crossed the speci`s aren`t hybrids like mine was last year

great to here they are starting to show well done lads nice fishing the weather put pay to our planed trip down this week so i will be down soon

great pics lads

hi lads how long do the shad run for?would love to have a go!

Very nice fish and we will be heading down that way very soon

hi lads how long do the shad run for?would love to have a go!

you will get them the whole month of may

Well done, lovely fish.


Its on my list for this year, is ther any permit /license requirements for that stretch of water ?

well done,sounds like a good fight'n fish

Cheers lads.

Lucky shi* Mac! Nice to be able to go shad fishing after work

Great report, would love a bash at the shad myself, maybe one of these days.

great stuff. thats a beutiful looking setting there. very nice shad, nice fishin!