Pacemaker Fishing Forum

If you missed the first report, hickory shad checked the calendar and started hitting at Fletcher’s Cove last Sunday, the first day of spring. This coming Sunday is forecasted to be more like winter. Adding insult to injury, those freshly painted rowboats will probably have to stay tied to the dock due to high water. That’s why many of us don’t like March.

The cold weather has already slowed the hickory bite to a trickle. If you haven’t prepared your tackle for the season, this weekend will be a good time to do it. We can’t help with that but we can offer some useful links to help you plan your shad outings:

• Fletcher’s Cove will not rent boats when the gage height at Little Falls is 5 feet or more. NOAA’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service is forecasting 5.2 feet by Saturday morning. Use this site all season to monitor the effects of storms upriver. NOAA

• Water temps dropped almost five degrees since Tuesday and hickories became scarce. (It’s about 50°F today.) Use the USGS Real-Time Water Data site for temperature and gage height information and watch conditions improve with sunny days in April. USGS

• Remember that both hickory and American shad are more active during moving tides. If you only have time for a quick trip to Fletcher’s Cove, check ahead with SaltwaterTides to make sure you catch a good tide. Click on the selection for “Chain Bridge, one mile below, D.C.” and choose your dates. Potomac Tides

Finally, don’t forget The Boathouse at Fletcher’s Cove website for these same links and fishing information. You can also reach Fletcher’s at 202-244-0461. They will officially open this weekend but it is not looking good for boat rentals. The Boathouse at Fletcher's Cove

By the way, “winter shad” is another name for gizzard shad in this area. I’m not sure how they got the name, but they love cold weather and high water.
Mark Binsted
NCC-TU