>>673194I go through so many during the spring/summer season. the shad bite never dies down, and they get snagged like crazy, I think in 2015 I used almost over 100 darts. It makes for great fishing when striper bite is off, the tide is bad, or the weather is shit for striper.
I'm going to try using a few tomorrow for ice fishing, and maybe try to hit some perch with them.
When you do go and target shad here are some tips that I wish people gave me when using them.
Target the deepest channel in the river.
They cast like shit, so use real light line [4-6lbs] and a short ultralight rod,
wear some polarized glasses, and try to fish from a high bank, you can literally watch the shad swarm the dart.
keep your drag loose, you want this fish striping line off as it fights, tighten drag as you fight the fish, just be careful not to tear his lip, you will lose tons of them until you get the hang of landing them.
They are tasty, just be prepared to clean the bones [extremely hard it has over 300 bones] or pick the meat out around the bone, makes for a great fish salad. Smoking the fish will make the bones disolve. Vinegar is really good with this fish if it's smoked.
Always try different depths, until you hit the school, once you hit the shool you're in the money.
I attached a diagram on how to properly use the dart, I apologize if it's crude.
>>673198I don't listen to music when I fish. :)
