Fly Fishing Florida's St. John's River for American Shad. What you'll see and how to get started.
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- Florida’s St. Johns River is home to the southernmost American shad migration on the east coast of the United States. The annual shad migration, during the winter months, is eagerly anticipated by the local fly fishing community as well as by many visitors from out of town.
These anadromous fish, whose life cycle is remarkably similar to salmon and steelhead, run up the St. Johns to spawn. During the peak of the migration, typically January through March, they are often easy to find and present in large numbers. They often eat flies well and fight hard and are a lot of fun on a 5wt or 6wt fly rod.
The St. Johns River, the largest river in Florida, is a northward flowing river with a very low gradient. The upper part of the river, which is the are most conducive to catching shad on fly, changes dramatically with rainfall, with the river level often rising and falling several feet during each season.
This video provides an overview of the St Johns River, our local shad run, and how to target American shad on the river. Similar information with more detail is available on our blog at: orlandooutfitt.... For further information visit our website, at orlandooutfitt..., or get in touch with us at Orlando Outfitters.
Great video. Finally, fishing content that's practical, interesting, and not overhyped or ridden w/ product placements. Thanks.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. That is exactly what we were trying to accomplish.
Great stuff! Thanks for putting the work in!
Thanks! We're glad you enjoyed it.
Nice video. Very informative. I never knew the shad ran so far south. I’ve had fun fishing them in the Hudson River of New York in the past.
Thanks for your comment. We're glad you enjoyed the video. The St. Johns shad fishery is definitely unique! If you ever get the urge to come down and catch a shad in Florida, hit us up for a report.
Great job T.J., all true!
Great video, love Orlando Outfitters, use to go there all the time till we moved to Jacksonville
Thank you very much! Stop by and see us next time you get down to Orlando.
Looks like fun! no boat, so I guess I’m out of luck. Alas!
Having a boat does make it easier - but as long as we don't have a high water year you can still catch them on foot. Providing details on walk-in fishing was beyond the scope of our video. We sell a book by Luc Desjarlais titled "Wade Fly Fishing The Upper St. Johns River Basin for American Shad." Also, there are usually a couple of walk-in trips organized each season by the "Orlando Kayak Fishing Club" and "Shad on Fly," both of which have their own Facebook groups.
Dang that vid smacked dude fishing season is done here guess I will just have to watch all your videos to compromise.
Thanks! It was a lot of fun to put together, as you can imagine. Yeah, the timing of our shad season is a little different down here. Either later or earlier than the rest of the country depending on how you look at it.
An excellent and very informative video. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent video! Well produced!
Excellent video. Great narration and editing. Thanks!
Great video. I can’t wait!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. We're looking forward to getting out there as well.
what about gators in the water?..i live in california.. so i really dont know how far gators go north, and safe wading, around there
Alligators are in fresh and brackish water all over Florida. We give them space and they usually give us space. They are less active during cooler months when the shad are in but we see them almost every time we fish. We watch where we wade, generally don’t wade too deep, and are careful about landing and releasing fish. They can be more aggressive during mating season or if they have been fed. We just give them some space and move on. I don’t do as much wading in freshwater in the summer but will still wade faster water and shallow edges. When I take my small children fishing I prefer to be in a boat rather than on the shore or in the water.