The 2019 shad run in the Santee River and the Rediversion Canal has been a good one, and it’s still going strong. Capt. Joel Campbell (843-270-5545) of Charleston Gigging said the shad bite has typically slowed by this time of year. But a trip yesterday proved very fruitful for him.
“Typically by this time, the shad have slowed down and the herring are on fire. The herring are definitely here, but the shad are still biting too,” said Campbell, who calls shad the “redneck bonefish” for the way they fight and the acrobatics they often employ while tussling with an angler.
The Arrowhead boat landing in Saint Stephen gives anglers quick access to the shad fishing. Campbell motors upcurrent until he’s in sight of the train trestle that crosses the canal. Then he ties up to the reeds growing along the banks of the canal, and casts a Sabiki rig with a 2000-series spinning reel on a medium rod. He lets the rig drift downcurrent, then he slowly reels it back in.
“You have to keep contact with the bottom. If you’re not constantly scraping the bottom, then you’re not shad fishing,” he said.
And when a shad bites, Campbell suggests anglers fight the fish in a similar fashion to fighting a crappie. Shad have thin membranes on the sides of their mouths, much like crappie, and horsing them in when they’re hooked there will often result in a lost fish.
“You’ll lose your share of fish. That’s just the nature of shad fishing,” he said.
When Campbell isn’t shad fishing, he’s gigging flounder or catching redfish, sheepshead, or just about any other fish in the sea. Check him out at www.facebook.com/charlestongigging.
