Wonder if the warmer weather we are having will get the run started earlier this year?? I know last year we got on them in late January into mid April.
Last year was a good shad year for me and my crew,I can’t wait to fry up a skillet of fresh roe! I’m not sure if the warm weather helps but I think the high water in Santee river will make for a good year.In other words,the more water turned loose at arrowhead the better the shad run will be.Maybe the gill nets won’t get too many.Looking forward to your early reports because I usually don’t go until they start running good.
i think both temp and flow should be helpful this year, agree with all of the above.
i know a couple folks who usually get the itch by mid-january and go try, they usually find at least a few.
The water dropped to 59 degrees early this year, which is supposed to be the temp the shad like to come in at, so I predict a early run this year. The Santee gets more natural water flow and with the high amounts of rain recently I also predict the Santee systems getting them thicker and before the Cooper. I’ve heard that the biggest roe shad show up early in smaller schools before the main mass gets here and that the smaller bucks stay later in the season. I know I saw some videos and read some info of the canal levels being high and pumping lots of water. If you know then that means the big crappie should be at one of the spots.
We got lots of big roe shad late in the season. Bucks were the early bite.
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Opposite for me. All the shad I caught at the end were spawned out. I caught some around 5#s early on.
Where were you catching these spawned out shad? I drifted gill nets on the Edisto for years and the bucks showed up first.
Exactly. It usually bucks first. The roe shad we got last year were huge.
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Saw Anglers posted that they’ve been catching them this week. Think I’ll go this weekend & try.
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Let us know how it goes
There wasn’t much action in the Tail Race last year, not pulling much water. I wonder if that will change this year?
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha 250
The tailrace is better when we are in drought years from what I was told. When we have good rain fall the Santee’s flow is stronger and makes for better shad fishing. It should be a good year for a early season because we had temps drop early this winter.
It’s hard to say LE, I wish tailrace would return to its former heyday,then the shad fleet would be a little more spread out.Do you remember when they were repairing the locks during shad season?Man did we catch them that year! I remember catching plenty of shad in the canal between the lakes back in those days also.Can’t help but think it’s because of lack of flow into the Cooper .Seems like the fishing for other species of freshwater fish has suffered in the east branch also.
" Man did we catch them that year! "
Yep. The Wife and I had three kids with us one day ( my son and two of his friends ) and they caught over 400 Shad that day. Fish on every cast. 
Anyone been this past week?? Debating going sunday??
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Had a dear friend, Mr. J.V. Judy, had a two home residence one being on the Edisto up from Grover off the Wire road. He told me many stories about Gill netting Shad. Then they just quit catching them. He always blamed the logging and building activities causing the deep holes in the river to silt in. 
I’ve fished many trips with him and he still had some deep holes but showed me many areas that used to be deep sections of the river … no more. He did put me on a couple of Rock Fish that I never knew were in the upper Edisto. Live minnows or a rebel retrieved very fast. He also made some super Wine and taught me how to do it. Just had to watch him, he would “fortify” some with vodka.
Hope all you Shad enthusiasts have a great season! Ya’ll eat the row and I’ll eat the bacon.
I remember some of them Judy boys from up around Cowtail,SC.No doubt,they knew that river as well as anyone. I always fished between 17 and 17A.Did you and your pap plant peas yet?Mine is already coming up . I’m gonna get some more oysters before I try the shad.
Sman you talking about the jacksonboro or Blake area, I’m familiar with the jacksonboro area but not the blake area. Goodhope, Jericho, wiltown and 3 other more secret landings that I go out at. Those areas you got to watch your car and carry a weapon. Never heard anything about shad in those areas, I’ve seen a giant sturgeon in the 10ft range once so I know there’s is potential dinosaurs there. You could probably catch the record mudfish in that area too, it’s full of them.
You got that right 40,I caught a 16lb mudfish on a jiggerpole there years ago.
Jiggerpole. Dam