How and where to catch Shad (Poor Mans Tarpon) in North Carolina & SC

How & Where to Catch Shad

My first experience with poor mans tarpon was on the Roanoke river at Weldon, NC. My in-laws live about 1 mile from the river so I naturally fish it a lot when I am there. My first Hickory Shad I caught in 1990 or so right there on the Roanoke.  Since then I have caught Hickories in the Tar, Neuse,  Fishing Creek, and the Cape Fear. I also have started to pursue American shad. I caught my first American in the Santee river at Wilsons landing in about 1995 or so. I was on a catfish trip and late one evening I took a trip to the landing and was surprised to see shad being caught. The Santee is probably the 2nd best place to catch Americans . I have also caught them in the Neuse, Cape Fear, Tar and 1 other place I will not mention.

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Shad Darts  https://amzn.to/3teEKvb

White Arkie Jigs  https://amzn.to/3tXt7YV

Chartreuse Arkie Jigs   https://amzn.to/36oEwZp

Bobby Garland Mo Glo 2''  https://amzn.to/3JiLiyr

Kalin 2'' Acid Rain Grub https://amzn.to/3IsyULn

Powerbait 2'' White Grubs  https://amzn.to/3tdpQFw

When do you fish for Hickory's? ......I have found the best months to fish for Hickories is Late February all of March and 2/3 of April . I have caught them as early as February 17th at a water temperature of 50 deg. and as late as April 20th at a temp of 60 deg. ****Note- 2018 I caught one on February the 11th making that the earliest I have caught them.*****  I have also caught them in water as cold as 45 deg but that was in March after a cold snap.

Best Places for Hickory's?

# 1 - Roanoke River- Weldon
Tar River-  Rocky Mount , Tarboro
Fishing creek
Neuse River- Ramp Hwy 70 Kinston
Contentnea creek near Grifton
Cape Fear river and the NE Cape Fear.
Cashie River- Windsor,NC
Maple Cypress Road- Craven Co,


When to fish for American's ?... I have found the best months to fish for American shad is Mid-march to early may. The Americans seen to run a little later and stay a little longer. I have seen two schools of Americans in June but I did not catch anything. I have caught them as early as March 10th(Santee River) and as late as mid-May.. Most of the Americans that I have caught have been in April and early May.

Best places for Americans?  ....

Tar River- Battle Park Rocky Mount, Tarboro
Neuse river- Ferry Bridge Ramp, Boat Ramp in Kinston

Contentnea Creek
Cape Fear- Lock # 1,
Pee Dee river- Below Blewett Falls Dam
Santee river- Wilson Landing


 I would say that the first dam going upstream is a given for shad fishing. Check out most any "first" dam on a river that feeds the Atlantic and it is probably going to have shad there in early spring.  Other not so subtle barriers will hold shad. Example is Weldon Falls on the Roanoke. Though lots of fish go up over the falls , many stay right below it.

Other spots to look at are any creek that enters the river. Shad will sometimes be either right below the entrance or right in it.


I am going to list some spots that are pretty much well known. Shad are fairly easy to catch at all of these.

***Note - you can click on the pictures to make them bigger and easier to see***

These spots are not in any order so keep scrolling if you dont see a spot that peeks your interest. 

 Wilson Dam on the Santee or the Re-diverson dam. 

Note. The Shad here will mostly go up whichever one of these has the most flow. If more water is being released from Wilson dam the fish will hang a right and go up the Santee. If more water is being released from the Re-Diversion Dam then they will head up the Re-Diversion Canal.  Here is where the Santee River and Canal Meet.   Whichever one has the most flow is where the most shad are going to go .

Below is the Re-diversion Dam and the canal below it

Note- no boats or fishing from the bank is allowed above the railroad bridge.

The Re-diversion Dam and Canal

Here is a close up of the canal.  

Last time we were there Boats or bank fishermen cannot go above the Bridge.

and park here

Below is the Lake Marion Dam (Wilson Dam)  and the Santee river below it. Also note that above the boat ramp where the river makes as hard 90 degree bend to the right is cabled off so you cannot fish past it or boat past it when headed up towards the dam.

Here is a close up of Wilson Landing .  I usually shad fish just up from the ramp. 

Blewett falls dam on the Pee Dee. Fish right at the Pump house along the railing. The current is so strong there that the traditional rig of two darts or jigs is not used. Usually they put a weight on the bottom and have jigs above the weight and let the rig sit in the water off of the rail and wait for a bite.

****NOTE  February 2022   The  railing at the Pumphouse is now closed.  They are doing repairs to the dam/building and are going to install a lift to get American Shad over the dam.   Word has it that they are going to build a pier just downstream for Shad fishermen so bank fishing maybe the only option now .  *********

 Lock #1 on the Cape Fear.

Milburnie Dam on the Neuse      **********DAM DEMOLISHED FALL 2017**************

This dam was demolished In the Fall of 2017 .   You can still catch shad here but time will tell how many go past the old Dam Site.  Back when I fished that area alot I used to catch more downstream of the put in just above the Island.

Falls Lake Dam     ***American Shad now do make it all the way up to The Falls lake Dam .    The best place to catch them is in the circled area from the North Bank.   Waders are needed here to reach the fish.

Where the Neuse and Little Rivers Meet

This spot is Just on the Edge of Goldsboro NC.    

You can reach where the 2 rivers meet 2 ways. 

1 is by boat and the other is by hiking. To reach this spot by Boat you will need to put in at The Goldsboro Boating access area and go up river aprox 3 miles.  The Little Rivers mouth is easy to see and usually in the Spring there is a mud line as the Little is a Blackwater river and the Neuse is usually muddy or off colored in the spring.

The way to access this area from the bank is to park in Old Waynesborough St park and hike in. This

is aprox a 1/2 mile hike.    Wear knee boots(always anywhere shad fishing) as the hike and banks maybe muddy

 Rocky Mt.  Mill dam on the Tar. You can bank fish from the Ramp to the next yellow pin.

2  spots east of Rocky Mount

This spot is called "The Pipe"    it is where the pipe from the  waste water  treatment plant dumps into the Tar River.  This is a good spot but limited room to cast .    Some Big American Shad are caught here. 

Just a little farther East on Swift Creek on Logboro Rd

This is a good spot as well but again there are limited spots depending on how many people are here.

 

Close up of the area fish at the "x" s

Weldon, NC River Falls Park
One of the  The best spots(the best probably) I know for catching shad is to stand just above the boat ramp at Weldon and usually  from March to mid April you can catch all you want there. You can catch them from the ramp up to the Falls

Downtown Windsor, NC on The Cashie River     is also a good spot for Hickories

Another good spot near Windsor is at the ramp on Hoggard Mill RD

The area here to fish is limited but can be really good at times.    The ramp area has a pier that you can fish from and a few bank spots.

Ramp area at Hwy 70 in Kinston on the Neuse. 

I have never fished that section but it usually is loaded with anglers which is actually a good sign for shad.  This is the Same as spot fishing at the beach. if you arrive at the pier and there are not many fishermen it is  Not a good sign!

Fisherman Shad fishing at the Hwy 70 Boat Ramp in Kinston

***added , I finally fished this spot in the spring of 2024 and parked at the ramp and Hiked upstream.

fish were caught and a fun time was had.

also they have marks on the bridge on how high some floods have been from Hurricaines.

 Neuse at Arrington Bridge just south Of Goldsboro.

 Bank Fishing on the North bank . Walk downstream to Stoney Creek but you will need minimum knee boots and possibly hip waders to cross a ditch to get to Stoney creek

4 spots on the Tar near Tarboro 

Spot # 1 is a small area but at times can have good fishing. 

Spot # 2 is good but has more bank access. This Spot  and the area around it is called by locals "The Shad Hole"  Coordinates  for this spot are as follows, 

35°53'39.0"N 77°31'55.2"W

 Also note that there is a boat ramp a couple hundred yards above this spot(TO THE RIGHT). 

Spot # 3 Shiloah Mills Public Fishing Area is a few miles North of Tarboro. There is a parking area up at the road and a access road that goes down towards the river. This is not a boat launch for boats on trailers as there is no ramp and the access road ends before the river but it is a good spot to put a canoe in.  There is also a pier here and some bank fishing for shad.

Spot #4 near Tarboro is at the Boat Ramp near Old Sparta.  You can fish from the boat Ramp  and upstream under the bridge and just above the bridge or you can fish the other side as there is a trail along the bank that goes up to Town Creek.  ****some of the land is now posted on one side***

also, here is a Video  of me motoring up Town Creek 

Maple Cypress Road In Craven County

This area has 3 spots to bank fish from .  The Pins note Bridges over creeks that parallel the river.   These 2 Bridge spots are really good when the river is high thus putting more current in them.  They are connected to the main river above the bridges so when the water is high it comes down these creeks.  The last pin is right at the ramp.      To fish the bridges just park before or after the bridge and fish off of the Bridge.  I will link a video of me doing just that below. 

Fishing from the South Bridge

                                       

What Gear to use ?. For Hickories I use light to med spinning with 6 or 8 lb line. For the bigger Americans I use nothing less that 10 lb test.


What lures?

Pictured above are Shad darts, shad spoons, twister tails, and 2 types of flies.
I rig these tandem with usually Darts and/or twister tails and the heaviest on the bottom. If I have a jig of 1/8 oz and 1 that is 1/16 I then put the heavier one on the bottom. I usually use one white and 1 chartreuse. I then change if they are hitting one color more than the other. The exception to this is if i use a spoon then the spoon goes on the bottom and the jig ahead of it by 12-18 inches.
Darts are good and sometimes you need them but in my experience you can get by with the twister tail jigs 90 percent of the time.....I buy these in 4 styles..pink head white body 1/16 oz and the same in 1/8 oz. I also buy pink head with chartreuse body in 1/8 and 1/16 oz. These are a lot cheaper than darts and spoons and 8 can be had for $1.98..you cant even buy 1 dart for that!......plus, I loose alot...if you are not losing some you are fishing too fast. Sometimes they want it fast and jerky but most of the time i fish slow and deep with subtle jerks....As to spoons, I rarely use them unless someone beside me is wearing me out then i will change!

Here is my video on how I tie my shad rig-

Here is a picture of a double of hickories caught on the Roanoke river with the pink headed jigs.

Here's my son on the Roanoke river...note..you can catch all you want at the ramp in Weldon. Also note my other fishing partner standing behind my son. Sassy the Boxer!

Look what a few years does in the life of  a young man. Spring 2015

This was a May 10th caught fish. 

When my target is American shad I use at least 10 lb line as if you get a double and have 8 lb line you will have your line snapped!!!!!...I learned this the hard way!!!!

Here is a picture of my first American Shad caught in the Santee river in South Carolina back in the early 1990's.

Here are some photos of some decent whites(Americans)

This is my Friend Rodney's first white shad!!!!!

Here is me with one on the same trip...these were caught in May on the Neuse River In Raleigh.

Below is an American I Caught in May in a tributary to the Neuse.

ADDED..There are 2 "must haves" when BANK fishing for  shad..
1. Is to have KNEE BOOTS! I cannot stress this enough,  Most creeks and rivers are going up and down and back again so the banks are usually muddy.   Hip boots are good and in some areas you may need chest waders, but I never leave the house without my knee boots during the shad run.

2. A RAPALA JIG BUSTER,  You will go though alot of 1/16 and 1/8 oz jigs and for this reason(plus they work) I buy the pink headed Arkie jigheads from Walmart. They sometimes have paint in the eye hole so the jigbuster gets the paint out fast. 

Shad fishing in North Carolina is some of the best fishing you will ever do.  I hope this helps someone and if you get the bug to go send me a line this spring.......Mack.


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