The winter shad run on the St. Johns River kicked into gear over the weekend, with the best action around the Oveido area. Every winter the shad school up in portions of the St. Johns River East of Orlando near Sanford with the main concentration from Lake Harney south to US 520. Fly and light tackle anglers target them with small brightly colored jigs and weighted flies.

In Florida, the both hickory and American Shad move into the St. Johns River starting around mid-October, and push their way upstream towards the river’s headwaters near Mims, Florida where they spawn, usually during the months of February and March. Anglers generally start fishing for shad in these areas starting in January, and the little spat of cool weather this past week in Central Florida kicked the shad bite into gear.

Right now, the fish have been near St Road 46 at Lee’s crossing, especially near the mouth of the Econolohatchi River (Econ for short) where it empties into the St. Johns River. The areas near the bridge have produced up to two dozen shad per angler, along with good catches of black crappie and even some striped bass. There have also been fish spread out near Mullet Lake.

Shad are a schooling fish that migrate up the river in tight groups, but can be seen flipping or ringing on the surface when in large concentrations. A typical day on the water is met with action when the schools are located, followed by periods of inactivity as a school moves on or the anglers drift away from the concentration of fish.

They tend to feed near the bottom or deep in the water column, although most of the river areas where they concentrate are not deeper than six or eight feet. Recommended tackle are a 4 or 5 weight fly rod or 4 to 8 pound spinning tackle and 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jigs or weighted flies.

Look for the shad action to pick up over the next couple of weeks, before reaching its peak at the end of February and early March.