shaddin freud (long TR)

for over 30 years i've lived near the tar river, in pitt county,
greenville, nc. the name of the river dates back centuries to the pine
forest pitch trade in this area. it's a long river that bleeds its brown
flow into the pamlico river, which goes to the pamlico sound.

http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ncflood/maps.html
http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/melody...iverbank12.jpg
http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/melody...owncommon3.jpg
http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/melody...iverbluff8.JPG


once an inland water highway frequented by commercial barges,
steamboats, and paddlewheels, the tar is becoming a backyard to
riverfront developments and recreation along its lower stretches.
still, there are spots of low wetlands secure from any growth except
cypress, tupelo poplar, birch, gum, deer, squirrel, turkey, racoon,
otter, beaver, duck, osprey, a few eagles...and fish.

i've rarely flirted with it because of the abundance of other waters
that i thought more productive, remote, serene. In the 60s, several of
us youthful idiots canoed it around the grimesland area (yeah, i know,
"tar", "pitt" "grime" aint a pretty image) to collect snakes - poisonous
and non-poisonous - that sunned in trees and on logs along the river. 20
years ago, i participated in a catfishing rodeo on the river and did a
bit of bass fishing in one of its tribs. 3 years ago, i launched my
gheenoe at the city town common and puttered about in february,
unexpectedly catching a large striped bass near a 4-lane concrete
bridge. still, it's never been of much interest to me as a fisherman.
i've ignored it, lured instead by the more pleasant mountain streams,
the bass in hyde county's backcountry impoundments, the speckled trout,
puppy drum and flounder in the sound and salt marshes, and, more
recently, the bigguns in offshore sal****er.

that changed yesterday. the tar will be among my annual fishing venues
from now on.

during the annual shad runs between late february and early april, jim
(my friend and fishing mentor) and i have focused our fishing on the
neuse river and the roanoke river. shad are a great game fish, even
though not difficult to catch once a productive seam is located. when
the water warms and the spawn is on, they attack a lure, leap, and fight
as well as any fish their size, imo. the roanoke, about 35 minutes to
the north, is world-renown and well-visited for shad and rock. the
neuse, especially its tribs, pitch kettle and contentnea, are also
popular for shad. these rivers are easier to navigate than the tar, and,
until yesterday, i thought more productive. i should have known better,
since i knew the far upriver stretch of the tar was the site of the
state white/american shad record. so, yesterday, jim and i decided to
give the tar a try. it was a good decision.

we launched at a local landing east of greenville and headed upstream,
stopping first at small creek entering the river's north side by the
remnants of an abandoned landing that was probably more than a century
old. the old wood poles used to construct the outer edge of the
landing, too small to be called pilings, had rooted and sprouted a
bansai form of cypress trunk and branches. we caught 10 or 15 healthy
shad in less than an hour. we were both a bit surprised...especially by
the size and fight of the fish. they were much gamier than the shad we
had been catching in the neuse tribs.

we are impatient fishermen. not necessarily impatient about the
catching, but always impatient in our surroundings. we like to move a
lot and to see what might be around the next bend or over the horizon.
the river is a bit more treacherous upstream of greenville, with
shallows suddenly appearing in its middle sections along with floating
and fallen timber and hull-jarring, propeller-bending snags. i'd not
been upstream of greenville before, so we idled along, finding the
deepest channels while sometime hitting bottom or a snag. we stopped
once at a deep hole by a railroad bridge, hooking a couple more before
picking up and moving again. all along the river at the few accessible
points on the banks were solitary fishermen, primarily
african-americans, though we did encounter a young mexican and his two
children at the railroad bridge. there were a lot of folks at the
greenville town common, doing the asshole-to-elbow fisherman's dance.
all seeking shad, some also hoping for catfish or striped bass. we saw
only 4 or 5 other boats during our travel upriver, west of greenville.

we finally settled into a spot at a bend in the river with a deep hole.
in about an hour or two, we caught more than 40 shad, hickory and a few
american. we probably lost that same number. they were healthy and
strong. jim caught 2 huge whites on his ultra-light spinning rig, and i
caught a couple on my light tackle, that made the drag sing on several
short runs. at times, the fish leap and shake their head like a tarpon,
and i had one come out of the water on the take. these fish were more
plentiful, more fun on the hook, stronger and bigger, than those we had
been catching in the neuse...and we were catching more "roe" shad than
bucks. i'll post a couple pics on abpf.

it was as fine a day of catching fish as any normal soul could hope for,
better than most would expect, and it certainly proved my error in
disparaging and neglecting the tar. shaddin-freud indeed...i oughta have
my id examined.

jeff

"Jeff Miller" wrote in message
news:0xfTf.35874$2c4.5740@dukeread11...
it was as fine a day of catching fish as any normal soul could hope for,
better than most would expect, and it certainly proved my error in
disparaging and neglecting the tar. shaddin-freud indeed...i oughta have
my id examined.

jeff

Nice jeff. Looks like a lot of fun.

Danl

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 11:20:13 -0500, Jeff Miller
wrote:

for over 30 years i've lived near the tar river, in pitt county,
greenville, nc.

snippage

Wonderful tr, jeff. Will they take a fly?

Dave

Dave LaCourse wrote:

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 11:20:13 -0500, Jeff Miller
wrote:


for over 30 years i've lived near the tar river, in pitt county,
greenville, nc.


snippage

Wonderful tr, jeff. Will they take a fly?

Dave






sure... they'll take anything flashy that passes above them. lots of
folks use deceivers. i rarely use a flyrod for anything other than
mountain trout, but there are plenty of flyrodders and the roanoke has a
group of guides specializing in flyfishing during the shad run.

jeff

Alas, I have been slain . . . by a pun!

I am but a shad of my former self.

"Jeff Miller" wrote in message
news:0xfTf.35874$2c4.5740@dukeread11... for over 30 years i've lived near
the tar river, in pitt county,
greenville, nc. the name of the river dates back centuries to the pine
forest pitch trade in this area. it's a long river that bleeds its brown
flow into the pamlico river, which goes to the pamlico sound.

McIntosh offers----nice report friend---don"t know if I will be able to join
you this spring for a shad fishery but plan to kayak on Black River this
weekend and throw a few darts
Anyone who enjoys John McPhee and wants to know all about shad will enjoy
his book- The Founding Fish
Wolfgang you would enjoy the chapter on Cooking Shad---Chop the ends off a
lemon, render it hexapartite

"Joe McIntosh" wrote in message
...


"Jeff Miller" wrote in message
news:0xfTf.35874$2c4.5740@dukeread11... for over 30 years i've lived near
the tar river, in pitt county,
greenville, nc. the name of the river dates back centuries to the pine
forest pitch trade in this area. it's a long river that bleeds its brown
flow into the pamlico river, which goes to the pamlico sound.

McIntosh offers----nice report friend---don"t know if I will be able to
join you this spring for a shad fishery but plan to kayak on Black River
this weekend and throw a few darts
Anyone who enjoys John McPhee and wants to know all about shad will enjoy
his book- The Founding Fish
Wolfgang you would enjoy the chapter on Cooking Shad---

I enjoyed "Coming Into the Country", started to get a bit restless in "Basin
and Range", and gave up on "The Control of Nature" in complete boredom.
I've got a copy of "Annals of the Former World" but have been hesitant to
start. I've been about THIS close to buying "The Founding Fish" a couple of
times.

Chop the ends off a lemon, render it hexapartite

O.k., that helps.

Thanks for the tip.

Wolfgang

On 3/20/06 10:20 AM, in article , "Wolfgang"
wrote:


"Joe McIntosh" wrote in message
...


"Jeff Miller" wrote in message
news:0xfTf.35874$2c4.5740@dukeread11... for over 30 years i've lived near
the tar river, in pitt county,
greenville, nc. the name of the river dates back centuries to the pine
forest pitch trade in this area. it's a long river that bleeds its brown
flow into the pamlico river, which goes to the pamlico sound.

McIntosh offers----nice report friend---don"t know if I will be able to
join you this spring for a shad fishery but plan to kayak on Black River
this weekend and throw a few darts
Anyone who enjoys John McPhee and wants to know all about shad will enjoy
his book- The Founding Fish
Wolfgang you would enjoy the chapter on Cooking Shad---

I enjoyed "Coming Into the Country", started to get a bit restless in "Basin
and Range", and gave up on "The Control of Nature" in complete boredom.
I've got a copy of "Annals of the Former World" but have been hesitant to
start. I've been about THIS close to buying "The Founding Fish" a couple of
times.

You should put "Encounters with the Archdruid" on the list.

You back to reading yet?

Bill

"William Claspy" wrote in message
...


You should put "Encounters with the Archdruid" on the list.

The list......yeah.......I remember that.

You back to reading yet?

Nah. It's kind of strange. I suppose everybody tries to imagine at one
time or another what it's like to be someone else. Well, for the last few
months I have been. It's been fun.

But I can feel the monkey crawling up my back. One day last week I found
myself at the keyboard, transcribing "Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book".....for
no discernible reason.

Wolfgang
help me.

Joe McIntosh wrote:
--don"t know if I will be able to join
you this spring for a shad fishery but plan to kayak on Black River this
weekend and throw a few darts
Anyone who enjoys John McPhee and wants to know all about shad will enjoy
his book- The Founding Fish
Wolfgang you would enjoy the chapter on Cooking Shad---Chop the ends off a
lemon, render it hexapartite



well, joe, if you happen this way, give me a call. it's been too long
since we've shared a meal or a drink or a fishing trip.

and, try a #13 pet brand spoon with yellow feather at the terminal end
rather than a dart. best lure i've found for shad.

mcphee's book was mainly about the white or american shad (alosa
sappidisima or sumthin like that) and not the hickory shad (alosa
mediocris)...the white is supposed to be the better tasting of the two.

jeff