by Dennis Scholl

The American shad is a heavyweight among freshwater fish, a bruiser that, pound for pound, can outslug any trout or bass. It hits a lure with wrist-jolting force, makes gear-jamming runs, and rarely concedes a battle even when it's whipped.

A fish like that deserves respect, but surprisingly doesn't require special equipment to be caught. Shad can be taken with spinning gear, fly rods or even bait-casting equipment. The only prerequisite in choosing a weapon for shad fishing is not to pick something that's too stout; shad are notoriously soft-mouthed, and if you don't have proper "feel" during the fight, there's a good chance you and your catch will part company.

That's one of the reasons why many shad fishermen are switching to ultralight rods, which run the gamut from 10- and 11-foot "noodle" rods to tiny 4-foot sticks that seem more appropriate for farmpond fishing. If handled properly and used in suitable conditions, however, ultralight rods are capable of world-class feats.

Like anything else, there are times to use ultralight equipment and times not to use it. Because ultralight rods don't have much backbone, they're not good choices for fast-water fishing; they simply don't provide the leverage that's necessary to control a shad in heavy water. In slower water, however, an ultralight rod is a fine choice. A fish can make all the runs it wants; all you need do is hang on for the ride.

Many anglers think of ultralight rods in terms of the 5- to 5 1/2-foot factory rods found at most sporting goods stores. But there's a spectrum of other options. Rod-building component companies offer fiberglass, S-glass, graphite and boron blanks in half-foot increments from 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 feet. It's the diameter and weight of a rod blank that makes it ultralight, not its length.

A noodle rod is the extreme example of this genre of rod. They're longer than most fly rods, but have the diameter and taper of a buggywhip. Noodle rods flex so much during a fight that they absorb nearly all the pressure, sparing the line from reaching its breaking point. Thus they are particularly suited for use with light monofilament. Noodle rods became popular in the Great Lakes region in the 1970s among fishermen who enjoyed catching big steelhead trout on 2- and 4-pound monofilament. The rod's popularity among Delaware River shad fishermen is growing, not only because they allow 7- and 8-pound shad to be caught on light line, but also because they'll cast a 1/4-ounce shad dart a country mile.

The noodle rod also sums up the appeal of all ultralight rods: they're fun, plain and simple.

I think the best example of someone having fun with an ultralight rod was when Dick French of Dale Clemens Custom Tackle in Wescosville, Pa., joined me several years ago for a day of shad fishing near Phillipsburg. French brought along an ultralight rod that was constructed from the tip section of a fly rod. The darn thing was only 4 feet long, had a short cork handle, slip rings for a reel seat, three silicon carbide (SIC) guides and an SIC tip-top. It was the lightest piece of spinning equipment I had seen, but French assured me it was capable of handling any shad the Delaware had to offer.

I was skeptical, but that converted tip section worked as good as any rod we had with us. The outfit was balanced with a small Lew's Speed Spool reel that was filled with 4-pound mono. Using 1/16th-ounce shad darts, Dick hooked about 7 or 8 shad, landing most of them. I did about the same using a 7-foot medium-light rod and 6-pound test. After that experience, I never doubted an ultralight rod's capabilities again.

Of course the man using the rod had something to do with its success. French was an experienced fisherman who knew how to play shad. He allowed the fish to run when they wanted, gaining line only when they tired or approached our boat. He never horsed any of the fish, a cardinal sin of shad fishing. The membrane on the sides of a shad's mouth is paper thin, nearly transparent; it's easily torn if too

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