Anyone here ride in North Bay during Shad Fly season?

[Johnny5]

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I was just talking to my cousin who live in North Bay and he told me it's Shad Fly season again. If you've ever been there it's like a biblical plague like locusts, with literally thousands of them covering every inch of the roads, they are pretty big, kinda like grasshoppers. When you drive a car all you hear is the constant crunch of them under the wheels. I've never been there on a bike, that must be like hell... and probably too slippery to even ride plus they'd be constantly slamming your face shield (or worse if you have a halfy lol). Anyone here ride a bike there during it?

 

[rawr]

They are nasty, horrid creatures! I used to live in Caledonia where they also have an annual problem with them. They can be slippery if there are enough of them on the ground.
You definitely want a full face helmet, and even then I have had them get into my helmet.

Best to just avoid areas where they are.

Sent from my GT-I9100

 

[Wingboy]

The OPP used to close hwy 11 at the hill north of town because they were so slippery.They really have no nastiness in them.(they don't bite or sting).Point Pellee has a huge population in the spring as well.
I used to fish for whitefish in the spring up in Temagami with a flyrod.It was such easy pickings with a nymph stage imitation of the shad.(it's actually a "mayfly"). The schools of whitefish travel the sandbars slowly looking for the hatching insects,and an imitation pulled from the bottom to the surface only a few ft away is easy pickings.
Here's a pic from about 30 yrs ago from one of my trips to Kokoko Lake with a shad fly caught whitefish.
Just use a bit of caution if you are riding at dusk or dawn.

 

[Shaft]

I've never had a big problem with shads. They do get messy on the road but its like riding in the rain or in the fall with leaves on the ground. They are not giant sized June bugs, they are more of an exoskeleton so they don't explode on your helmet or anything as they are too light while riding.
Keep your lights off at night though or your house will look like its covered in fur in the morning lol and the city smells fishy for a few weeks...but the fishing is simply the best. Born n raised in North Bay

 

[imnothng]

They are nasty, horrid creatures! I used to live in Caledonia where they also have an annual problem with them. They can be slippery if there are enough of them on the ground.

Yeah I had a buddy that slipped on them on the bridge. Just had a nice little slid an roll in them. Haha. He had fun washing them out of his gear.

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