1st Shad Caught in the Delaware

[Duff]

Picked up a new 8wt for shad and stripers in the lower Del. Looks like it's starting....

http://www.drsfa.org/fishin14.html

 

[afishinado]

Nice job!...spring is here....you look really cold though... :-o

 

[codym21]

cant wait to try shad on the fly this year
any recommended flies? Ive been tying small clousers in pink/white and red/white

 

[Blake]

How high do they run on the Delaware? I'll be over there in two weeks and wanna try hooking up on one.

 

[SBecker]

They run all the way up through the West Branch and East Branch.

 

[Blake]

Perfect! Thts where I'm going to be for hell or high water.Thanks! Awesome to see some being caught.

 

[addictedangler]

They will not be up that far in two weeks.

 

[addictedangler]

They will not be up that far in two weeks.

 

[SBecker]

Correct

 

[marcq]

the best place to catch them is bellow dams. they stack up and usually spawn around those areas. its almost like shooting fish in a barrel its that easy.

 

[sandfly]

cody1
check out the article I wrote on fly fishing for shad on my website in the tying section.

Marcq,
There are no dams in the Delaware for them to stack, just pick an area with a narrow spot where they move through, as in wing dams (not a true dam) or near power plants, etc. an 8 wt. with lead core lines will get you down to them early in the season.

small buck shad are known to come up in feb. - march, not old enough to spawn yet.
Nice fish duff !

 

[Chaz]

I'm surprised somewhat at what I think is early considering how the weather's been so cold. Could the river be 50 degrees already?
edit: 42 degrees at Trenton.

 

[RCFetter]

There's a shad festival in New Hope late April but it really has nothing to do with fishing.

 

[afishinado]

Chaz wrote:
I'm surprised somewhat at what I think is early considering how the weather's been so cold. Could the river be 50 degrees already?
edit: 42 degrees at Trenton.

True. I really wouldn't get too excited. The run usually starts on the lower part of the D when the temps hit 50*. The main part of the run progresses upstream in the following weeks.

The link to the DRSFA site in the OP gives a lot of info about when where, how and why > they are fun to catch.

 

[marcq]

i usually don't start getting into good numbers of fish in the schuylkill till the water is around 55. it seems to be the golden number. not sure if it true for the Delaware but for the skuke the best time to target them is at low tide that is if you are in a tidal area. its about an two hour window of good fishing. tide goes out fish are biting the bite tappers off when the tide slacks up then picks up when in comes in. this is also right at the bottom of the dam in Fairmount park.

 

[krayfish]

Most of the shad run up the D and bust a right at Hancock. Aka, head up the east branch. Some go upper east and some run up the Beaverkill. You will find very few in the west. I've seen big schools up above Corbett on the upper east. If you want to target them running in, the month of May is a good time to look between long eddy and the town of east branch. Nymphs or micro jig flies in flashy / bright colors will work. If you wait until post spawn, they respond better to dries and the water is typically much lower. The first 2 weeks of June would be a good time to fish white wulffs or little poppers for them on the main stem between Lordville and Damascus. It's also a good way to catch 17"-20" chubs. :-D

 

[codym21]

Thanks sandfly enjoyed the article

 

[Chaz]

I'm planning on going out for shad this year. I figure around May 1 will be the peak.

 

[Mike]

the peak around Riegelsville, Bucks Co usually occurs throughout the period from Apr 13 through Apr 24 or thereabouts. The question becomes whether or not you can get at them. the limiting factor is often high flow at that time, so my advice is to not squander any fishable flow conditions that might occur then. sometimes you just have to drop everything and go in order to catch the window of success.

 

[sandfly]

Mike,
That's where a shooting head and lead core come in.

good place is behind the rest stop on rt. 17 in Ny. always held shad there.
After the spawn they are not that feisty and are easy to land compared to a fresh run shad which can put you into your backing.