Fishing Log

Fished 30 miles above Port Jervis yesterday (Monday) from 5pm to 7:15pm, with waders. Hooked 19, landed 14 and never went more than 10 minutes without a fish. Mostly roe and very energetic jumps from half of them. Slightly muddied water coming down from upstate made the crease at the edge of the current very easy to spot. That helped, and probably the high barometer also. Water temp 57, 1.75 feet over normal low flow. A really nice trip.

tough grind today, 6:30am to 6:00 PM. a few micro moves here and there and bigger moves when the wind blew us off anchor. I think I ended up in one of the more fishable areas given the brutal winds - it was "fishable" but often not very comfortable. Water level started to surge around 11:00am and ended a foot or more higher than the start. We scratched and clawed out 35 shad for the day, landing our best at 4.6 lbs but well short of the first place mark which I believe has a 5.2, and a 5.06 and a 5.00. As top 3... Regardless it looks like it will be the smallest entries in contest history. All the talk of the mythical 6 and 7 # fish remain just that - a mystery. 4.8's and 4.9's rounding out the top ten. I look forward to this every year, it's the best run fishing contest on earth. Think about the separation in fractions of a pound from 10th to 1st - never an issue. Kudos to Eric for keeping it honest and cheat free. Congrats to all the winners!

Few fish from shore today on darts before the wind picked up. River is warm low and warm. Also why is this board turning into a Reddit beta-male pissing match?

Congratulations Jack Harris on a spectacular day. 3 anglers caught 108 shad = 36 each. 12 hrs fishing = 3 each per hour or a fish every 20 minutes per man. Good on you guys.

Not a great day by any means but still a fine day. 9 Shad 3 big Fallfish and a bonus 18 inch walleye. Any day on the water is a good day.

Correction: Was one of nearly a dozen boats in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and it didn’t seem like anyone was getting any bites and I’d be interested to know if anyone south of us was getting hit at all

Anyone have any luck fishing directly midday, noontime? Or is that a poor time to try for shad? I'll be able to get out Sunday midday it looks like, from canoe!

Catch rates are getting better. 18 today and 1 nice Bass. They were eating the purple and black dart real good today.

Shad PSA: A lot of folks will be out fishing for the tournament in the coming days. That's fine, but please be respectful to these amazing fish. Today, I watched an angler drag a bleeding roe to shore that he let flop around on the rocks for long minutes while he searched for a scale. He eventually weighed it and determined it wasn't "in the money," so he vaguely asked if anyone wanted it and one no one responded. So he threw the now dead fish back in the river where it drifted away. If you are not prepared to keep a shad you killed, don't fish for them. It shows total disrespect for the resource. And if you want to weigh a fish and release it, be prepared to do it as quickly as possible by keeping it in the water and having your scale handy (they sell nets with built-in scales). There are lots of other ways to reduce shad mortality including debarbing hooks, using a rubber-meshed net, etc. I know I am in the minority, but shad are excellent eating so it's OK to take one home. If the bones freak you out, try pickling them -- easy and amazing. Or smoke them, put the fillets in a food processor and make a smoked fish dip. Incredible! Look, I know fishing is a blood sport and we all occasionally release bleeding shad (particularly when we fish spoons), but all of us can do better to conserve these fish for our grandkids. OK, I'm done preaching. Now go have fun.

Hooked 11 landed 9 tonight. This is my first year targeting shad from shore so I was wondering does anyone have an idea of when shad can be caught until from the water gap up to the NY border? Should be fishable until mid May or so? Thanks!

Water was low but still landed 75. Good fishing.

Finally broke double digits today with 11. Just about everyone was a big Roe. Just curious anyone else seeing some exceptionally large Roe this year. Missed a bunch of short strikes too.

Good push of fish moved through in the evening. Surprised to see small bucks already.

Fished Dingmans, boated 29. Mostly large roe. Water temp 56, water clear, no debris, but plenty of wind

Shad Harris, Thanks very much! Tight lines!

Kurt Miller - google bi-state shad contest. It’s in there somewhere. I made my own WORD doc to send in end of season.

Barryville ny fished for 45 minutes friday early afternoon not a bump i feel they are here but temps a little low will try again sunday

My first trip to Conowingo this year. Water temp 57* Fished below Deer Creek for an hour. Nothing and nobody was there. Birds still waiting for fish to arrive. Osprey not diving. will try again maybe Wednesday.

Started near the Rt. 84 bridge yesterday (Friday) fishing from the shoreline (left waders in the truck). Could not connect after an hour, so I moved upstream to another spot at 5pm, still fishing from the shoreline. Between 5 and 6:45pm went 6 for 7 losing the first one and landing the rest. I always "stand-up" the roe fish before releasing them so they don't fall on their side, as they sometimes do, and wait for them to swim away on their own power. The six I caught won't break any records, but ain't bad for shoreline fishing. Water up 6" over low flow, 51 degrees. Well said, No bs.

I can't agree with No BS enough. I have been following this blog for years. Shad Harris is a respectable person and does not deserve the criticism from an unknown author. We don't say things like that in my country. See you on the Delaware now that it's warming up

Based on pic I saw from a buddy today - Shad over 6lbs and dare I say “bigger” might be a possibility? Hope those fish made it north for my morning trip.

110 Hickories on Mattawoman Monday morning.

Shad flutter spoons 50 cents each. Call George (609) 977-8320.

Slow day. Managed 4. Water real clear and down some from two days ago.