Fishing Log

Does anyone know where to park and how to access Lambertville Wing Dam from NJ side? Thanks in advance!

If the site below had water temp I would click on it.

How do you tell the difference between a male and female shad?????

Please join me to help celebrate World Fish Migration Day on Saturday 4/21@1pm at the Delaware National Parks Visitors Ctr on Rt 209 on Bushkill Pa. I'll be presenting a educational seminar on American Shad and fishing for shad on the Delaware River. I will also run the film titled. "There in the River " on shad as well. Please bring the kids to this informative event. There will also be birds of prey, including eagles, hawks, etc from the local Raptor center as well. Hope to have a good turnout. Check the Delaware River National Park website for details on Facebook. Tight lines.,.Kevin

Fished today 1000-1400 and found a nice pocket full of fish at my feet most of the day. Pool was loaded up with fish however I only managed to hook (and land) one. Fish were so thick at times that they would end up snagged by mistake and thankfully come off immediately. I am a novice to shad fishing but is this normal? I threw everything in the box at them-shad darts of all sizes and colors, multiple flutter spoons, even went with panfish grubs, a herring spoon, and a sabiki rig at one point because I was running out of ideas and not catching fish. Is this normal to see fish stacked up like this that don't bite or do I still have some learning to do?

Fished New Hope Wednesday morning 6:45-10:30, went 5 for 9 with 2 big roe in the mix (1 hickory). Took 1.5 hr to get number 1. Once I figured out they were stacked 8ft from where I stood, not the 12-15 I was fishing, it got easier but still very slow compared to March '17 in similar conditions; I think the water temp is the difference this yr.

Great turnout for last night's DRSFA Shad Mtg in Bethlehem. We had a packed house and lots of good questions and feedback from the seminars we presented. Aways great to share tips and techniques on landing shad. Let's hope the weather patterns improve so we can get back on the shad action. Tight lines and see you on the river.' Kevin

How dirty is the Lehigh-Delaware confluence??

I live in Brookhaven. I'm used to fishing for largemouth and pickerel in south jersey where I'm originally from. Trying to get used to this change in fishing ecosystems and the lack there of pickerels. I Just found out about shad fishing last week and I gave it a try at the water works by the art museum in philly. Loved it. I would love to find out where else to go and fish them. Preferably what is near me (I.e John heinz, waterways towards brookhaven/chester, etc). Any info is appreciated. My cell is 6092217078. Feel free to shoot me a text, just let me know who you are and in what regards. I will fish primarily on shore but am considering purchasing a sit on top kayak. I work in the city, so anything on the Schuykill is awesome to here. Willing to fish with onyone and willing to compensate for guiding if need be. Thank you ALL!

josephmtree at yahoo dot com

I took a great picture of the conditions of the river at the Fireman's Eddy. It's 8.75 MB - too big for posting and I don't know how to reduce it. Oh well, suffice to say that the first 10 yards look like you could walk on all the debris out to the main flow. It was cool to watch the water level coming up, going 2 inches higher on the marker stick I'd jabbed in at the water line in the half hour or so I was there. Nobody is going to put a boat in today with all those tree trunks cannoning down! Whoowee! Now all I can do is wait and watch the gauges. >>>>> Linus, email me.

Joseph and Kevin, thank you so much for sharing the information! I’ll keep you posted when I try next time.

Anybody living or fishing the Delaware between Bushkill and Easton: Could you tell me the river conditions since this rain or does anyone know a web sight that can show live images of river conditions in these areas ( i.e. extremely high water, muddy, lots of debris, etc. ) ? Any information would be very helpful before I make the trek and possible waste gas and time. Thank you in advance!

PARKING AT PBURG RAMP FOR TRUCKS WITH BOAT TRAILERS ARE FREE TILL THE PARKING PERMITS COME IN ..THEN ITS 35 BUCKS FOR NON RESIDENTS...25 FOR RESIDENTS

Linus, Fishing near the Scudders Falls bridge is not available now due to the new bridge construction. Best area for shad fishing from shore will be the Lumberville area near the wing dam from the Bulls Island State Park on Rt 29. You can cast from shore and be near the channel here. Hope this helps. Kevin

Fished this morning 7:30 to 10 from shore in Washington Crossing area. Went 0 for 2 with no other bumps. Three other fishermen no action.

I’m new to shad fishing. Can anyone recommend some good spots for inshore fishing near Scudders Fall bridge? Thanks!

Shadharris, you were fishing near Deiter, who guides in Lambertville. He is a fixture in this area. He is a good resource in tthis section. I fish below in Yardley to intercept them before he gets into them. Try org_& blk spoons next time. They are my top producer. Glad you enjoyed our Middle Delaware

WaterGrampus is RIGHT - only way to handle shad from shore is to pin it against your WET waders with your WET hand. It immobilizes them, and if you can get them upside down even better but not required, it just happens to work out sometimes. If you want a picture wet hands, hold gently with two wet hands. If you just want a water pic gently lead to shore but do not put on rocks or dirt... Leave in water and quickly snap pic and let it go. Boat fishing - rubber nets only, not only do they minimize damage to fish, they avoid costly tangles in the net during a hot bite to slow you down. Nothing worse than 3 on at once and no net available because your dart or spoon is all tangled in the net with a buried barb.

Fished next to two guys yesterday fishing from shore in Buck's County who were really dialed in - must have landed 40 between them. They were great at catching -- but awful at releasing! PLEASE DO NOT GRAB SHAD BEHIND THE HEAD PINCHING DOWN ON THE GILL PLATE -- you will rupture the gills and kill the fish!! Best way to release a shad while wading is to brace the fish against your waders with one hand and remove the dart/spoon with the other keeping the fish in the water the entire time. Yes, shad wriggle around a lot, but this is the best way to release them unharmed! You can also guide them into shallow water until they are on their sides and twist the dart/spoon free, then turn them around and push them back into the current where they will swim away. Don't drag the fish on the shore where it will flop around and lose scales/slime. Either that or bring a RUBBER catch and release net. Again, do not remove the fish from the water -- there is no need. De-barb hooks, too. Though I don't believe it results in lost fish, for the sake of argument let's say it results in a 10 percent loss of shad you hook. That means the shore guys I saw yesterday would have landed 36 instead of 40. Not a big deal. Of course none of this matters if you are keeping shad. It's great to see the runs returning with larger fish this year. Let's respect and honor these amazing fish with a clean release that does as little harm as possible. THANKS!!

We fished near the Lambertville bridge, 1pm to 4:30 pm. Landed 15 lost 5 to 4lb.Water free of junk but not clear. Wayne

No luck for shad yesterday around Matamoras, or this afternoon around Zane Grey. I've only heard of a handful of hookups in the area over the last week. As I left Zane Grey, RPS was showing up to give it a try. Water Temperature by the shore was 52, but I'm sure the channel was a bit cooler.

Insane run of fish this morning. Fished 4 hours and put 69 in the net as well as 50 or 60 more we let flop off at the side of the boat. Started out with 6 poles between us,but with the shad hitting faster than you could put the rod in the holder we went down to 3 Crankbaits too keep from burning out. Having 4 and 5 shad at a time was to much too handle and felt like work. We only fished flat lines and cranks with spoons,color,depth of cranks and split shot size made no difference. If it wasn’t on the bottom you had a fish on in seconds.