Fishing Log

River at tri state monument Muddy, high, fast Needs two more days at best

If the Delaware is all hopped up and running like chocolate, is the Lehigh maybe worth trying? I picture it as less likely to be mucky, but I don't know it well at all, myself.

River herring were a problem yesterday. Fishing in the lower river I couldn't get through them to find any shad. They hit both smaller and larger darts I had to give up.

River is blown out for a few days.....Stage 10.2.....temp 59.....Upper river creating might be fishable by Fri or Sat...

Since there will be limited fishing in the near future due to river conditions, I will give yesterdays report. Fished Milford from 2pm to 630pm. Temp 56.5, little wind, water clarity fair, river snot. Anchored at choke point in 10 feet of water. Caught 5. Fish finder showed hundreds of fish traveling north.

The river at Berryville went up 3 1/2 feet over night. They had 3" of rain up in Wayne county last night.

Phil I always crush the barbs on my hooks I usually don't have a problem. I know by the feel that the dart was hitting fish but they were not biting it. Anyway I put on all new darts and leaders last night and will give it another try tonight.

PA fish comm. 2012 schuyllkill study. wish it was more current. https://pfbc.pa.gov/images/reports/2012bio/6x07_09schu.pdf

Another slow day. Fished Bushkill today could only manage 2.

Mike, I don't know that shad have reached as far upstream as the Black Rock dam, but stripers have been caught there by people I know. I don't know anybody who's tried to catch them above the Flat Rock Dam. WG has caught them there, though. My guess is that they have made it to Phoenixville, just not in numbers large enough to register.

Joseph C. do you know how far the shad migrate up the Schuylkill? Are they coming as far as Reading?

Fishing was very good on the Schuylkill yesterday evening. I fished from almost 5PM and was walking out at 7PM. 4 landed on my first 4 casts and 6 for 10 before it settled into a more reasonable percentage. Early on it was about 50 / 50 Hickories and American shad, then the Hickories tapered off to 1 in 10 or so. I have no idea how many I ended up with, but it was for sure my best outing of the year. I met a guy who had just moved to the city from Pittsburgh and had never caught a shad. He was using a fly rod but had had no joy and no confidence in his tactics. After I lent him a dart rig he finally hooked up with a fish that pulled like hell and he was in heaven until he saw it was a big catfish. He finally did get his first shad on his spinning gear. I can't remember his name - sorry guy! (It's all those concussions I enjoyed as a youth that have left swiss cheese in my head.)

Another slow day above Smithfield beach. Caught 3 in 2 hrs. But 1 was my personal best. About 25 inches, 5 to 6 lbs.

River on the rise due to reservoir releases.....5.2.....temp 59.....lots of debris in the river....stay away from plugs and dipsy divers.....revert to old school flat lines and jigging......clean lines often.....fish are there....

Dennis. No disrespect but shad are the most ill tasting fish that swim. There is no method of preparation to make them edible. You know the old joke. Cook them on a plank. When done throw the shad away and eat the plank. No joke. That being said. All the doomsday predictions for a bad run, I gotta agree. Fished Milford last Tuesday. 4 hours, not a bump. Tried every trick I know. Still scratching my head.

JohnnyK, If you can catch them from shore with spin gear, just try to make the lure do the same thing. I fish Easton below the Lehigh. You need to pick your days when the fish are still there but fisherfolks are not thick. I use a 7wt. type III shooting head, you don't need long casts, cast straight across or a little upstream and mend to let it sink some. Swing it to the edge and jig it back. On a few days I have used small darts also. If you want numbers a spin rod is the tool to use. Keep an eye out as I have run into several fly fishers there. And, "if you are fishing your spin rod, you can't catch them on your fly rod". Keep trying.

20+ yrs since I shad fished. Setup in Easton from the boat above free bridge. Only 1 shad on a flatline dart. Was a guests first shad. That's the best part of the story. Lots of junk in the River. There were some fish being caught by all but generally slow above and below from what I seen.

Mike - Vial fish? OMG, that's blasphemy. I honestly don't think you ever ate them properly prepared. They are excellent when made right.

Hey Shadspoon, I’ve been trying to catch my first Shad on a fly rod and was curious what your technique is with the spoon. The usual cross stream cast and swing? Thanks for any tips.

WG, Sorry I never responded. My Doctor got "happy" with his knife and I am sidelined until June, when I will go to Maine. My total, below Conowingo this year was that one hickory. Never got to the Delaware. Last year I did not fish. Not many seasons left but I sure hope I have a few. Way back when... You could catch 100+ hickories in a day. Kept 3 rods rigged, a spoon, dart and rubber. If I didn't get a hit a change is all that was needed. Hooked up with Peter (Woofish) and he set me up making spoons. All I use these days is a fly rod with spoons and fish down at Rock Run. I sure hope to be there next year! Mostly hickories there but low water days I could wade out to a hole that always has a few whites. Pete

While I also despise the jet skis, I am pretty sure they don't have any impact on spawning, since the fish spawn primarily after dark. Also, it might be a good idea to keep your political thoughts regarding new green deal and liars off this board. It is a fishing site, after all; no need to stir up politics. Plenty of other places to do that. But again, I hate jet skis, too.

Fished lambertville yesterday afternoon/evening One hit. One boat had for. Temp 60. Up 10 from Saturday The bad news jet skis. Don’t know why these things are aloud on the River. Where’s the green new deal liers. The ski create a lot of wake eroded shorelines damage docks and vessels tied up to them. Noise pollution is through the roof. They swamp the the crew teams the are “oh wait a minute “actually being green. The fish are soon going to spawn and numbers are low pretty sure jet skis affect spawning.

Wednesday April 28th - fished the gap and caught 1 buck in about 4 hours- from 11:15 am - 3:15pm- off and on about 6 other fisherman in same area and no one had anything- all it takes is one fish and the day is a total success- fishing with eagles - nothing better.

Fished Zane Grey from shore tonight 4 - 7:30 no shad but did land a 21 lb. carp. that was on my 10' noodle rod with 6# test line on a 1/32 oz. dart. It put up some fight.