Fishing Log

I don't think it is necessarily a lesser run its just that the conditions have been horrible.i fish from shore and haven't been out since the contest because the river has been unfishable at the spots I fish.i am hoping to get out Mon Tue or Wed if it drops and clears up.it can't be good for spawning if this becomes the new norm we will be in trouble in a few years.

Judging by the lack of enthusiasm and catch reports lately, this seems to be one of the lesser shed runs in recent years

Fished from 4 to 7 boated 3 lost 2 water temp 63 water clear fish were there just not real active

Fished Zane Grey launch from shore tonight 4:30 - 7 hooked 9 landed 6 water temp. 61 deg. water clear.and dropping.

Fished Zane Grey launch from shore tonight 4 - 7 hooked 11 landed 7 Delaware muddy Lackawaxen clearer the shad were holding right on the mud line. Water temp. 62 deg.

Sorry— should have read threw darts and spoons, not three darts and spoons

Thanks George!!

Has anyone fished the Narrowsburg NY area recently? I am a 4 hour drive away so I can't check action for myself. Was thinking of going for shad this week. Also, can anyone recommend a place to buy quality shad darts in Narrowsurg? Thanks in advance for information!

Well.....here comes that dreaded four letter word.....RAIN......got out today at Smithfield and caught 15......slow pick but what made the day is my son caught 2 on a centerpin......I think we have a few weeks left......water was 59 at 2pm.....still catching in lower river.......anywhere you go you will find fish.......

Fished Easton today with my buddy Steve In his boat caught 26 in about 4-5 hrs

Still worth shad fishing this week??

live in trenton shad and hering have been on the decline for years so the dams and latters are not the problem i dont fish for shad anymore cause they just are not there no dams before trenton keep fishing hope you get the monster Eric from trenton

Fished ZG from 4-5:20, 8 anglers, I saw one shad and one smallmouth caught. I know sometimes it turns on there as the sun goes down, but I figured I'd move down to Port Jervis. I managed 3 shad in around 2 hours. 3 other people fishing for them and I only saw one other hooked.

There are plenty of lakes full of them plus they do better in lakes.

Done shad fishing for the season..had to cancel 2 trips for Saturday..heading to the big pond in the north...lake o

A ton of money is being, and has been spent restoring the heritage of the canal. The historical significance of the shad run predates that of the canal by thousands, maybe millions of years. The building of the canal (Easton dam) ruined the Lehigh shad run. Shouldn't a class action lawsuit against the canal owners be started to force them to correct the damage caused by the building of the canal and to restore the shad run in the Lehigh? Any lawyers out there to get it started?

The shad ladders at Easton are a joke and we’re from the very beginning! I’ve said it before they were installed that they were a waste of 3+ million dollars because they were made using the design that DOES NOT pass shad!! Who cares if “several dozen” shad make it past the first dam? Sorry to be negative, but the fish Commision doesn’t even report numbers anymore (because the number passed are pathetic) and now no one is even counting. Until that dam is blown up, shad won’t pass it, it’s that simple.... the bright side is that the dam creates a perfect “trap” for shad, which stay there and are caught easily due to the number congregating there!

Fished Zane Grey launch from shore tonight 4 - 6:30 landed one no other hits water was very high and dirty water temp. 52 deg.

Thanks for the info Dennis. That’s really great news that they still use the ladder. I would’ve bet the house on zero Shad coming in there.

The recent success of the fish ladder in easton is likely from the high delaware river levels making it easier for the shad to get to the ladder entrance. the lack of channel orientation of the ladder during low water makes it harder for the shad to find. As far as debris in the ladder that is probably minimal since there is a trash rack a the top of the ladder , the water flowing in is from the top of the water column which has less silt and the speed of the water flowing thru the ladder should'nt let much silt settle in the ladder either. Having said that it wouldn't be hard to check the ladders for debris by closing of the water off for a while. Realistically the easton dam should be removed since in contibutes to the flooding of easton almost exclusively and the damage to the canal itself down by the sewer plant. I dont think the guys who built the canal meant for it to last this long anyway and we are about to put millions more into it? If you cant take care of it in the first place why put millions into it again? Good money after bad. The health river should be the center piece for easton NOT the dams!!

Regarding the comments about the fish ladders on the Lehigh, I live on the same block as the PFC biologist who monitored shad through last year. This year he has taken on a larger responsibility with the PFC. Anyway, he knows I work at Hugh Moore Park in Easton and - last year - he asked me if I had been down to the Lehigh to fish for shad. I sort of laughed, but then he told me that there were hundreds of shad spawning below the Glendon Dam. So, yes, there are shad that get into the river. The problem with the fishways is that they NEVER get maintained, so they are not in prime shape to attract shad since the chambers contain silt and debris that slows down the water flow, and as you know, shad need a good current to attract them. I've been telling this to the DRSFA for years but thus far nothing has happened. The ladders worked just fine initially and they're still working, although not at the capacity they could because they simply are not properly maintained.

I highly doubt any Shad are coming into the Lehigh river nowadays. The only way that’s ever happening is if the dams get removed. I haven’t heard of one being counted in several years.

Is there a shad count tabulation for the various ladders in the Lehigh river for all the years since they have been in place? I would expect such to be on the Shad Restoration page but do not see it anywhere.

Also, on Saturday, as I was struggling to get a hit I watched Shad Pappy, who was anchored right in front of me in the Lehigh current as he caught one fish after another.