Fishing Log

I wader fish at Easton and I have not caught any yet! I’ve done very well last year and I’m assuming it’s the water temp’s but I think the fish are here and I also think the main run is coming in now so don’t be discouraged because it ‘s only a matter of time so go fishing and it will pay off soon! It’s been a cold April but their here now and go fishing!!! I just read a post from tony in regalsvivlle and he crushed them so they should be in Easton tomorrow! If it’s slow in the morning because the temps are down try the afternoon! Hopefully this helps! We need a few warm days and the fishing will be phenomenal!!

Fished Easton today caught 15...some nice roe mixed in..water temp was 48-50..ill be on the river thru may 3rd..if u need spoons, darts, anchors, in line weights, downrigger releases, etc....see me in pburg or call me ..484-239-4723

Riegelsville tamp is open. Huge push of fish coming through,up to 51 landed now and lost at least that many more. Trust your fish finder,moved twice had nonstop fish earlier moved about 60 yards and barely marked any went back where I started an it’s been steady fish ever since.

Is reigelsville launch open ?

WOW is all I can say after missing a week or so of reading posts! Lots of great info! Lots of great experiences too . Too much to comment on but I’ll throw in my 2 cents! After fishing for shad for over 40 years, generally starting in January in Florida and ending on the west coast or new england in June, I fish for shad 80-100 more days a year. The biggest change we all see is the SIZE of the shad returning in the Northeast now. All of the other places I fish have generally the same sized fish, which vary slightly depending on how ocean conditions were for feeding prior to the spawning run”.... now shad in South Carolina are the sane average size as the shad in the Delaware and Connecticut rivers. The Delaware and Connecticut rivers and all rivers north of the Susquehanna traditionally had runs of many repeat spawning fish (I remember publications saying 30 percent or more of Delaware River shad were repeat spawners). When South Carolina shad are the same size as Pennsylvania and Connecticut shad, obviously something has changed. That, to me, is the most troubling....you’ve all read my rants about stripers, but the reality is SOMETHING is definitely changed! I don’t see much in the way of netting bring an issue, as there are no shad targeting boats out there (yes there is bycatch). Since the 80s heyday of large shad, striper populations are skyrocketing and mismanaged, flatheads and blue cats are now common and easily eat large shad, cormorants decimate young, small and hickory shad, the climate has definitely warmed (not looking for political debate here just saying water temps warmer) and warmer water after spawning doesn’t allow shad to make it back to salt water after spawning. Anyway, without ANY government agency interested in shad, it’s up to us to keep the interest and research on shad alive! I too have met many of the posters here agd from good old Woofish site! Someday Jack Harris we will fish together!

JohnnyK, I recommend that you find a copy of John McPhee's book The Founding Fish. It taught me more about the shad and shad fishing than anything I've ever seen, and is what got me to think I could do it back in 2003 or 4. Then you put your time in. Don't be afraid to stop fishing and watch what somebody near you is doing when they're catching and you're not. Folks who do this a lot know where they've gotten fish before, know the rocks and the current seams that hold fish when the fish are there. It's not just random. Some of the people who catch fish consistently are the ones who keep their lines in the water more - not snagged on the bottom, in a tree, wind knotted, etc. You get better at it with practice, but the learning curve can be hard when you don't know where any snags are or where any fish are hanging. Good luck to you!

I got to make a quick visit to the bridge in Trenton yesterday. The tide was almost topped out and the few guys who'd been fishing were mostly getting ready to pack up. I caught 2 Hickories on my double dart rig and then landed a bruiser of a roe which looked like one of those spade shaped tanks, broader around than anything I've seen in a long time. She swam away. Most everybody there fishes with a flutter spoon and maybe an ounce of sinker. I feel like such a rebel throwing my dart rig. Thanks again, WG!_______The sky went almost black and the lightning chased me out after only half an hour.

Love reading all the information, thanks to all! I was out yesterday for a few hours near Stockton and didn’t catch anything...I’m 42 and still waiting to net my first Shad! A guy below me (both of us wading) caught at least 5 that I saw in about a 2 hour window. I have more learning to do so please keep up the knowledge sharing. Any pointers for us waders would be most appreciated. Any approximations on how long the main run “usually” lasts? Thanks again

Joseph, I thought the gov. opened back up the parks and boat ramps in NJ??? Riverwolf, I see you started back up the shad hotline. Lol. It sounds like the main run is coming up river now. :) Can't wait to finally get into some action. Unfortunately patience is needed this time of year with the weather. I'm off to a slow start this season but it's been more weather related than no fish in the river. Warmer temperatures are coming.

WFMZ Weather Quote: “Remember that our average high temperature for the middle of April should be in the low 60s. And of the last 11 days, 8 of them have seen high temperatures only in the 50s.” I think this says it all. The cold lows at night and all the rain. There are some fish there, just not hitting. The water temp, high water, and / or the turbidity of the water makes fishing more difficult. The next several days look disappointing weather wise.

Conditions perfect this evening. Terrific nonstop action till dark

Fished Milford tonight from 430 to 700. Water temperature 47, river clarity was marginally acceptable, river still up. This is the first time in several years with no bites. Maybe these old timers are right, the run will be poor. NOT. Its still mid April, water is too cold, and current flow is heavy. May should be good. Wish all success and stay healthy

Tying shad flies today hopefully conditions will improve.these are all proven patterns I have used for many years

SHAD HOTLINE.....River stage at Reigelsville 7.0....Water temp 48.....Heard some decent reports of fish being caught Sunday in the lower river.....It will get better as river temp rise..clean spoons often with the debris from rain showers....

We need some sustained sunlight. A sunlit day of 45 degrees will warm the water more than a cloudy day of 50 degrees. Neversink and Pepacton reservoirs are over the spillway and Cannonsville is at 99.1% of capacity. This is not unusual for this time of year. Water will probably go down slowly. It's supposed to cloud up around here at 2 or 3pm today. Ugh. Let there be light. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dep/water/reservoir-levels.page

Anyone looking for company to wade the Delaware with a fly rod? I have lots of time and trout are getting boring.

Was ready to poke on the edges of the river after sighting the water was fairly clear but a running high late yesturday.. My attitude changed 180 when my fiance and I went to fire up the truck when there was noting but ice and frost all over the boat..and gear. Changed plans and took a mountian bike ride around town, grabbed a dozen eggs. Still waiting for it to warm up a bit. I shame myself for not heading out,,I'm tough on myself you can't hook them if your lines are not getting wet. Any brave souls go out this AM? May try in the afternoon!

Heres a thought. Even though I respect and understand all the theories which are based on science and experience, I still think it's too early to predict the run. April 8, water temperature 55, water level extremely low, water clear. Today the water is 43, running high, and jerky. Typical April April conditions. By next weekend, things should pick up exponentially. Sorry for all the posts, but I'm bored. Good luck too all

SHAD HOTLINE......River stage at Reigelsville 7.6. Water temp 46. Spotty catches from Yardley to Water Gap. Catches should improve with water temp in 50s....

Duff, do you sell those shad flies? If so I would like to buy some.

Don - All my reels have drags and outer rim spools to spin up the slack line. If you are comfortable handling hard fighting fish that don't tire out and can manage your line, then "I guess" it's possible. I'm an intermediate level fly fisherman at best. Pay attention to the guys that post about lines and leader types. Don't know what "perch jigs" are. Spell check failed me at the end of the last post. All I tie are weighted flys that look exactly like shad darts.

I have been fly fishing for shad since the late 80's. In '97 I bought a Orvis HLS in 8wt. (primarily for smallies in the deleware and susky) The rod is a little overkill for shad( I have used this rod for blues(up to 18lb) and stripers(up to 28 lb) with no problem at all. The HLS rods are covered against breakage for 25 years no questions asked. I use a sink tip ( 2.5-3.00IPS) with a 7 ft leader when wading. In a boat you can get away with a floating line and a 9ft leader and just dead stick the rod ( you may need to get creative with a rod holder if you don't have one set up for a fly rod.

ShadHarris - What Paul said. Getting in front of their face is key. But you alredy know that pitching darts and spoons. I forgot to mention - I'm a wader. 25 years ago I was saying "I got to do this fly thing". Understand; fly fishing, tackle wise, is another dimension(Demetion). Like you said "Sinking line? Sinking tip? Poly leader over sink tip? 5wt? 7wt? 8wt?" Ay Yi Yi! fly fishing was the next natural next step for me. I really enjoy it. I feel I can keep it in the strike zone longer. Again; Far from expert - Only my experience. In the late 80s I built a beautiful 7wt Fenwick fly rod, a kit my wife gave me as a present. I tried using it a 100 times nearly putting an eye out several times and often strangling myself. I ended up breaking it running away from a thunderstorm. I spinfished darts and sometime spoons for years. When I seriously attempted fly fishing again(20+ yrs later), I bought a $70 5wt Cabelas starter set up. That seemed to be what most people used - What the heck! That's what the Captain uses for shad! I started using it for smallmouth. I quickly realized this is not the tool I need for fisty smallmouth in a big river. My brother gave me a 6wt. More backbone and different action. Great for smallmouth - Not shad. Broke and repaired that one three times. I later called Fenwick thinking I might purchase a new tip section for my broken 7wt. A nice lady said "I'm sorry that was discontinued years ago". "But;" " It has a lifetime waranty" - Yippy! So they sent me a new 7wt. Having now had some "Practice", I thought OK I know how to do this. Nope- just got better at trying to loose an eye and getting welts on the back of my head. I watched Lefty at the shows. He said never raise your elbow. It worked - Kinda. I tried the 7wt for shad. I could not handle hard fighting fish well at all. Turns out I learned it was a very slow action blank probably for dry flies. I talked to Gary Loomis at a show. He gave me good info and also said "somebody is dragging me back into the rod business". Soon after TFO was born. I got a 6wt BVK, smallmouth, and an 8wt, shad and stripers. TFO - Fast action fly blanks for the spin fisherman. I love them. Broke the 8wt - No problem - send it back with $25 - All Fixed! I might even fish for trout with the 5wt! What else is there to do January till shad ? The same old moral to the story applies - you need to find out what works best for you for your conditions. You already know the important part - jiggle it in their face. Check out my Expert flys. You'll never guess what inspired me hoe to make them.

Duff: I definitely agree that the leaders of the run show far superior strength, seem to have a remarkable silvery look that reflects in the sun and with few or no scuff marks on them. Just recently, well above Port Jervis, we caught 5lb. hens that were clearing the water by 3 and 4 feet multiple times. This is quite a feat when you consider they're loaded with eggs. I don't see that degree of wild acrobatics from the trailers later on, with all due respect.