Fishing Log

Crossed over the Delaware at Port Jervis Sunday evening. The water was over the banks and looked like chocolate milk. I haven't seen it like that in awhile. Hopefully it will clear and go down soon.

WG, I am giving a shot again tomorrow. We will see what happens.

Cal I agree that the hickory run has been tough catching lately, but the river levels have not been high enough (it was medium flow for a solid week or more) to force the shad closet to the bank. I will say that plenty are being caught upstream of deer creek and I’ve got great reports from up in the octoraro too..... now that the water is higher, try the rocks below the dam again .... I think you’ll do better now .... good luck

The date fished below Deer Creek was 04/12/2019.

Started out at Conwingo on the rocks. Fished for an hour an nothing. Fished a few hundred yards below the mouth of Deer Creek, nothing. So fished from 12:30 to 4:00 PM and not even a bite. This is the worst I have seen in 20years. I am really starting to get concerned. I don't see many birds either. The fish I have caught this year have been WAY out in the river. Nothing is close to the shore line. WG, do you have any thoughts? I am trying to convince myself they are late, but I am not feeling very good about this.

Fishing report 4/13/19 - Fished the lower Susquehanna River from sunrise til about1 pm, very slow morning as the water levels were medium low. Checked another river with no luck. Went back to the Susquehanna and after the water rise (from hydroelectric release) the shad were biting (aka more accessible) and manger to land 10 hickory shad from 1130-1 pm. Several American shad were landed from shore where I was fishing .... funny the elevators are operating all day but only 6 American shad have been elevated over Conowingo so far..... I’ve seen more shad landed in an hour then the lifts have captured ALL YEAR!! Does anyone else think this is weird?? What’s wrong with the lift operation?

I've heard second hand about shad being caught in the Paulins Kill - any photos? Thanks

I was fishing on Friday 4-12-19 and got some underwater video of shad. The water was dirty with algae which created poor visibility but I still got some good shots. I actually caught two shad on the camera setup. There was also one shad with a lamprey attached to it. Here is the link to the video. https://youtu.be/BvWVQ9Yrz74

Fished from boat 7:30 to 10:00, 2 bumps on darts, that's it. River high, dirty and weed on every cast, water temp 52. Saw one caught from shore.

Fished Zane Grey from shore 12 pm - 1 pm and from 3 pm - 4 pm got nothing. Water was high and muddy 51deg. lots of slime on darts had to clean after every cast.

Fished the Delaware this morning. Water high and discolored . Three of us were able to pickup one each.

Heading on to Delaware today. River is high.

Kept a close eye on the weather and picked this past week to shad fish. Monday-Friday, 40 hours of fishing from shore, New Hope to Yardley and I threw the kitchen sink at em. Ended the week with 1 American and 5 Hickory (plus a big walleye). Maybe 2 legit bumps. Didn't even scale one. The few spots I fish have been super productive over the past many years but usually the water is quite a bit higher. It's definitely still a tad cold but for me the level is more important than water temp because I've caught them like gangbusters with numb hands and feet...if they were holding in these pools I would have felt them.

I should clarify 49 degree water Monday, two bumps but no hookups. 46.5 degree water tonight and one bump, no hookups.

Phil where you guys at the Mongap or Lackawax this week?

SHAD HARRIS, shad have been using the Paulinskill river up to the now removed dam for decades and these fish traveled no farther up the Delaware so no siphoning off of the Delaware River fishery above the Paulinskill is expected. A similar situation exists on the Musconetkong River which is scheduled for another dam removal at Bloomsbury this summer. Runs up the Bushkill and other tributaries have been noticed. Shad are not as strict at homing onto their natal rivers as are salmon and steelhead and other searun trouts. This is best expressed in the phenomenon of west coast shad (and striped bass) stocked in the Sacremento system now found up to British Columbia. All that would be need to begin a tributary population is for some shad to be spawned at the mouth of a tributary. They would home onto that water when they return and travel as far up as the situation allows. It will. as you have pointed out, increase the total fishery by adding spawning / nursery areas.

Got some really AWESOME news today from a friend who was trout fishing the Paulinskill in Blairstown. He caught a SHAD on a spinner! The Columbia Dam removal has INSTANT impact on the fishery. While it may siphon off "some" fish that now will not be caught at the gap, Bushkill, Dinman's, PJ, etc - it just opens up more and more waters for them to spawn and thrive. Also opened up a new "feeding tube" for the Muskie's to get access to some fresh trout! LOL

Shad Harris, We were fishing where a good sized stream comes in from the NY side and basically throwing the lures completely across the "junction pool" and dropping them on top of the seam between the main Delaware River and the other side of the junction pool. When we were able to reach the main Delaware current. we often came back with snot on the swivel and hooks, so we stopped throwing them into the main Delaware current and dropped the lures on the seam instead. Matter of fact, you could see a difference in water color right at the seam. The big D was running a brownish-green color and the water we retrieved through was clear. Kastmasters stay pretty much at the level you let them sink to and come straight in unless you slow the retrieve WAY down. I still managed to lose 2 of them, though. But there is no doubt that if we had to fish the main Delaware, we would have been frustrated with snot on almost every cast. The tackle combo we used would be considered a mismatch, but when you can throw the lure around 300 feet, who cares?

Phil that's a great (and very believable) report. Thanks for sharing. I know you routinely catch shad on the Kastmasters - not something I have tried. Doesn't surprise me at all fish are that far north. How was the green slime? Catching much on the lines and lures?

Guys, the shad are all up and down the river. They just haven't been hitting much because the water has stayed under 50 degrees. Today my friend and I hooked 11 of them from the shoreline, landed only 6, but we were 20 miles above Port Jervis. Yeah, really. None were taken on darts because we were having so much success throwing 1/4 ounce, orange/silver Kastmasters from 4lb. line. Was I surprised? You're damn right I was. They were hitting during the warmest part of the day, when the sun came out. I can only conclude from this that they're just looking for some warmer water before the big scores start rolling in. We were using a pumping, start/stop retrieve and they were goaded by that. You may have to duck the rain that is soon to come, but if you can do that, the warmer temps should bust things wide open.

Planning on heading out this Saturday morning April 13th to Lumberville PA. anybody know if this area still has fish or if there would be a better place? Thank you.

I will be on the river Saturday and Sunday if u guys need spooons, darts, diver plugs shallow and deep, downrigger releases, t shirts, snips , and river anchors Call me Rusty 484-239-4723

Any action in Easton area

Shad Harris: I had occasion to take the water temp on Monday and your 48 degree reading was exactly the same as my verified mercury thermometer. I would add that I never take water temp in shallow, sunlit water, and always in the current.