Fishing Log

Maybe last boat trip this season. Set up anchor by 4pm north of Bushkill. Lots of short hits all night long. Well over 50 hits that never stayed on the hook many pulled drag for a second. All they wanted was small pink and white micro darts hence the short hits. Could not get hit on small spoons or any other color or size. Would literally see the rod bounce once, twice, 3 times and then pick it up and fish on then off. Still we netted 26 and a bonus 7.5 lb channel cat to boot on a piece of fresh cut shad. Fun night. Water 62 and that to me explains the finicky bite yet with non stop action. I also saw the most marks on fish finder I have seen all season.

Best day yet so far. 24 caught and released including some real big mamas.

Nick, try Fireman’s Eddy and Lambertville wing dam.

Fished Stockton to Lambertville friday, no shad. saw a few guys catch under the Lambertville bridge on boats. Can anyone where recommend a stretch of river I should wade on Tuesday? New to shad fishing just hoping to catch a few.

No shad today. Hopefully tomorrow. How far up is the main run?

David - The shad bite generally shuts off just before dark (at least in my 40+ years of experience). However, good nocturnal fisheries on the Delaware include striped bass, walleye & catfish.

Was up to 13 caught and released. They were hitting decent then I took a spill and the boots got filled with water. Decided to call it a day.

Fished Zane Grey 5 - 7 tonight from shore hooked 3 landed 2 water temp. 65.6 deg.

Hello, im noob :)

Slow 2.5 hr session last night. 6 of 8 landed and ended the night with a double - two darts one rod. I felt like there were more fish there than I was looking probably a dozen good hard bumps that never hooked up

If you pour and tie your own darts, crystal flash works well for tails but has very little movement when cut short. Adding a few strands of flashabou or the newer shimmerbou give the dart some much needed movement. It makes your darts look like a cross between a dart and a spoon.

Another 10 Shad today. Not big numbers but it has been consistent. Right around 10 fish the last 4 outings.

SHAD_OH - just search on swivel bullet weights on Amazon for weights, and I would also add a lot of 1/16 darts into your collection

ShadHarris , thank you for the information, i must be going heavy on weight and slow retrieve, getting snagged up alot and losing set ups. very frustrating, if you dont mind me asking where do you buy your darts and inline weights ? i ve been purchasing the leland shad darts only ones i can find, im gonna join the DRFSA and hopefully purchase some at one of the meet ups, thanks again for all your help

Hey guys i'm very new to shad fishing and fishing the Delaware, when fishing in dingmans area how much weight should i be using? the river seems much lower up river, thanks for any information given

Finally got out with the boat yesterday. Fished from 300 till 500 trolling. Boated 10, 4 roes 7 bucks all on 1/32 pink and white darts with flashtails. Water temp 62

Another slow day. Caught a six pack over the course of 3 hours. Highlight of the day was a Bald Eagle perched in a tree directly across from me and watched me for a good half hour.

shad harris i would like to thank you for the information you provide, this newbie thanks you, please continue, dont let let trolls get you down

Managed 7 today. Slow.

SH, Your remarks about the virtues of wade vs boat fishing reminded me of an incident where shore guys were hitting them really good while boaters were doing nothing. Finally one of the boaters moved next to shore and tied the boat to a tree and began fishing. My friend remarked " That sure is an expensive pair of hip boots you got there mister."

Whoever you are - 117 over 12 hours is not "great" fishing. I never said it was best ever. I have had much better action in the usual 3 hour sessions that I normally do. I mean at times, it was as good as it gets, then 30 minutes of nothing. I had much better from shore wading week before when I did literally land a shad every cast most of the session for 3 hours (a few brief lulls of course), and could not remotely count.... I don't by into the 3 rod BS vs 1 rod wading. I can promise you, I can catch more shad on one rod wading, than my own boat with 6 rods, when the fish are there, and wading is my preference. The way a dart presents itself on the reel and drift, and coming accross the channels and main slots they are running is much more effective than dead sticking 6 rods. Of course - finding those shore spots are often at a premium and now with a big stretch off limits N of worthington due to Old Mine Rd closure, further reduces those options. I am at the point where I may only wade unless someone wants to go in boat... We always keep count during the tournament more for historical purposes to compare year over year. As I reported - same spot three days later, only 1 shad in morning and got out of there quick.

River temps have reached spawning threshold temp of 54 and the 50 + degree nights forecast will keep it up there. Expect to see spawning displays at dark very soon.

Fished today from 3:30-6:30pm, hooked 2 landed 1, thought the action would have been better, but still happy I hooked 2.

Fished Zane Grey from shore tonight 4 - 6:30 got 0 not even a bump water temp. was 57 deg. water is very low and clear.