Fishing Log

Ds: I think your granddad had the right idea.

The new number for the drsfa Shad hotline is 610-774-8781….. it will be up and running in about 2-3 days from today

Thank You,

According to the NJ 2024 compendium, the only change for American Shad in the Delaware is a reduction in creel limit to 2 per day. Hickory Shad remains closed. Pa regs were not published yet. (12/29/23)

Florida anglers anxiously awaiting first shad. One predicts 12/28 as first report date.

Fished narrowsburg yesterday for last hurrah .Caught 9 mostly big rowes on darts.Never saw river this low during shad season.What worries me is I saw very little spawning activity.They should be all over up here now.The fish I caught were in the rapids and that was from 5 am til 5 pm normally I would of caught a lot more .The numbers are way down this year hopefully things will rebound and they won't shut it down!

Last trip of year ? Fished spinners falls had a banner day.37 landed many missed swiping at dart with closed mouth.Mostly strong fresh rowes with a few small buck.No much spawning activity up here yet.Saw a few splashing killed one rowe which I am having for dinner and eggs are still small.Best day this year fish hit from 530 am til 9 am then shut down.River low and clear .

The gap would be fine.go light and fish moving water.

Broke out the fly rod and fished Shawnee.Managed to catch four but not many fish around.They should be spawning big time but saw very few fish and no activity.With the river this low I normally would of seen and caught a lot of fish.Very dissapointing year.Might try further up next week or might just pack it in.

Hi fellas. Is there any chance of catching shad at this point in Lambertville? Thanks for the info!

Snuck in 2 hours of fishing this evening between 5 and 7 and was pleasantly suprised. I fished at Easton and caught 7 on small gold and orange and yellow spoon.Five big roes and two small buck.River is summer time low.

Fished memorial day from shore.caughtn22 and a nice striper small darts no weight.no spawning activity observed very weird year all fresh strong mostly big roses. Fished above lackawaxen.

George - why are you posting non-Delaware river shad in a Delaware River shad fishing group?

Shore fished at Bushkill caught 2 at 530 on small gold spoon and that was it.No fish or spawning activity,Water is low,warm,and clear.Probably last time out definitely low numbers this year.

Anyone have any thoughts on just how far North up the Delaware stripers make it? Enjoy reading all the updates. helps keep us in the game.

I am concerned about the lack of spawning activity I am not seeing.this time of year and especially with the low clear water and warm water temps they should be actively spawning now.I have been fishing from Smithfield beach to Spinners falls the last two weeks almost everyday and I am not seeing it.Something is definitely off.

Rob W - I only ever see minor changes this time of year. I always felt the shad are pretty much near where they are spawn by now. Historically in low clear water I would wade for them in rapids, 2.5 to 4' of water. They literally just lay in there waiting to spawn. Since they usually are right below spawning pools, they might move up into the pools at night. You definitely had a few good weeks or at least were able to string several good days in a row above Dingmans Bridge, but you were on the main northern body of fish. I was on those fish closer to the gap a bit before you. By the time your spots started producing well, it was back to spotty fishing just further south. The water was extremely warm this year by 3rd week of April and after a brief cool down, was back up to above normal temps again. That may have impacted movement as well. One thing I did not witness this year in spite of abnormally warm water was any noticeable spawning activity. I literally saw none. To me the run is "done" once they go into heavy spawn mode. It is done for me regardless - I had more fun catching stripers in the bay this spring and now the fluking is getting good. Till next season! Tight lines all

My overall summary of 2023 Shad run is "not good". Again - seeing it having peaked around 2017 in terms of numbers of shad surging north of water gap. Each subsequent year - getting a little worse than the prior. Had some excellent conditions most of this season but we did lose a week in may due to extreme floods. Had some epic or near epic days in boat, 50-60+ fish days, and really only one good shore session. The days of sitting in same spot from shore or boat and having thousands of shad pass by you are sadly over - you really have to move to get on them. Like any other year, they mostly strike when you get on them, I think lack of action is mainly due to lack of fish where you are set up. Some days had to really dial it down in size of lure and weight due to low clear conditions but those have always been my favorite conditions. It has been my experience that down cycles in shad runs are historically repetitive and can last up to 10 year before the bounce-back. What is more concerning has been complete lack of returning shad to spawn and the fact that they are all one and done. This was not the case during banner years and cycles. Hopefully DR shad fishing is NOT shut down - I do not think we have that much impact on the sustainability - but we can do better with how we handle them for sure. I saw far too many "hero" pics on social media this season with the death grip on the gills, blood running out of gills, and "safely released". Too many nylon nets - use rubber, and keep fish in net for picture. Shore fisherman - keep them in water do not take out of water. Just little things we can do to truly safely release shad, before the entire thing is shut down. (Hopefully not)

Fished barryville last 3 days with poor results.i stand on a rock at the top of a rapids sight fishing At this same spot for the last 40.years I see thousands and catch 50 plus a day I caught 2 saw 20 live and several dead but no activity or fish like normal and for this spot conditions are perfect.something is majorly.wrong!

Fished the Port Jervis area yesterday for around 2.5 hours changing spots, not even a bump. Talked to a couple other anglers, no shad for them yesterday.

Thanks for the update, Chuck mc. Some of us that travel an hour or better want it to be worthwhile. Just hope this isn't a long-term downtrend.

Narrowsburg PA F&B access water is low, only one small buck in last two days

5 today and 1dink walleye.

are there shad yet in the East Branch of the Delaware?