Shad

[Sportfury]

I was wondering when the Shad are going to come in? Never fished them before, but heard it is great fun and they put up a good fight. Would love to get the kids down there on them.

[buckmaster_wa]

Should be another month or two. They do fight really well. And you dont even need to use bait to catch em. So they are a cheap fish to catch. Just use a shad jig.

[Blacklab]

Usually around May a friend of mine uses a brass swivel and a hook. I haven't done it yet, this year I will try though.

[kenbell27]

Usually second or third week in june is the best, go to the Bonneville fish count web sight and you can see how many are going through, when it hits 80,000 or more is when we head down. I make my own shad darts its a lot cheaper.

[kbyers]

 

Watch the fish count.  Usually the middle to end of June

[Yardmaster]

Ya the middle of June to the end . They are fun to catch, My boy got tired of reeling them in. And said dad you catch the rest. Also they make great sturgeon bait

[fishcrazy]

Start looking at the dam counts in mid May. By late may there is always fishable numbers. The peak of the run is useually around fathers day and is pretty much history by end of June to first part of July but they will trickle over clear up to the end of August.

The last 2 years have been slow starts and good numbers haven't hit untill allmost the end of May.

Kris

[ribka]

Check out below John Day dam when the count starts going up. Usually good bank fishing,
Chartruse, red shad darts usually work. Great fun on a fly rod. I use a shooting head to get down deep.

Have not yet figured them out. Some days bites every cast and other days cannot buy a bite.

[Fishnclifff]

Usually around May a friend of mine uses a brass swivel and a hook. I haven't done it yet, this year I will try though.

Woks gret. I use alot of them.

 "Also they make great sturgeon bait"

Check out the new changes proposed for 2010. No shad for bait.

[Tealer]

Shad make excellent crab bait as well. I usually start fishing them in May. My favorite lures are dick nites and darts with a grub tail. I have also caught a few summer run chinook while targeting shad. It was pretty common to land 60 to 70 fish in a couple hours, in the height of the run.

[h2ofowlr]

I usually fish them towards Mid - May through June.  I purchased a dart jig mold and use the powder coat and made a pile of jigs.  Chartreus, Pink , Green, Red/White, Chartreus/Green, Chartreus/Yellow, etc.  Or you can use some small Dick Knights.  There a kick to catch.  We caught over 300 of them in 3 days of fishing last year.  They work good for crab bait, halibut and oversize sturgeon on the Columbia River.

[fishcrazy]

No shad for bait? Last I read they didn't want to use whole shad only pieces.

I don't think that got anywhere. I didn't see anything on the release that just came out from the commission meetings

Dumbest idea I have seen yet. Well that and the barbless hooks rule on the lower Columbia for Salmon and steelhead next year.

Kris

[kenbell27]

Start looking at the dam counts in mid May. By late may there is always fishable numbers. The peak of the run is useually around fathers day and is pretty much history by end of June to first part of July but they will trickle over clear up to the end of August.

The last 2 years have been slow starts and good numbers haven't hit untill allmost the end of May.

Kris

We have had days like that to, we would be catching fish all day then the next day nothing, I think it has to do with the amount of water being released thru the dam. 

[fishcrazy]

I think the water over the dam has alot to do with it but I have seen bites drop to nothing on them when they put the nets in for them as well. Since they started to commercial harvest them the runs have been dropping very bad. A few years ago 5 million wasn't uncommon. I think last years run was around 2 million. NOT GOOD!! but WDFW will turn their head now that $$$ money is involved.


Kris

[Sportfury]

Thanks for the replys guys I will try and get after them. Any good places for a bank angler with kids?