Shad are running

[Toyracer38]

Was fishing Dibblees Beach in Rainier. Saw a guy bring in a small fish, found out it was a Shad. So since the steelhead fishing was really slow, I switched it up and went after Shad for awhile. Landed 9 outta 13 and think I even had hooked a chinook on a lil tiny spoon.

 

[Ifishforfood]

nice! ima have to try sometime soon in the columbia. what tips would you have for bankers like myself?

 

[PNW Sam]

Shad fishing is pretty dang fun. A few years back fishing on a boat below Bonneville I caught a 23" jack Chinook and my grandpa's buddy caught a 30 lb wild nook, both on little tiny plastic baits with tiny spinner blades and TINY hooks. Fun stuff. Nothing like catching a few dozen shad and then dropping down and doing some sturgeon fishing with the same fish you just caught.

 

[Toyracer38]

Sorry Ifishforfood, this was the only time I've ever fished for them. I just looked at the guys rig that was fishing for them and improvised. I ended up using 8oz of weight on a slider, then 2 feet of line to a foam float. The guy had a cork ball, but all I had was floats for steelhead fishing, so I cut one of those in half. Then another foot of leader after the float to a tiny orange/white spoon (wobbler) that I just happened to have in the tackle box. No idea why I had that lure, probably found it while fishing sometime. I did do a little looking at setups online, not much out there, but looks like rubber jigs (like grubs) are also good for shad fishing. It was fun. Much better than sitting there watching my rod do nothing for hours

 

[Toyracer38]

One tip I should add is, the Shad set the hook on themselves and they have very soft mouths. So don't yank on them, you may rip the hook right out of it.

 

[Toyracer38]

I love the Columbia!

 

[Moe]

were you bank fishing?

 

[Toyracer38]

Yes Moe I was. I caught 3 Steelhead in total. One was a native. Then began fishing for Shad. Caught around 8 of them, before I decided to get home and fillet and brine those Steely's. Hot color of the day was pink spin n glo's, with a cured sand shrimp tail, for the Steelhead. Red has been doing well for the Shad. I'm actually using a gold/brass Dick Nite lure that I put a piece of red reflective tape on one side. If I don't have a Shad on in 5 minutes, I reel in and usually find that the hook was fouled up in the line.

 

[Moe]

thanks for the info I appreciate it!

 

[willstud007]

TO: TOYRACER38
HI, GUY
MY NAME IS WILL STOUT
I got married to a great lil' girl & now I share her home here in Clatskanie. we live off adams road across from wallace island slough. we have a dock & I have caught nothing of any significance. am just not fan=milar with the incoming/outgoing tide thing
I imagine the shad are running right up my slough & I would love to catch some
Would you tell me what rig to set up & any bait I might need.
I would also welcome you to come fish with me on my dock. you are probably much more experienced fishing the columbia then I
thanx for your time
will

 

[Toyracer38]

Hello Will and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to say the Shad run is over. The place I would recommend you checkout is, Jones Beach. May be a few out there still trying to hook a Steelhead. End of May is when to get out there for Shad. Setup is easy. 3-way swivel tied to your mainline. Off one eye use a 6" dropper for your weight. Your gonna need to toss around 8 -12 oz of lead to hold in the current. Incoming tide seemed to be the best time to fish for the Shad. Off the other eye of the swivel, tie on 3' to 4' leader with a small cork float attached around the middle. Your lure will be a small Dick Nite spoon. The float keeps the spoon up off the bottom. In the picture above you can see the cork float, but it had slid down a bit while reeling in that fish. Hit me up next Spring and maybe we could meet up.