are the shad running in the willamette yet???

[elkoholic79]

are the shad running in the willamette yet??? i was thinking of going to oregon city saturday

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[jquirit]

Checking the shad counts at Bonneville, it doesn't look like it yet. It's looking like to be a late season like last year.

Change the location to where you want, and the pulldown for "Species" to "Shad".. have fun. They also have a table for the rolling weekly counts.

Columbia Basin Fishery Agency and Tribes

 

[plumberfishes]

do you get shad from the bank or just a boat?

 

[jbett98]

Boats are the best way to go, plus you might hook up with a springer.

 

[orygun]

My neighbor brought us a bag of shad Sunday. It was from the lower Willamette in Oregon City. He and a friend were out on a boat right under the 205 bridge.

 

[jquirit]

When I go fishing for shad I'm usually at Bonneville Dam (no access to a boat). During the weekends when the shad is really running it gets crazy out there, so weekdays is best if shore fishing by Bonneville. All I use shad for is crab bait and eat the fish roe.

 

[jbett98]

I fish above Lady Island near Washougal in the Columbia river, using an ultralight rod and reel.
It's less than 4' long and when a shad hits the lure, it feels like your salmon fishing.

 

[Geol]

What do you do with them after catching them?

 

[M67]

What do you do with them after catching them?

We use them for crab bait, but some folks eat them.

 

[jbett98]

After building a medium size campfire, rake the coals into a long rectangle. Place the shad on a 1" thick cedar shingle.
Drive a 6 penny nail through the eye socket and into the shingle. Prop the shingle at a 40 degree angle next to the coals.
When you can pull the tail out of the shad, throw the shad into the fire and eat the shingle.

 

[eldbillbo]

Shad is a boney fish and most people unless it comes in a fillet they won't eat it . however smoked the bones soften up to where you can eat them. or crock pot or slow bake or pickle .


shad darts from the shore work good be careful not to jerk too hard you'll rip their lower lip off.

I have not been shad fishing for many years i miss it .

Shad also makes great sturgeon bait.

 

[EMP9596]

I smoked some a few yeaes back. Cut the belly fat off and smoked with both Hickory and Alder after letting them soak in a cold brine overnight. Gave them all to family and got a 50/50 approval / disapproval. The yollow lab thought they were great after deboning them.

Of course Labs are walking garbage cans...

 

[sheepdip]

I tried smoking some shad a few years back, couldnt keep the darned things lit. found they made for better sturgeon bait.

 

[eldbillbo]

I tried smoking some shad a few years back, couldnt keep the darned things lit. found they made for better sturgeon bait.

I am not laughing because thats funny, i am laughing cause you thought it was

you just got to know how to roll it

 

[salmonriverjohn]

Mostly swimming, some jumping. I've seen flying fish,, but running? If one is going to smoke shad, I would use just the two top fillets that can be boned out. Use a drip pan under the meat to catch the oil, and there's a bunch of it.

 

[DinhRose]

Shad makes awesome sturgeon bait but the flesh tends to fall apart really fast. In recent years i just got into the habit of releasing them.

 

[jbett98]

Let me tell you about my shad as crab bait experience.
One year I caught a boat load of shad for crab bait.
Being a smart guy, I poked re-bar wire through them before placing them in the large black trash bags. That way, all I had to is put the bait in the trap and let the bay water thaw them out. No mess or fuss.
What I didn't plan on is walking out to my shop one night and smelling something really foul. I made the horrible mistake of opening the freezer to check if that was the problem.
I only got the door open three inches, when the most obnoxious smell hit me full force.
The real problem was trying to close the door, because the damn wire had poked through all of the bags and the shad had ballooned up inside the bags.
My guess is that the freezer had died at least ten days before, plus the 90` degree weather didn't help either.
Got the freezer on it's backside, roped the door tight and used the overhead crane to put it in my utility trailer.
Took it to the city dump and after I kicked it out of trailer, a guy parked next to me asked if he could have the rope tying it shut.
Go ahead, but don't open it. Do you think he listened, poor guy just had to see what was inside. He flipped open the door and man did he back pedal away from it.
Nothing stinks as bad as rotten shad.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

jBett, just last night my darling wife thanked me for unplugging my bait freezer, as she had noticed water coming from under the door (she had been hounding me about this since I sold my Dory last year) and getting ready to clean out all the Tuna, Ling and Bass that I had saved for crab bait, to which I replied, who me? I didn't unplug the freezer, did you you? To which she replied nooooo. I headed out to the pole barn and found kinda the same mess that you did and I'm here to tell you that I'm sure it was a silver medal contestant to your Shads gold in the great stink category. It now resides on the mountain (except for the unfaithful freezer) and will keep the Coyotes and vultures burping and busy for quite awhile.