Thanks. I'm hoping to do a second version of this video to improve it with lots more info. I was in a hurry with this one since it was the height of the shad season and the people I met asked the same questions over and over...
I was there yesterday fishing for shad. It was a slow and extremely windy day with only about 30,000 fish passing. Thanks to your video I did well and scored about 30 fish landed! Thanks again. Keep doing a great job.
Went again yesterday and got another 130 using your technique. Found a great tool to open the belly’s without cutting the roe sack. Those cheap plastic letter openers. I use that and puncture the soft spot right behind the pectoral fin and get the hook part of the letter opener in and cut across the belly.
Looks like a nice thick average in that run! I use mine as halibut bait, but have heard of people baking them until the bones are edible. I'm sure the roe is worth eating though.
Great video, clock face notation is a brilliant idea.. Few questions: 1, putting weight on main line make me have a hard time to feel a bite. I used 1/2-1oz depends on wind. How did you successfully tell a bite, not something else? 2, what's the distance between your weight to hook? 3, what time during the day you fish at bonneville dam? Does time/weather make a difference? 4, how did you choose location? Does that make a difference?
If you feel heavier tension on the line as you reel, then that's either a fish bite or a snag. These fish don't nibble here, they hit the lure hard. The only way to tell whether it's a fish or snag is to set the hook and feel for head shakes. Distance between weight to hook (leader length) is about 3.5 feet. Weather does affect shad fishing. Sunny & warm/hot (high atmospheric pressure) is better than cloudy & cool (low atmospheric pressure). Don't go in rainy weather since the rocks are very slippery and dangerous. Correlate time with water spill (current). If the water flow is moving, then fishing is better vs not moving, very slowly, or even reverse current (when current goes upriver instead of down river). Closer to the deadline (the yellow line close to the dam) has more fish since the fish are holding in that area getting ready to go up the fish ladder. I like a little more personal space, so I fish farther away. I still catch a lot of fish and generally give some away to the people on my left and right.
+Pixster Time thank you! One last 2 questions, when you reel in, do you let the weight sink to bottom or hang up in the flow? Do you fish in the morning or afternoon?
The idea is to get your lure towards the bottom of the water column where the shad are located *and* slowly have that lure swing in an arc from deep to shallow. Heavier weight and/or slower water flow will cause the lure to sink too fast. This will cause you to either: 1) snag rocks and other debris, or 2) to avoid the snag you reel in too fast. Lighter weight and/or faster water flow doesn't allow the lure to sink fast enough to reach the bottom water column before your line goes past 2:30 and start to snag up on rocks. I usually fish all day and quit no later than 5pm. If you're asking when is the best time to fish...then it really depends on the amount of fish, weather, and water flow.
Awesome video! This video, as a beginner has helped me tons! Just a quick question. Should I always use four feet for the leader line or does it depend on the area, rocks, river flow or anything?
Cool video! Never made it shad fishing when I lived in Pendleton and I now live in ID. Want to come over there sometime. Great idea on pressure cooking them. BTW, love your fish bag but doesn't it make it a little tough to net them that way?Ha ha ha
Yes, I bleed them out. I usually can them with a pressure cooker. I have a few recipes for this. Two of my favorites: 1) BBQ sauce. Yeah, just add BBQ sauce to each jar. 2) Smoked. Use your normal smoke brine, smoke them for about 20-30min, then can them in the pressure cooker. Use 1tsp vinegar for all recipes per jar since this is the magic that softens the bones. If you go the canning route, experiement! Non-canning recipe I like: articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-03-25/entertainment/bs-fo-recipe-finder-baked-shad-20120325_1_recipe-finder-letter-and-recipes-place-shad
Big Kahuna that sucks man. The runs here are in the millions, and they are in no danger of extinction that's for sure. No limit here in Douglas County Oregon on the Umpqua River. I use them whole for halibut bait.
![Bank Fishing Early Season American Shad [Bonneville Dam]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CEavKeyjeNM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Bank Fishing Early Season American Shad [Bonneville Dam]](/img/tr.png)
Great tutorial! Thank you for posting! I see the simple neutral weight color works just fine! nice egg sinker avoid sinkers
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the excellent summary and concise video. The best video on shad fishing at Bonneville so far. Good Job!
Thanks. I'm hoping to do a second version of this video to improve it with lots more info. I was in a hurry with this one since it was the height of the shad season and the people I met asked the same questions over and over...
I was there yesterday fishing for shad. It was a slow and extremely windy day with only about 30,000 fish passing. Thanks to your video I did well and scored about 30 fish landed! Thanks again. Keep doing a great job.
Went again yesterday and got another 130 using your technique.
Found a great tool to open the belly’s without cutting the roe sack. Those cheap plastic letter openers. I use that and puncture the soft spot right behind the pectoral fin and get the hook part of the letter opener in and cut across the belly.
You're on fire! It's a good shad season.
Nicely done! Thank you for educating us on the set-up.
Thanks for the tutorial. I went last yr and only caught 17 because I didn't know what I was doing. First trip this week and I caught 105 of them.
S S - Wow, that's awesome! I'm going tomorrow. Hope you left some for me. :-)
A few of them got away. Lol
What do you use the roe for?
eat
Awesome, very helpful - your a shad killing machine !
Thanks, Patrick. I can't seem to catch fish when you're down-river from me. You catch all of them before they get a chance to see my jig.
LIKED as love your shad fishing fun, love to make you as new friend, share more please!
@ShanePingStyle - thanks for watching.
Looks like a nice thick average in that run! I use mine as halibut bait, but have heard of people baking them until the bones are edible. I'm sure the roe is worth eating though.
Great video, clock face notation is a brilliant idea.. Few questions:
1, putting weight on main line make me have a hard time to feel a bite. I used 1/2-1oz depends on wind. How did you successfully tell a bite, not something else?
2, what's the distance between your weight to hook?
3, what time during the day you fish at bonneville dam? Does time/weather make a difference?
4, how did you choose location? Does that make a difference?
If you feel heavier tension on the line as you reel, then that's either a fish bite or a snag. These fish don't nibble here, they hit the lure hard. The only way to tell whether it's a fish or snag is to set the hook and feel for head shakes. Distance between weight to hook (leader length) is about 3.5 feet. Weather does affect shad fishing. Sunny & warm/hot (high atmospheric pressure) is better than cloudy & cool (low atmospheric pressure). Don't go in rainy weather since the rocks are very slippery and dangerous. Correlate time with water spill (current). If the water flow is moving, then fishing is better vs not moving, very slowly, or even reverse current (when current goes upriver instead of down river). Closer to the deadline (the yellow line close to the dam) has more fish since the fish are holding in that area getting ready to go up the fish ladder. I like a little more personal space, so I fish farther away. I still catch a lot of fish and generally give some away to the people on my left and right.
+Pixster Time thank you! One last 2 questions, when you reel in, do you let the weight sink to bottom or hang up in the flow? Do you fish in the morning or afternoon?
The idea is to get your lure towards the bottom of the water column where the shad are located *and* slowly have that lure swing in an arc from deep to shallow. Heavier weight and/or slower water flow will cause the lure to sink too fast. This will cause you to either: 1) snag rocks and other debris, or 2) to avoid the snag you reel in too fast. Lighter weight and/or faster water flow doesn't allow the lure to sink fast enough to reach the bottom water column before your line goes past 2:30 and start to snag up on rocks. I usually fish all day and quit no later than 5pm. If you're asking when is the best time to fish...then it really depends on the amount of fish, weather, and water flow.
+Pixster Time thanks!
I am in CT but only manage to catch hickory shad. hope to find some big Americans.
You’re great!
Thank you very much.
Awesome video! This video, as a beginner has helped me tons! Just a quick question. Should I always use four feet for the leader line or does it depend on the area, rocks, river flow or anything?
The leader can be any length that you're comfortable with for casting. I like mine at 3-4ft.
@@PixsterTime Sounds good thank you!
Cool video! Never made it shad fishing when I lived in Pendleton and I now live in ID. Want to come over there sometime. Great idea on pressure cooking them.
BTW, love your fish bag but doesn't it make it a little tough to net them that way?Ha ha ha
so your using a small unpainted jig with a bare hook, no grub or skirt and no bait? are you snagging them? or do they actually hit a bare hook?
Yes...they bite an unpainted lead shad jig with gold bare hook.
I just posted a video that answers your questions.
Pixster Time thank you I think my girls would love to try this any decent spots? I am on I-5 close to the cowlitz.. thanks for your help again
Not sure of your girls' experience with combat fishing, but if you go to Bonneville dam, I would recommend avoiding the weekends.
Excuse me can you tel my what i have use for fishing and I'm from Portland Or. and where is the location is look very safe for beginning fisher.
Scientist Fun right below bonniville dam on Washington side
Are you bleeding them out? Do you plan on eating them? If so, what recipes do you recommend?
Yes, I bleed them out. I usually can them with a pressure cooker. I have a few recipes for this. Two of my favorites: 1) BBQ sauce. Yeah, just add BBQ sauce to each jar. 2) Smoked. Use your normal smoke brine, smoke them for about 20-30min, then can them in the pressure cooker. Use 1tsp vinegar for all recipes per jar since this is the magic that softens the bones. If you go the canning route, experiement! Non-canning recipe I like: articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-03-25/entertainment/bs-fo-recipe-finder-baked-shad-20120325_1_recipe-finder-letter-and-recipes-place-shad
Thanks!
What time the best for fishing spring or
First 3 weeks of June at Bonneville Dam.
How many shad can you keep? Only 5 here NC
No limit in WA and OR.
dam straight
No limit on the Mississippi between Illinois and mo st louis is good spot for blue cats
Big Kahuna that sucks man. The runs here are in the millions, and they are in no danger of extinction that's for sure. No limit here in Douglas County Oregon on the Umpqua River. I use them whole for halibut bait.
Big Kahuna 10 in nc
What does these shad taste like?
It depends on how you prepare it. It's in the herring family, so white flesh that's very oily.
What bait/hook are u using?
It's called a "shad dart". The particular one I was using weighed 1/16th oz and unpainted lead. Nothing else added to the shad dart.